Planning menus?

Do you plan your menus ahead of time, or just eat in the moment, day-by-day, following your nutritionist's advice and pouch rules?  If you plan, do you plan daily or weekly?  Just how do you stay in control?

Jill,

I have to plan - when I don't, I am all over the board with eating and find it very hard to remain on plan.

My planning is twofold.  I generally plan before I go to the grocery store (which I do weekly for my "main" order) so that I have 2 - 3 major prepared meals.  Those meals are designed to produce leftovers that can be taken for lunches or may be dinner for a couple of nights running.   For example, this week I made a chicken/leek crockpot soup that was dinner one night (for 4 of us) and lunch 2 days (for 2 of us).   I also stock up on my routine items for "safe" snacking - yogurt, apples, strawberries, cheese sticks, etc., so that I have a variety of good things to choose from.  I might buy a rotisserie chicken that I can debone and use to make chicken salad for several days' lunches.

My more important planning takes place nightly, as I organize my food and clothes for the next day.  My food gets portioned and "segmented" within the fridge so that the next morning all i have to do is grab my ice pack and put it all in my lunch bag and go.  I specify for myself "breakfast, snack, lunch, snack" (or on Mondays include dinner and third snack, as I'm at wor****il 10 pm).  I pack my clothes for work into my gym bag and lay out my gym clothes - that way i have no valid excuse for not getting to the gym the next morning.

This works well for me - takes about 15 minutes and is my daily gift to myself.  Now that hubby is working 4 am - noon, he's started doing the same thing at night and has been surprised at how much stress it takes off of his shoulders in the mornings.

K.

I cook on the weekends and make up portioned packets to take to work for the week. I also buy a dozen eggs and hard boil them, then unshell them and put them into separate baggies for snacks. I buy a 36 pk. of Weigh****chers String Cheese and take a dozen at a time to work for snacks.  I buy a six pack of low fat cottage cheese and keep it at work for breakfast so I don't get caught up at home in the morning.  I keep a 1/2 gallon water bottle at home, in the car and at work with lots of 2qt. crystal light packets to mix up my drink for the day.  I keep a 32 oz. cup at work and at home to remind me to drink. I keep s/f peppermint gum on me to ward off foamies or indigestion if it should occur.  I make sure to check what I have left at work the day before incase I need to replenish anything.  I plan a rough draft for the week and tweek it the night before.  I don't bring things into my house that I shouldn't eat.  If I need to keep something in my house for a guest, I keep it high and unreachable as not to be in my constant sight when I open the cabinet. 

 

Your posing this question makes me ask what have you been doing since your surgery?

Sorry, Nan, I missed your question at the end there!  Right after surgery I planned and kept logs of what I was eating.  At some point, I stopped writing.  Then it would come and go in spurts:  planning vs. not planning; eating out of control vs. eating the way I was supposed to.  I developed alcoholism and spent a whole lot of time trying to get that under control -- like 2 years!  Now that I am sober 9 months, I am trying to once again fight my food demons.