Add me in, I almost always pre-plan my day the day before. If I don't pre-plan I find it so easy to go off track because I am not sure how many calories I am going to be at, so maybe I have room for this or that - but with pre-planning I how what I am eating and how much and if I have room for a treat. Sometimes I do adjust as the day goes on, but I stay pretty close to on track.

I find planning the day before on a full stomach even easier and faster to do, I just go okay I am going to eat this and this and that. Done. No thinking about, hmmm what do I feel like today.

Weekends are the hardest for me (like most of us) - so I like to take some time on Thursdays to go through recipes and pick out dinners for the whole weekend. Then Thursday night I stop and buy what I need. This makes it easy to stay away from eating out. I do try and plan fun "weekend" foods. This weekend for example, pull pork burritos with corn salsa, peanut turkey burgers and beef stroganof (if there isn't too much left overs!)

At the start of every day, I log into sparkpeople.com and plug in my foods for the day. It really does seem to help me stay on track.

I plan too, but in a shorthand fashion. I never had the time or patience to stick with fitday, so I decide ahead of time when and where I'll eat. And I have a general guideline in my head of what I can eat. I guess I'm a portion control gal & I mostly eat veggies and protein. Pretty much I eat the same thing and the same amount every day so I don't worry about calorie counting.

Even though my strategy sounds loose, the plan is strict enough for me and I feel secure when I follow it. A lot of is ingrained in my brain so I don't have to think about it any more.

I love planning in my head every day!

I also use FitDay and pre-plan my days. I adjust my calories up or down depending on my activities for that day, but for the most part the core of my diet is always the same (veggies, fruit, and lean protein). It's a pretty invaluable tool.

I'm surprised so many people pre-plan... My food choices and quantities vary based on how I am feeling, but I have never had much issue logging throughout the day and sticking to my calorie budget.

My situation is unusually stable, however, being at home everyday with small children. We have the same lunches every week and the same breakfast selections, and I make a dinner menu every two weeks. Nothing too adventurous or different that would throw me off, and the occasional meal out is easy enough to log.

In my experience it isn't the preplanning that makes the bigger difference (except in buying groceries and having enough time to cook and clean up each meal) but rather the logging, itself, whenever it is done, that makes ALL the difference in the world in how I lose weight and how conscientious I am of what gows in my mouth.

If I had vision problems I wouldn't assume I could just go without glasses and be okay, the underlying problem is still there without surgical correction. For me, my eating is the same. I have a problem with overeating if I do not have written accountability. In lieu of surgical correction I can't just stop my food logging and expect to be okay - it takes constant, daily vigilence to stay healthy and manage my weight and that is not something I am willing to gamble with.

However we do it, I am just SO thrilled to have so many fellow food logging calorie counters here. The real world tends to think I'm a bit nuts

For the most part I plan everything the night before, and pack my lunches/dinners as well. Because I live on campus at my school I have a hard time trusting their food and nutrition values, I only use my meal plan for stuff like salad and soy milk. Things can always change, but I like having a general plan. That way I don't have to stress out while I'm eating, trying to make sure I'm getting in all of my nutrients and enough protein and what have you.

When I'm home, I plan ahead as well, but there is always some stuff left up in the air. It all depends on who is cooking. I think it comes down to preference in the end. If you like to plan things, and can stick to a plan, then plan ahead. If not, then don't try to force yourself to, it won't work out and will just make calorie counting much more difficult and unpleasant than it has to be.

Sure! If I have to pack my lunch and get something out of the freezer for supper ... I'm already planning. And Meg is right that after a little while fitday becomes much more easy to use. You'll become quick too!

I do and I must say keeping track of what I am eating has given me confidence in knowing this time I will keep working on maintenance.

pre-planning my entire day on Fitday is how I've lost 180 pounds. Planning, sticking to it and then planning for the NEXT day is how I lose weight.