I Eat Essentially the Same Foods Every Single Day

neillc57

Hi,
I thought it would be interesting to get peoples thoughts on a quirk of mine. I am hoping others are the same.
I understand that 'getting sick' of foods could well be an evolutionary product to get us to eat a varied diet. For some reason this mechanism either does work or is severely muted for me.
I first noticed this as a kid when people complained about getting sick of turkey at Christmas time. For me, I loved turkey and I was loving eating cold turkey sandwiches until it ran out. If I like something I generally continue to like it.
For example the work cafeteria started serving pho soup (not a great version but I liked it). I eat this soup every single work day for more than a year. I only swapped to something else when something new appeared and I thought I should try it and I liked it even more (goat curry).
So I started using MFP and a macros approach and after some experimentation I found a vegetable combination and method of cooking I really like. So I am essentially eating this 3 times a day, every day. I could not make it while away from home but that's rare. I vary the protein I add to it but this is driven by what I have in the fridge, expiration dates etc. So 3oz green beans, 3 oz onion, 5oz mushrooms, some curry powder or Mrs Dash and maybe some salt if I start getting cramps. I love this combination.
I am sure this won't go on forever but it will go on for a long time. It's already been going on for a long time. I am really looking forward to eating lunch now.
My diary is open to see this. Note I was like this before MFP and when I go onto maintenance I pretty much figure to be eating something like I do now just some bigger quantities. I am 90lbs down and people think I have cancer so it hasn't hampered my progress .

Gretaholden1

I have certain things I can eat everyday. Berries I love berries and I am a fan of ice cream and since I no longer eat ice cream when its hot I make a smoothie out of frozen berries and water. I could eat this every day and usually do. I vary the berries sometimes. Oh and popcorn. I can eat popcorn everyday and never get tired of it. I do make it at home in a pan not the microwave kind, I don't like microwave popcorn. I make homemade kettle corn with zing instead of sugar popped in coconut or olive oil depending on what I have at hand. But as far as main dishes go I vary my meals.

L1zardQueen

Do what makes you happy

Katiebear_81

I rotate the same few recipes from week to week. I like the things I like and don't care if I eat them every day. For 3 years (all of high school), I ate Golden Grahams for breakfast, and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch every day (different snacks, but that's because my step-mom didn't buy exactly the same thing every time).

Do what makes you happy.

malibu927

If it works for you, keep with it

RavenLibra

I eat the same breakfast every weekday morning, oatmeal with mixed berries and greek yogurt + 10 almonds... 16 ounces of water and 12 ounces of coffee... same lunch... raw baby carrots, broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, grapes, cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt veggie dip... 16 ounces of water... supper is my wild card, I never know what I will be eating

corinasue1143

Those are 3 of my 4 favs. How do you cook them?

chase7612

I tend to eat the same things over and over, and ive lost 98lbs doing it so far... I do crave some of the calorie dense foods i use to pig out on, and will eat them again (in moderation) when i reach my goals, but as far as getting sick of the foods i used to achieve my goals, not at all, i appreciate them every time i eat them as they get me where i want to go without tasting aweful. :P

neillc57

corinasue1143 wrote: »

Those are 3 of my 4 favs. How do you cook them?

If the protein needs to be cooked (say raw chicken breast) I stick it in a Pyrex bowl and cook it in the microwave for a minute or minute and a half. If the protein is already cooked I skip that part (cooked roast beef slices for example). Then I put on top of the protein 3oz of onions and 3oz of frozen green beans and 5oz of mushrooms. I chop up the onion and break up the mushrooms because I don't like large chunks for some reason. I break the beans into two or three pieces because I don't like them big!
I add my curry powder (currently 4g but had more when my curry powder seemed weaker).
Then I microwave for 2 mins. Add the tomato and mix up. Cook for another 2 mins. Mix again and cook a bit longer or not to get the amount of 'cookedness' you desire. I do 2 mins more.
Then I mix in some protein if not already there and add a bit of cold water to make it a bit soupy.
Absolutely brilliant (for me anyway).

corinasue1143

Thanks! Sounds super easy and good.

lucys1225

I eat the same breakfast (egg casserole with roasted vegetables, topped with shredded chicken, salsa and kimchi) and the same lunch (huge bowl of vegetable "Mexican" soup with chicken. I never get tired of either of them. The only thing that changes is dinner.

toxikon

I'm jealous! I get sick of food often. Sounds like you have a good system worked out. You could always just start taking a daily multivitamin just in case you're missing out on any important micronutrients.

fuzzylop72

I don't eat as much variety as I probably should either. It's always been this way, where I kind of eat the same things every day until I get sick of them. It's not the exact same, though, so I do get sufficient variety for micronutrient completeness.

kommodevaran

Variety is one of my "core values" when it comes to nutrition, but looking at your diary does NOT freak me out - so I'd say you have a great system there. Your basic foods - onion, mushrooms, tomato, green beans, plus the rotatation of proteins, and an occasional nut and cookie - are obviously diverse enough to provide a sufficient range of nutrients and flavors and textures, so you're able to effortlessly hit your allotted calories, day in, day out. Unless you're hiding something from us, you're getting an A+ for this. Please donate yourself to science

chornak05

I eat the same thing for breakfast every day (scrambled eggs with veggies, mixed berries and coffee), same thing for lunch (mixed green salad with veggies, crackers and cheese and a protein bar) and same thing for snack (yogurt and some type of fruit) every day. Dinner is always different. I almost always have Halo top for dessert. As long as you are getting a wide range of nutrients and can stick with it..I say do what works for you.

sllm1

Same thing every day here! It's easier to calculate and helps me stick to the plan.

iWishMyNameWasRebel

My coworker eats like you do, very successfully. I can't. I wish I could! I can do the exact same flavor/texture profile for about a week at most, and then I need to change things.

psychod787

I vary little, easier to track. I guess I am a creature of habit. The only think I tend to vary is my 15% "treat" food. I also view food as fuel now.

cwolfman13

My breakfast is usually more or less the same everyday...everything else is pretty varied. I get bored eating the same stuff, plus I'm kind of a foodie so I like trying different things.

mijaryer

When watching my food intake, I tend to eat the exactly same breakfast/lunch/dinner for 3-4 weeks at a time, and then switch to something else for the next few weeks. Again and again. Even when I'm not watching what I eat, its not uncommon that i find something I really like and stick with it awhile.

whosshe

I pretty much eat the same thing every day. I'm on a very tight budget so I tend to buy the same items because I know how long they will last/what I can make/calorie count. It has made losing weight so much easier I find. I'm not picky but I'm definitely not a foodie lol The only things that change now are junk foods. I love to try different things to see what food is worth my calories lol

psychod787

cwolfman13 wrote: »

My breakfast is usually more or less the same everyday...everything else is pretty varied. I get bored eating the same stuff, plus I'm kind of a foodie so I like trying different things.

I used to be a foodie. Now only once in a while now.

neillc57

kommodevaran wrote: »

and an occasional nut

Mmmm. You should look more closely. I have a meal called ballast. This is were I will often put foods before I eat them and leave the last things I eat to hit my macros. I love nuts so I am eating 4-5oz of those a day typically as a ballast item. That's actually a huge portion of my calories for the day.

cwolfman13

psychod787 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

My breakfast is usually more or less the same everyday...everything else is pretty varied. I get bored eating the same stuff, plus I'm kind of a foodie so I like trying different things.

I used to be a foodie. Now only once in a while now.

Why is that? Foodie food doesn't have to be high calorie...I cook a lot of awesomeness and most of it is totally reasonable calorie wise.

neillc57

Thanks everybody for your thoughts. So maybe not as strange as I thought it was.
The downside to the way I am is I will often continue to eat the same things for a long time then eventually try something different as an experiment and then wish I had tried it earlier. I am resistant to trying new stuff for a time because I like what I am already eating so much.
I do take a multi-vitamin 'just in case' each day. I figure I would eat a bit more variety if I wasn't on a fixed budget of calories and so it might be easy to miss something important.
Obviously I have seen newspaper reports of people who only eat fries and white bread for years on end and sometimes die. I am not like this in that I like a great deal of different foods.
I have found that keeping the weights of stuff the same each meal makes stuff easier and I will rarely have a problem hitting my macros. Some stuff like the six tomatoes I eat each day vary because they are not the same weight. Since I break up the mushrooms, green beans and chop the onions I measure out the exact quantities each time. I used to have a bit of a problem hitting my fiber macro before this and would use a supplement. Now I don't need to unless I change what I eat for some reason.

bbell1985

I've been eating 9 egg whites for lunch for 6 weeks straight. I can eat like 4 chicken hot dogs for dinner for weeks on end. No prob.

raindawg

I'm the same way. I eat pretty much the same breakfast and lunch every day and never get tired of it. Bananna for breakfast and a turkey or ham sandwich for lunch. Snacks are the same also, either yogurt, small bagel, or a roll. Dinner's vary though.......oh and can't forget my nightly cruzan rum cocktail that never varies.

psychod787

neillc57 wrote: »

Thanks everybody for your thoughts. So maybe not as strange as I thought it was.
The downside to the way I am is I will often continue to eat the same things for a long time then eventually try something different as an experiment and then wish I had tried it earlier. I am resistant to trying new stuff for a time because I like what I am already eating so much.
I do take a multi-vitamin 'just in case' each day. I figure I would eat a bit more variety if I wasn't on a fixed budget of calories and so it might be easy to miss something important.
Obviously I have seen newspaper reports of people who only eat fries and white bread for years on end and sometimes die. I am not like this in that I like a great deal of different foods.
I have found that keeping the weights of stuff the same each meal makes stuff easier and I will rarely have a problem hitting my macros. Some stuff like the six tomatoes I eat each day vary because they are not the same weight. Since I break up the mushrooms, green beans and chop the onions I measure out the exact quantities each time. I used to have a bit of a problem hitting my fiber macro before this and would use a supplement. Now I don't need to unless I change what I eat for some reason.

Well, think about it this way. Most people have a series of go to meals even when they don't count calories/Marcos. "It's taco tuesday!" Sound familiar? I actually believe for me it has more to do with less going "out" to eat. In retrospect, I now do not understand why the hell I would get dressed to go to some chain restaurant 3-4 times a week sometimes for, well.... sub par food. Now I can stay at home in my boxers and apron and make what I want. Lol

LivingtheLeanDream

I'm a creature of habit so yes, I too basically eat the same things each day/week.

Breakfast is eggs poached/scrambled/boiled with toast
Lunch is sandwich/salad/soup
Dinner is casseroles/curries/pasta/salad
Snacks good quality chocolate or spicy crisps

Lounmoun

I eat the same 3-4 things for breakfast and snacks pretty much every day. Lunch is somewhat limited too.
I eat a different dinner every day for a month but there are favorites that I have every month. I like to cook and I would get bored cooking the same food daily.

If you are happy with what you are doing and meeting your nutritional needs I don't see any issue.
You could maybe switch your menu every 3 months or have 1 day a week/month where you try something different if you'd like.

I have found with my family that they would be happy rotating through the same 15- 30 meals. It does not mean they do not like other foods. I think a lot of people in the world eat a limited menu particularly if they are eating mostly locally produced foods. Historically people didn't have as many choices as we now do.

RachelElser

I like a variety, however when I get a hankering for something I can eat it 7 days a week. My dad however, eats the same stuff every day. Why not? It's what he likes.