Is this unreasonable?

I am a college student who is just looking to lose 10lbs. I was thinking of menu planning for the whole week. Do you think it would work? The only reason I am asking is because my boyfriend says well you never know what you will feel like eating on that particular day.

Sometimes it works for me, other times it doesn't.  If I'm planning my week, it helps me to have all the prep work done so I can just heat or cook things with very little left to do.

I will often plan 4 or 5 things that I want to make each week.  That way I know what produce to get at the grocery store.  The days I don't cook I just eat something easy like pasta or leftovers.  It's true that you don't know what you're going to feel like eating on any given day, but I usually eat better if I think about it instead of just eating what I'm in the mood for.

I don't think it's unreasonable. For the most part people tend to stick with certain foods. Depending on how long you've been with your boyfriend you should know what meals you eat together on a regular basis and discuss how you can make them healthier and then plan accordingly.

I kind of plan day by day. If I'm thinking about eating something later, I enter it beforehand and see where it puts me.

I can plan one, maybe two days in advance. If I try to go farther than than I get stressed with my plans have to change. But I've got a young family and an unpredictable work schedule, so there's that...

Original Post by upsidedownkitten:

I kind of plan day by day. If I'm thinking about eating something later, I enter it beforehand and see where it puts me.

I do this too - and also look at the analysis to make sure that nutrients are balanced.  It helps to see if I can switch something up and get a better combination (more protein, less calories - or more calories & fat) depending on where the analysis puts me.

I will do this a couple of days in advance, haven't managed to do a whole week's worth (yet).  I don't find it hard to stick to what I will eat, since the prep is already made and it doesn't require much thought, and I usually plan on eating things I enjoy anyway, so I don't feel the whole "not in the mood to have this".

I plan a week ahead and deliberately try to keep things as interesting as possible food-wise.  I 'post' the menu on our family noticeboard so that everyone knows what's for supper.   And I use the menu as the basis for my shopping list - which saves a HUGE amount of money. 

I find it takes out all the guesswork, I don't think about food as much and, often, by the end of the week I'm surprising myself with my menus because I forgot what I picked initially. 

Give it a try.  What have you got to lose?

I think this mainly depends on what kind of person you are. If you like making plans and having everything thought out in advance, it's certainly easier to make your menu weekly and do all your shopping at once. I can't do it - I've tried many times, and I'm just not organized enough.

I agree it depends on what type of personality you are. I am a "Type-A" - overorganized, control freak-ish, take-on-too-much, have my paycheques allocated for the next year and a ten-year plan for my life type. I meal plan weekly and (mostly) stick to it, and plug it all into calorie count in one sitting, and this makes me happy and comfortable because it's one less thing I have to think about in a day. If you're a more creative-type person or spontaneous person, a strict plan probably won't work for you, but you could have guidelines, like "two chicken meals, a fish meal and a vegi meal this week", etc. I feel anti-feminist saying it, but it also depends what type of person your boyfriend is - my husband, whose a B-type likes a calm routine person, thought he would hate the meal plan but ended up liking it as long as he has a say in what we're going to eat each week. Good luck!