How do you plan & track your meals?

[sweetart]

For those of you who are putting together your own eating plans, how do you plan out your meals? Do you plan a week at a time or a month? Do you keep track of it in Excel? If you planned to have chicken for dinner tonight but can't stomach the thought, do you quick go into your plan and figure out what you could have in its place? I'm fine figuring out my macros but just need help with keeping track of everything so its not overwhelming or too time consuming. Any suggestions or tips for a newbie would be very welcomed! I'm using Excel now but I think there may be an easier way. TIA

[Blondell]

I use www.fitday.com.

The way I set it up is that I have certain foods that I eat on a daily basis. At any given meal, I decide what I am in the mood for and have that as long as it fits into my macros for the day. For a beginner, it may be easier to plan out meals and have them made up the day b/f. This is the way I used to do it and it works grand. If your food is already made, you are more likely to eat it b/c you don't want it to go to waste.....or at least, thta has been my experience. :)

[Sportsgirl]

I use www.fitday.com.

The way I set it up is that I have certain foods that I eat on a daily basis. At any given meal, I decide what I am in the mood for and have that as long as it fits into my macros for the day.

This is how I do it too. It feels better for me this way - like the old days where I never followed plans and just decided what to have for lunch and dinner. I feel like I have more freedom....

However as Blondell said, it might be easier as a beginner to plan your day out to start with and then as you get the hang of it you can choose meals on a whim.

[sweetart]

So lets say you're going to have chicken for lunch. You decide you want to have a sweet potato with it. Do you go into Fitday right before you eat and figure out how much sweet potato you can have? Do you already know how much protein/fat/carb you are going to have at each meal? I think I'm just getting obsessed with getting the exact amt of macros each day that its making me crazy. I'm constantly tweeking my eating plan.

[Inatic]

You should know your calorie range and how many/much protein, carbs and fats you can have for that amt.


Once you now that you can make a template or a spread sheet of what xx amt of chicken = in protein, xx amt of swt = carbs, and say xx amt of almonds =in fats..

Do that for all your favorites.. Then you can just pull one from a, one from b, etc.

Tallying ahead of time in fitday will give you the total picture.

[Blondell]

So lets say you're going to have chicken for lunch. You decide you want to have a sweet potato with it. Do you go into Fitday right before you eat and figure out how much sweet potato you can have? Do you already know how much protein/fat/carb you are going to have at each meal? I think I'm just getting obsessed with getting the exact amt of macros each day that its making me crazy. I'm constantly tweeking my eating plan.I go on b/f to know how much of what I can have.

You may do better to have an outlined meal plan that you follow. You don't wanna spend too much time obsessing over what and how much you can eat. That mindset may set you up for disaster.

[Blondell]

I should also note that as time goes on, it DOSE GET EASIER. Hang in there. Before you know it you'll be able to do it w/o much of a second thought. :)

[Sportsgirl]

So lets say you're going to have chicken for lunch. You decide you want to have a sweet potato with it. Do you go into Fitday right before you eat and figure out how much sweet potato you can have? Do you already know how much protein/fat/carb you are going to have at each meal? I think I'm just getting obsessed with getting the exact amt of macros each day that its making me crazy. I'm constantly tweeking my eating plan.

I kinda just eat as I go. I sometimes end up eating food at the end of the day to make up calories/protein. I also don't have a set amount of meals. I will have anything from 2-6 meals a day. I sometimes end up a little over on carbs or under on protein but one day isn't going to matter, it's the big picture.

It sounds like it would be best if you plan your meals the day before until you get a hang of how many calories are in what foods. It works for me because I have a good idea of the calories and macros for most of the foods I eat without running to fit day.

[sweetart]

Blondell, Sportsgirl & Ileene - thanks for all the ideas :thumb:! Until I get a hang of all this, I'll just keep planning my meals out a few days in advance.

[Noel Clark]

You should know your calorie range and how many/much protein, carbs and fats you can have for that amt.


Once you now that you can make a template or a spread sheet of what xx amt of chicken = in protein, xx amt of swt = carbs, and say xx amt of almonds =in fats..

Do that for all your favorites.. Then you can just pull one from a, one from b, etc.

Tallying ahead of time in fitday will give you the total picture.

I think this is a great idea for ppl to use. Takes a little time on the front end but would really make things easy in the long run!

[smuggie]

I've been doing this for so long I don't necessarily have to check what food I can sub for what if I feel like making a change.

As Blondell pointed out, it does get easier the more experience you get.

[hsquared]

I plan out my meals. I don't get bored easily though. So, I have two meal plans, one for training days and one for off days. I then use excel to track my meal plan. I don't change my meal plan that often, so it isn't a hassle. I have the food, amount, calories, fat, carb and protein. I do the 5 or 6 meals for the specified day (training or off) and then use that for the month. I will sub sometimes but since I have all the macros already written out and printed on an excel sheet, it makes it easier. I also sub only nuts for other nuts, cheese for another cheese, meat for another lean protein, etc. I am busy, so that helps me just to have two meal plans. Hope that made sense and wasn't too complicated!