? for people who use calorie trackers like MFP, Lose It, etc.

This is how I use it as well. I log either right before or right after I eat, and then check to see how I'm doing for the day periodically to make sure I hit my protein goal and keep under the calorie limit. Been working pretty well for me so far. I also make sure to record when I deviate so I have an accurate record - I want to be able to go back and correlate those times when I went over my calorie limits to when the scale didn't move in the direction I wanted.

LoseIt sends reminders which helps a lot.

I log as I eat/cook. If I pre-logged, then I wouldn't get reminders when I forget to eat.

I have been tracking almost 2 years so I have an idea roughly of how many grams of protein I am going to get in that day just by what meat I have on hand.

My issue is more remembering to eat than tracking calories or protein, so I track for those reasons and so the app reminds me!

So do you plan out a menu in advance or just play it by ear throughout the day?

Combo.

I go to the grocery store everyday/every other day, get whatever protein/meat is on sale that I want fresh from the meat dept and that is what I eat until it is gone, then I get more. I eat about a pound of meat a day plus veggies and coffee plus cream.

What is eat is pretty boring and basically the same. It is steak or pork chops. baby spinach and coffee I change it up now and then but that basically it 75% of the time.

I usually end up trying to make up calories in the evening because I get busy with work etc during the day and forget to eat so sometimes I have to get creative to get enough calories in.

I cook as I go and I don't eat left overs.

I use my fitness pal every day. I have not missed a day of tracking in the last 612 days. I find it works best for me to log in everything in the morning because I am personally a planner and it helps me to stay accountable. Sometimes dinner plans change and if that happens then I go in and adjust it right before I eat dinner.

Thank you!

612 days is huge. I recently got a coupon code for tracking for 14 days straight and thought I was hot stuff LOL

It seems like the consensus is to put everything in beforehand while trying to lose so I think I will give it a go.

14 days is great. Just find what works best for you and see what you feel is most helpful for you to be a success.

I have been logging as I go (154 days). My surgery is on 6/29 and I start liquids only in 15 days. So my husband has been taking me to my favorite restaurants before we can't go for 6 or more months. Logging as part of choosing what to order has enabled me to make better choices and I have been loosing the weight my surgeon wants off before surgery. Some meals I have asked for the leftovers container when I order. I then divide out the serving size when the food arrives and put the rest into the take home container. So far wait staff have been helpful and cooperative once they understand that I am on a specific diet.

Another change is to ask for a salad or extra veggies instead of starch. Again the waitstaff has been happy to adjust the order and so far the kitchens have adapted things beautifully.

Since I love to cook, I have also been playing with the full liquid diet that I face post surgery. I made a cream of fish soup the other day. I entered the ingredients into MyFitnessPal and adjusted for the resulting 4oz ziplock portions that resulted. I have printed up the recipie and the MFP nutrition breakdown for my NUTs review when I see them next. I did the same for chicken soup. My reason is that I know my soup tastes good, has a nice texture, and is lower in salt than anything out of a can.

I am sure that post surgery it will be easier for me to plan out my meals in advance so I will probably log the planned meals and adjust the consumed amounts.

As with all life your methods only have to work for you. Best of luck.

I've done it every which way, depending on my needs. If I needed to keep calories low, I would pre-log everything at the beginning of the day. In my head, I would approach it as, "Here is all my food for the day. Eat it all before 10 am, and you'll be starving the rest of the day. Save a bunch for later, and be happier."

Mostly, I enter food after I've eaten, so I can put in exact weights. If I go a little high, I try to go lower the next day.

When I was losing, I tried to get exactly the same calories every day. In maintenance, it fluctuates much more. My weekly and monthly numbers are most important. As long as the daily ups and downs average out, I'm happy.

Thank you!

I'm going to try planning it out like this as well to see if it helps me. Thinking of it in terms of this is all I can eat today is a great idea. Did you also portion things out in the morning or did you weigh when you actually ate instead?