How often do you eat the same thing?

tocara

Hi everyone,

I am a newbee and am struggling with being consistent in logging and my trying to stay within my calorie goals (1400)
I think it is more just the planning aspect of it.
It takes a lot of time to plan out properly when everything is new to you.

A friend lent me loose 10lbs in 10 days. Although I am not going to do the 950 cal / day program, I did find it interesting that you eat the SAME THING for an entire week and then switch it up.

I thought doing that may actually be of some use to me.

Do you eat the same thing everyday? or slight variations of it?
How do you plan?

Any tips or suggestions would be great!

Thanks MFP
-Cara

Anna800

I pretty much eat the same thing for a week. The same breakfast, the same lunch, the same snacks, with a little variation. Makes meal planning easy.

gamacake

I tend to pack the same thing for lunch every day (which is generally around 200 calories and includes a lean meat and veggie) and have a variety of 4-6 different 30-150 calorie snacks throughout the day - I take the time after I go grocery shopping to portion control everything from Cheeze its to carrots. It seems to be working. For me it's portion control. Each week I change it up with something new so that I won't get bored eating chicken and spinach every day.
Good luck!

Koldnomore

Check my diary. Breakfast is always the same with very teeny variation. Lunch is also normally some form of salad with protein. The only things I change is dinner usually or on the weekends or the occasional day when I don't feel like packing lunch - though I normally pay for that because I go over calories

fit4lifeUcan2

I tend to eat the same thing every day for several days ONLY because I wan't to eat up what I have before going shopping again. I"ll make a big batch of grilled chicken and then eat that all week till its gone. I hate to cook so I cook once and then store it all in containers and just reheat it or cut it up and put it on a salad.

bsuew

Welcome! I do tend to eat the same thing often. My calorie goal is 1200. I've lost 41 lbs. 26 inches. Still a ways to go. I eat mostly protein. I have problems with my thyroid so have a harder time loosing. I seem to loose the most when following a low carb diet. During the week I eat bacon and eggs for breakfast 2-4 pieces of bacon and 1-2 eggs. That seems to hold me thru the morning until I got to lunch at 12:30 ish. Grilled, rotisserie or stewed chicken for lunch with veggies. Then for supper I change it up. Normally nothing fried. Some will find it very boreing eatting the same thing but, it works for me. My diary is open, friend me if you'd like. Have a great day!

dreamchaser12

I tend to eat the same things all the time. Have about 3 different breakfasts I switch around and if I have leftovers from dinner, I'll have that for lunch the next day. Snacks are typically the same as well. I switch up my dinners though. I find it easier for meal planning and grocery shopping. But do get bored from time to time.

atxdee

I have been eating sushi every wed lately not the best idea i know but can't help it.. And every Fri I eat fish of some sort, I try to avoid fish high in mercury though..

when I first started this journey, I had a meal plan.. ie.. Meatless Mondays, Soup Tue, Watever Wed, Turkey THursday, Fish Friday, Saturday Faturday, Sunday Funday.. I try to keep to it kinda makes it easy to buy groceries and know what im gonna eat for the week and not veer off track too much.. but thats just me.. I'm kinda weird that way.

Luciabella07

I eat a lot of the same foods, or variations of it. Cereal, Soups, salads, haddock or flounder, tuna sandwiches. In the morning I ususally dont have time to make a breakfast so I usually have about 5 different kinds of cereal and I switch between them. Where I work there are limited options around me for lunch so I end up with salads or soups. Sometimes I bring my lunch and that tends to be a tuna sandwich. I get home late so on weekdays I will make a veggie burger with some steamed veggies sometimes because they are quick. On weekends, when I have more time I will get flounder or haddock and make that with some brown rice and steamed veggies. I usually always carry different granola bars in my purse for snacks throughout the day.

neverstray

Over the years, I've been working hard on desensitizing myself from the pleasure of food and trying to treat it more like simple nutrition. Eating the same thing over and over can desensitze you. The thought of eating your next meal is not exciting, but you know you need it.

jdcoop79

Yep same thing everyday. For a while it was Oatmeal for breakfast, then egg beater egg sandwiches with one turkey sausage link, sauteed peppers and onion, 1/3 piece of american cheese and light bread. i recently switched it up to Special K Protein Plus. Lunches were chicken salad on light bread for a while, now I'm on ham on light bread...but I don't actually eat "lunch" all at once, I'll have the sandwich part around 11:30 and then small snacks all afternoon, just enough to keep me satisfied until dinner (which varies). I typically eat the same snacks too (4 honeywheat pretzels, 1 dove chocolate, light cheese stick, maybe a little yogurt).

peuglow

I pretty much eat the same thing for a week. The same breakfast, the same lunch, the same snacks, with a little variation. Makes meal planning easy.

This.
For instance, I made 5 lbs of chicken breast, some in the oven, some in the slow cooker. Different prep, same food.

emarose90

I eat pretty much the same meals Monday - Friday day times (when I'm at work!). I find it quite easy to just eat my breakfast and lunch at work with no temptations. My breakfasts generally consist of porridge, or fruits with yoghurt. Lunches are salad and a protein, or similar but in a wholemeal wrap or pitta bread. Snacks are fruit.

At home we eat a lot of simple meals such a meat/fish, small amount of boiled potatoes/cous cous for sides, and salad or steamed veggies.

Planning meals seems to help sticking to the 'diet'. It's when I have no idea wht I'm going to eat that I start thinking about a takeaway pizza...

Emma x

tocara

Planning meals seems to help sticking to the 'diet'. It's when I have no idea wht I'm going to eat that I start thinking about a takeaway pizza...

Emma x

That is me to a tee... if i start feeling overwhelmed because I am running a bit late, and have nothing 'planned' it usually ends up in some sort of unhealthy choice.

I am glad to see that a lot of people eat roughly the same thing. I am going to stop trying to be overly 'inventive' with my meal planning do a plan, grocery shop once (heck, maybe I might only have to cook once or twice too), and stick with it for a week. I can do this!

3foldchord

I tend to eat the same basics for awhile-- until I run out and go to the store and decide if I should buy the same thing or get something different.

It's more out of ease. And it keeps this part of my life from being too big a part of my life (in a way that becomes obsessive and eating then takes up all of my thoughts all day)

pamperedpenguin

I don't eat exactly the same thing everyday but I pretty much rotate the same several meals around.

Oatmeal or eggs - breakfast
Sandwich or soup - lunch
Chicken/veges or beef/veges - dinner

This way meal planning is easier (I tend to plan for several days out).

It does get boring sometimes but that's when I vary up stuff like veges or add a salad.

lynz4589

we stick to very similar food like most others above. I made a batch of chicken and veg soup at the weekend and theres enough to do the 2 of us for 5 days in a row, that covers lunch this week. Dinners are mainly chicken and veg and depending what way Ive prepared it (ie chicken stir fry, thai curry) then I would make leftovers for lunch the following day. I always try and do a few nights a week with beef instead of chicken to mix things up a bit. Although its boring you quicklly get used to the calorie intake and what you can and cant have and makes planning a bit easier.

skinnyitaliannn

I usually eat the same things everyday, I have no time for making everyday totally different. I do try to switch it up weekly though. The past two days I've been obsessed with my quinoa mac n cheese (which btw is SO much tastier than regular macaroni and cheese.. wtf!) Always eggs everyday, some form of oats, protein powder in shake form or pancake form

SyStEmPhReAk

My mon-fri meals are the same week to week. i alternate between chicken and tuna for lunch and dinner is different everynight, but i repeat the same mon-fri dinners week after week. makes it much easier to log in advance. I find if i have some variety during dinner it keeps things interesting. I could probaly do the same thing for lunch everyday, but alternating between tuna and chicken works for me.

lilpoindexter

I eat a ham and chicken (or turkey) sandwich pretty much eryday...on the weekend there is a local grilled chicken place that I eat from for lunch and dinner. At some point, I get bored, try different things until I find something else I like, and then eat that.

lizardcave

I tend to eat the same food for breakfast, have a few options for lunch, and then try to vary my dinner based on what is available in the store, what is going to spoil in the fridge at home, and how long I have at home in the evening before I start taxiing my kids around.

HealthyBodySickMind

I think most of us have meal staples. I eat eggs pretty much every day. It would be difficult to go through my diary and find two days in a row that I don't have "butter", also.

escloflowneCHANGED

I have the same breakfast and 10 am snack everyday because I can make it on Sunday for the whole week, makes my nights easier

TheSpicyMermaid

When I go shopping, I try my best to buy multiple things in small amounts. I want salad in my weekly lunches, but other than that I don't use a lot of lettuce, so I spend a little to get just a couple of prepackaged salads. Soups, lunch meats... I hate wasting so buying for the week is tricky if you don't want to eat the same thing every day. It's easy for me at work to ditch my boring lunch and get something still healthy, but tastier and more expensive. So lunch can't be too boring!! This is wprking out for me so far, but I really have to broaden my food horizons otherwise bad eating comes into play.

auroranflash

It's important (and cheaper) to have your go-to's, things you will most always have on hand which you can throw together and know how it will fit into your day. As you do this more and more, you will have a longer list of go-to's. Basically, any way you can set yourself up for success, do so, as this is a mental game more than anything.

The more you can plan, the better off you'll be.

McBully4

I plan my meals from the grocery sale ads

auroranflash

When I go shopping, I try my best to buy multiple things in small amounts. I want salad in my weekly lunches, but other than that I don't use a lot of lettuce, so I spend a little to get just a couple of prepackaged salads. Soups, lunch meats... I hate wasting so buying for the week is tricky if you don't want to eat the same thing every day. It's easy for me at work to ditch my boring lunch and get something still healthy, but tastier and more expensive. So lunch can't be too boring!! This is wprking out for me so far, but I really have to broaden my food horizons otherwise bad eating comes into play.

May I suggest switching to bagged baby spinach for the salads? I can usually incorporate spinach into dinner (pasta dishes, or stuffed chicken, etc) more easily than I can lettuce. You could use any other leftover veggies from the salads in dinner also - mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, etc etc, to make sure they don't go bad. It's a little more prep work, but could work out to be cheaper and tastier in the long run. Boil some eggs, they last about 5 days, and add to the salad for a little extra protein.

I love veggies, they help stretch out the serving and allow me to keep my meat and cheese with dinner without busting the calorie ceiling. :devil:

TorontoDiane

I have been eating soft tortillas and cheese and low cal sour cream and tomatoes and lettuce and beans and wholly salsa (mango flavour) constantly

I am not tired of it, it just seems to be my substitute for cookies or chocolate or something sweet..

amp187

I eat grilled chicken breast + steamed vegetables almost every day. If I feel like mixing it up I'll cook up a dish with shrimp or tilapia instead, though.

Natashaa1991

i was just thinking about this the other day. i often eat similar stuff! but luckily, i don't find it boring.

claire19625

pretty much the same thing, with some variations.