Can I eat the same thing every day for a semester?

Aside from it being rather unhealthy, there's nothing wrong with being a creature of habit and eating a repetitive diet. Only thing you probably want to change is to get more healthy choices in there.

Other than the chicken nuggets having a little protein, there's pretty much nothing of nutritional value there, both in terms of how much you're eating and what you're eating. You may maintain your weight, but it's likely you're going to feel tired and lousy from not getting enough vitamins and nutrients.

Eating the same things is fine, but in your case variety would be healthy. Try to get away from so much packaged food and get some whole foods into your diet (fruits, vegetables, lean protein, etc.).

And are you sure about the size of that coffee? Because that would be almost 2/3 of a gallon of coffee :noway:

Breakfast:

1. 1 low fat strawberry pop tart

Snack in between classes/keep me awake: 80z coffee with cream and Splenda

2. Lunch: Microwaveable Chefboyardee ( the ones that label themselves as Snacks but they fill me up too much to be considered snacks)

3. Perhaps another coffee if I have Lab ( 3 hour labs) or a test later.

I come home and usually do this:

a. Eating 1 cameo, maybe an oreo too and a 2 or 3 ritz.
b. Dinner: 5 Tyson nuggets ( the ones from costco) with maybe a mozarrella stick.
c. Night snack ( this is around 11pm) : half slice of bread ( Holsum), a handful of cereal ( Fruitty pebbles), and maybe a bite out of another poptart and a bit out of a Fiber one brownie. ( as you can see, I can never decide what to eat)

First of all, I would be starving if that's all I ate, and I remember I was even hungrier when I was your age...

Two suggestions in addition to what Apocalypz already said:

- Eggs are cheap almost everywhere and an easy way to add protein. I boil the entire carton after buying it so I can eat them as a snack or quick breakfast with no preparation.

- Don't know if it's widely available in Puerto Rico, but I love vegetable juice. It's cheap (especially if store-brand) and a glass provides all the vitamin C and a lot of the vitamin A you need. You can also dilute it and cook rice in it.

Check out a fresh market.

Eating the same thing every day isn't the issue, but your diet is pretty nutritionally deficient and I wouldn't recommend eating that way for very long. On the other hand, you're 18 and you can abuse your body right now and still bounce back.

But you should still aim to eat more fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. Try learning to cook something on a weekend that is easy to grab throughout the week as leftovers/pre-portioned servings.

Edit: Check out http://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/

What about overnight oats, yogurt, or instant oatmeal in the morning? Eggs are a cheap source of protein. You can make a fried egg sandwich or a breakfast burrito quite quickly in the morning. Wrapping it in foil makes it portable. I second the recommendation to cook larger meals and bring leftovers for lunch. It may be slightly more expensive, but are you able to buy 1-2 pieces of fruit at a time? That may cut back on your waste.

If you like pasta you could make a large batch of pasta primavera or veggie lasagna to eat as leftovers. Soups are easy and freeze well. Do you have a slow cooker? That's another way to make meals stretch. If you throw in the ingredients before class, dinner would be done when you get home.

I have done such numerous stunts for 4-6 month periods numerous times being a creature of habit or nutritional nazi, but mostly due to being broke, traveling, and crunched for time. The key is, the meal has got to be fairly balanced macronutrient wise and nutrient dense. Use a MVI too

Kale, cabbage, broccoli, olive oil, fresh liver, tuna fish, whole eggs, whey protein...all somewhat cheap and balanced

I can't believe this is enough for you to maintain your weight. Sounds like 1,000 calories.

I don't know why I am even posting in here, other than the 113 pound 5'6" girl who has purple fingers and is always cold if the temperature drops below 80. Bloating and abdominal pain are huge red flags, too. I figure she's on self-destruct, but then so was I at her age.


Lots of excuses, but then so had I.

Terrible diet, pretty much void of nutrition. It has to be affecting her ability to concentrate and learn during her classes.

I just hope she wises up before doing irreparable serious damage to her brain and organs.

Seems like it would get boring...I sure as **** couldn't do it.

I don't know why I am even posting in here, other than the 113 pound 5'6" girl who has purple fingers and is always cold if the temperature drops below 80. Bloating and abdominal pain are huge red flags, too. I figure she's on self-destruct, but then so was I at her age.


Lots of excuses, but then so had I.

Terrible diet, pretty much void of nutrition. It has to be affecting her ability to concentrate and learn during her classes.

I just hope she wises up before doing irreparable serious damage to her brain and organs.

^Yeah, agreed. There is something not right with this situation.


Ummm...just in case...just going to put this here: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/find-help-support

Hey guys. I've been inactive here for a looong time ever since I started college.

This has been (strictly) my diet for a long time:

Breakfast:

1. 1 low fat strawberry pop tart

Snack in between classes/keep me awake: 80z coffee with cream and Splenda

2. Lunch: Microwaveable Chefboyardee ( the ones that label themselves as Snacks but they fill me up too much to be considered snacks)

3. Perhaps another coffee if I have Lab ( 3 hour labs) or a test later.

I come home and usually do this:

a. Eating 1 cameo, maybe an oreo too and a 2 or 3 ritz.
b. Dinner: 5 Tyson nuggets ( the ones from costco) with maybe a mozarrella stick.
c. Night snack ( this is around 11pm) : half slice of bread ( Holsum), a handful of cereal ( Fruitty pebbles), and maybe a bite out of another poptart and a bit out of a Fiber one brownie. ( as you can see, I can never decide what to eat)


Stats: I've been maintaining weight for quite some times, with only slight variations depending on how stressed I am

Height: 5 foot 6
Weight: almost 50kg
Age: 18


I'm literally eating this every day...is this bad?

Yes it's bad. Obviously it's enough calories for you to be maintaining weight and hopefully not running to low on energy. However, everything you list is heavily processed and you make no mention of fruits and vegetables. Raw or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables are packed full of vitamins and minerals your body (everybody's body) needs to function at it's best and be properly healthy. Taking a multivitamin tablet will help, but your body absorbs vitamins and minerals more efficiently from natural foods than in the chemical form packed into a multivitamin. The heavily processed foods you list are generally high in sugar and sodium.

In the short term, you can eat like this with little impact because your body will find a way to compensate. Eating like this over a long period of time is unhealthy and will likely lead to health problems. There is no time like today to make some changes, add in a fresh salad now and then, drop the pop-tart and grab some yogurt and a piece of fruit (apple, banana, etc). Instead of chicken nuggets, cook up a small chicken breast or lean pork chop trimmed of fat. It doesn't take much time or skill in the kitchen to vastly expand your food choices.