Is it O.K. to eat the same foods everyday?????

I have found that my dieting works better for me if I don't have to put alot of thought and work into it. Keep it simple and kind of make food not as important, just as a means of sustainance. Every morning I have Egg Beaters or an egg on Health Nut toast, sometimes adding tomato or mushrooms or ham. Sometimes low sodium V-8 along with it.  Lunch is whole wheat bread with turkey, lettuce and tomato and an apple. Dinner is still different because I work at a restaurant and try to piece together a healthy meal, which can be difficult where I work. Salad with grilled chicken, or a small pasta with a bit of oil and garlic and veggies are my usual picks.Some days I go to Subway for a veggie sub to take to work. If I am hungry for snacks, it usually ends up being an apple, cheese and crackers [few] or a 100 calorie pack of any goodie I buy.

So, is there anything wrong with eating basically the same stuff everyday, as long as it is balanced?

I'm no expert, but based on what you listed as your food choices for the day, I personally don't see anything wrong with eating the same items each day.  Maybe add in a multi-vitamin, too?

Is this more or less how you like to eat?  By that, I mean, is it just smaller portions of what you ate to get overweight?  Because, if you actually prefer more variety in your diet, I think you will be more successful if you branch out a little, or you risk getting bored and feeling "deprived" and going back to your old eating habits.

Also, the best nutrition comes from eating a wide variety of foods, since most foods have a little bit of a lot of different nutrients.  Personally, I don't think a multi-vitamin is much of a substitute for food.

All that said, I think that most of us find comfort in routine when we are changing our habits, so if you are most comfortable with limited choices, I would only make small additions gradually so that you can stay in your comfort zone.

First off, the reason I eat the same breakfast is that I find it keeps me full for 4 hours! I was the worst eater ever. I loved mini corndogs,donuts and cake for breakfast,  fish sticks, fried food, etc. I grazed all day out of boredom on unhealthy crap. I am actually amazed at how much I have changed my eating habits. It kind of makes me emotional that I was able to do this for the first time in my life. My cholesterol and blood pressure are high, but I take meds. The big changed caused me to lose 12 pounds pretty fast, but then I slowed down.

I think I just dont want to think alot about food, so eating almost the same diet makes it easy to do. Maybe working at an upscale restaurant where so much emphasis on food has made me do the opposite. I guess I make small changes, like for example today I had bean soup for lunch. But basically I am sticking with the same foods almost daily. I am O.K. with it. Just wondered if it could hinder my progress or not be the healthiest of options.

I have been told before that if you eat the same thing each day your body is used to that food and can break it down easier...Im not a nutritionist or anything, its just what ive been told. Makes sense though.

I usually do the same basic things for a couple of weeks and then switch it up. It's more economical. I vary dinner daily, but breakfast, lunch and snacks stay pretty static by week, but not overall.

I also take a multivitamin + B100.

When I was really trying to lose weight, I ate about the same 5 things. I would make meals on a Sun and prepackage them for the rest of the week to make sure I always had healthy food onhand. I LIKE doing that, cuz like you said, it takes the guess work out of it.

However, I eventually get burnt out on a certain food and replace it w something else and wont TOUCH that food for a few months. haha. But it works for me! I'm in maintenance now and I still pretty much eat the same stuff day after day! Especially for breakfast cuz I'm a zombie in the morning, and it's just easier!

Original Post by leebeeda:

I have found that my dieting works better for me if I don't have to put alot of thought and work into it. Keep it simple and kind of make food not as important, just as a means of sustainance. Every morning I have Egg Beaters or an egg on Health Nut toast, sometimes adding tomato or mushrooms or ham. Sometimes low sodium V-8 along with it.  Lunch is whole wheat bread with turkey, lettuce and tomato and an apple. Dinner is still different because I work at a restaurant and try to piece together a healthy meal, which can be difficult where I work. Salad with grilled chicken, or a small pasta with a bit of oil and garlic and veggies are my usual picks.Some days I go to Subway for a veggie sub to take to work. If I am hungry for snacks, it usually ends up being an apple, cheese and crackers [few] or a 100 calorie pack of any goodie I buy.

So, is there anything wrong with eating basically the same stuff everyday, as long as it is balanced?

 Hello, yeah its perfectly ok to eat the same foods every day, specially because most of us are not professional chefs, and because we are not rich.  So i think its a lot cheaper, easier to plan the same meals every day. What you can do is to have a different meals on saturdays, like a planed cheat meal on saturday night to replace your regular diet dinner on saturday.  and to rest and take break from the diet.  But when you eat a cheat-meal you still have to control the amount of food you eat.  Because any excess of over-eating like a big binge, can destroy weeks of diets and hard work.

So good luck

.

OMG!  Having a job in a restarant is the worst!!!  I think when I got that job, it was the beginning of the end.  A little soufle cup of soup here, a slice of cheese there, a french fry here, a chip there, a wing here, a big slice of bread there, a penne pasta here, a piece of lettuce (dipped in ranch) there. 

Anyway... I digress... In response to your query... I believe there are good points and bad points.  The fact of the matter is yes, planning and knowing exactly what you are going to consume go a long way.  I know if something comes up that throws a wrench in my plans I get completely flustered.  Knowing what I'm having to eat keeps me regimented and focused.   Boredom however, is the devil's playground.  Or is that idle hands?  Either way,  getting bored with certain foods almost ensure that my eye will wander, and that cheesesteak will look a heck of a lot better than the turkey sandwich on wheat with 1/2 lowfat mayo, 1/2 dijon mustard that I've been cramming down my piehole at 12 noon everyday for the last 6 weeks. 

So what's the answer?  I believe it's a little of both.  Have a plan but also give yourself a little wiggle room.  For instance, change up breakfast one day, or lunch another, or a dinner on the weekend. 

I know how you feel.  Good luck.

People ask me if I ever get sick of chicken breast....nope.  To the OP, there is nothing wrong with eating the same foods over and over.  To me, it is simplicity.  I dont have to put extensive thought into it...just thought into how I am going to do the spices.

Remember our hunter/gatherer ancestors, who did not have access to the unbelievable array of foods that we do today, only varied their diets seasonally.  Otherwise they ate the same stuff day after day--basically whatever they could hunt, and what grew wild in their neighborhood. 

The human body is designed to cope with a wide range of different eating styles.  If what you are doing works for you then by all means keep doing it.

I generally eat the same things every day... I mean every day I eat the exact some breakfast, relatively the same lunch and generally the same types of foods for dinner... I do eat tons of veggies & healthy proteins though so I think as long as the foods you eat every day are nutritionally dense you should be just fine...

Original Post by leebeeda:

Keep it simple and kind of make food not as important, just as a means of sustainance.

So, is there anything wrong with eating basically the same stuff everyday, as long as it is balanced?

That first part is a really sad statement.  When food becomes nothing more than fuel, life loses a lot of its colour 

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity."  ~Voltaire

There is a lot wrong with eating the same things day in day out, even if they're balanced.  A varied diet is a much better for your health than a narrow one.  

I was just watching dr. oz yesterday and he said that it is best for some people to eat the same thing everyday.. like you said.. less effort.. so when it is easier to walk in the kitchen and make the same turkey sand youve had all week, then cook up some fancy biggest loser club lunch... I like the idea.. as long as you dont get to burnt out on what u eat.. and that doesnt mean one week u cant have turkey and the next have chicken.. I think you are doing great..

I am not an expert but I have read a lot this days about diets of atletes and in most cases they eat the same foods everyday. As long as it is a balanced diet, why not, also if you do not mind even better. Like someone said before, if you are not rich, have time, or have chef skills.... then do what works for you best.

I keep some things the same just because I do not have time and to be honets they are tasty :)

gi-jane,

Is the only reason a varied is diet better to get a full range of nutrients? or are there other reasons? what if what im eating everyday has 90-100% of the nutrients i need? Please reply, I am very curious!

Thanks

Yes, full range of nutrients.  You may be getting 90-100% of your RDA's of various known vitamins and minerals but, let's face it, you could pop a pill and do the same thing.   What I'm talking about are all the unknown nutrients.  The beneficial side-effects that are attached to real foods as opposed to the top-line vitamins that we can currently isolate.  There are also cross-benefits of combining certain foods together.  Basil and tomatoes, I understand, provides new benefits that basil on its own and tomatoes on their own don't.   The fact that they taste great together is also an added plus.  If that's true of tomatoes and basil... why wouldn't it be true elsewhere?

Ask someone what nutritional benefit you get from a kiwifruit and they might say 'Vitamin C'... and an orange.... 'Vitamin C'.... and blueberries.... 'Vitamin C'....  So you'd think that if you just ate oranges ad infinitum you're good to go.  Or even if you skipped the oranges and just took a vitamin C pill, that would be fine.   But there are lots of other chemical compounds going on inside these fruits (they're radically different colours for a start) so if you eat kiwifruit AND oranges AND blueberries... you'd be getting Vitamin C.. plus... plus... plus...

We're already on a very limited diet by historical standards because of agri-business.... Certain varieties have disappeared completely in the interests of shelf-life, yield and cosmetic appearance.  We're down to one or two breeds of cow and pig, one type of laying hen, the ubiquitous Granny Smith and Iceberg Lettuce and only one or two varieties of wheat.  This is only something of the last 50 or 60 years..... and are we healthier?  So the bigger the range of foods you can enjoy the more you offset this enforced restriction.  The narrower your range of foods, the more likely you'll miss out. 

I don't see it as a bad thing, some people like routine, and if it helps you stick to your diet then by all means do so.

however, I am only saying this because the foods that you list yourself eating are generally healthy 'whole food' options... but say if you were eating more packaged foods or "diet" foods, this would be a whole other story.

so kudos to you for keepin' it clean

the only problems though is that this could possibly lead to boredom and binging/overeating in the future... so I suggest that you change things up every once in a while and incorporate as many different types and colors of fruits and vegetables that you can into your meals.

Also mix up your sources of protein too (ie fish one day, chicken the next, bison after that... etc) meat contains all the essential amino acids but different types of meat contain different amounts of these amino acids... eating a variety will ensure that your body gets the essentials it needs to aid in building muscle tissue as well as all other body tissues... plus eating protein causes the body to use more calories to digest it then carbs or fats... eat up!!

I'm not one to constantly change my meals everyday either... I don't like the guesswork, I would rather know that I have stuff on hand for my next meal, rather then constantly opening and closing the fridge/freezer wondering what to make.

to make things easier too, I suggest that when you make a meal, make LEFTOVERS on purpose... instead of one chicken breast, grill 5 or 6 and keep them in the fridge. Hardboil a bunch of eggs, portion out cottage cheese or greek yogurt, and cut up veggies and fruit in advance, so that they're ready to throw together for a quick meal... etc.

spend one day a week doing prep-work for the week ahead... it will make life so much easier.

but remember variety is the spice of life, keep things interesting by trying a new food or recipe regularly

Original Post by squiggles1011:

OMG!  Having a job in a restarant is the worst!!!  I think when I got that job, it was the beginning of the end.  A little soufle cup of soup here, a slice of cheese there, a french fry here, a chip there, a wing here, a big slice of bread there, a penne pasta here, a piece of lettuce (dipped in ranch) there. 

LOL that statement made me laugh!!

I just ate 9 pieces of brown rice California roll sushi for lunch, and I feel like a pig. Although I've only had 535 calories for the day so far, im afraid to eat dinner, so eat what you like, though it may be the same thing everyday at least it's healthy. 

I think it is okay to eat the same/similar foods every day as we all have are favourites and its natural to stick to what we like. The only/main problem I foresee is eating the same foods as a ritual or necessity. Especially if one has anxiety around food, its very easy to deal with that by sticking to the same foods and avoiding change.

I always like to try and chop and change certain things in my diet to avoid this. Sometimes you don’t realise the extent to which you have the same foods until you go on holiday or away from home and are faced with a whole new/different array of meal options.