Do You Plan Ahead?

Hiyas,

So, I've noticed on those "What are you eating today" posts that most people go ahead and list what they're eating for the whole day, even if the reply at 5am. Is it common practice to figure out what you're eating for the day ahead of time? Do you use your food tracking app (MyFitnessPal or whatever) to help you manage your calories and nutrients (meaning do you enter the food before you've eaten it?)

I'm asking because I don't plan. I usually just decide what I'm having when my alarm tells me it's time to eat, which is how I did it before surgery. Admittedly, this leads to not always the best choices because I usually eat according to my mood, which I know is not good.

I'm just interested to hear how others handle their meal planning.

When I am at home or work.... nothing specific.  I do have food for work in the freezer ready to go so I can just grab an entrée along with either greek yogurt, a fruit (i.e. pear, peach singles, no sugar added, 1.5 oz raisins, etc.) maybe a few veggies (carrot sticks) and a skim milk snack for break along with a bottle of water 24 oz. that I refill at least once and drink during the day.

At home, not nearly as planned, but I have things on hand that are good choices so that helps. Freezer stuff, frozen fish, shrimp, burgers to grill, chicken breasts to stir fry, eggs, and other meats if all else fails.

I always have some protein drinks available to take along, if traveling, if I think my choices eating out aren't going to necessarily be the best so I can supplement with those.

We do cooking on Sundays and use those for lunches to freeze.  Chili, stirfry (heavy on the chicken or protein even adding tofu to up the protein), jambalaya (lots of shrimp, andouille, chicken, easy on the rice), refried beans, eggplant parm with a little meat for more protein.

Snacks for me... I keep these handy in the cupboard.  Nuts, dark chocolate (on occasion, and this is raw dark chocolate so pretty bitter but it satisifies me when I want chocolate), cheese (I buy expensive hard cheese and slice off about an ounce to nibble on) such as smoked gouda, asiago, etc. love that.  It lasts forever, so it really isn't too bad as far as an expense.  Skim milk is the recommended snack from my physician and I will add Instant Carnation breakfast to it for more protein and flavor.  The chocolate makes a nice hot chocolate.

So the bottom line is I have food to grab... do I know what I am eating a lot of times... no, sometimes it is a surprise at work to know exactly what I grabbed from the freezer lol.

Thank you for your response. I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one who doesn't have it all planned out every day. :)

You made many excellent points in your reply; healthy choices, preparation for easy to grab snacks and meals and heavy on the protein -light on the carbs.  I like ve your approach!  The key to my success at maintaining my goal weight is to not bring the crappy food into my home (if it's not there, I won't be reaching for it as a quick snack) and focus on the protein avoid carbs.  

Hello, 

I think there are a lot of different styles out there.  Is what you are doing working for you?  

On a very much non-expert note, personally I have purposely tried to do things differently post WLS.  The first year is an ideal time to try different strategies.  You mention that your previous habits were "not good" and did not lead to the best choices.  If you truly believe that, maybe it is time to add other tools to your toolbox? 

I would bet that the what cha eating posts are relatively loose guides to the poster's intention.  Setting an intention is a practice in itself.  

I do best with structure but even I don't regularly pre-populate mfp in the morning.  I have a bunch of regular meals that I have used so often that I have a rhythm of what works.  I do play around with mfp if I am going to try to add something new in.  It isn't so much that I don't have an idea of a food's macros (I am usually pretty good at that) but I am sometimes delusional at the time of the meal so that I eat more than I should. 

Best wishes!  

Thanks for your response. You kinda nailed what I've been thinking about maybe needing more structure. I want to succeed at this and I need to try new and different strategies now instead of waiting until I'm trying to maintain.

I have the same worries about maintenance when the day comes!    

There are a  boatload of ideas buried in old posts.  Have you done much digging?  I have spent an embarrassing amount of time going thru vet's old posts to get ideas.  As you go thru older and older posts, you discover even MORE vets who no longer post but their posts (and successful ideas) live on as well.  

Then, I get overwhelmed with too many ideas (which is the opposite of structure) so then I take a break for a while ;) 

I'm 9 years post-op and made a conscious early on to build healthy habits and shopping routines.  That has made making better choices to this day second nature.  When I grocery shop, I focus on fresh veggies and fruits, non-processed foods, lean meats and whole grain "carbs."  I avoid premade/prepackaged foods unless I know exactly what's in them.  I also built a large repertoire of healthy recipes that my sons and I enjoy.  

Yes, I always plan my day out in the morning, that way I don't succumb to whims or urges.  

It is so interesting to me what works from a motivation standpoint for different brains.  I bet my husband's brain is more like yours. In real life his job title includes the word "scheduler."  

To me, a plan for food (or anything else) at the beginning of the day is simply a suggestion.  My brain feels no need to be loyal to it.  That is why you never see me on what cha eating....well, that plus I am a bit lazy :)   I must have a different strategy to avoid whims and urges but I am not sure I can put my finger on what exactly it is.