Is your diet boring?

Boring food isn't a requirement.

I'm just lazy and generally don't care that much.

-does it taste alright?
-does it fit my calories?
-does it keep me satisfied for awhile?
-is it easy?

Hit all the above and I'm in. I do tend to go in phases though. I might eat basically the same thing for a certain meal or snack for months and then finally get worn out with it and switch to something else.

BTW, you can have basically the same thing and just make it a little different by using a different protein/seasoning/sauce/etc.

If you think about it, most people eat the same things and rotate them with the occasional different meal, be it on a diet or off a diet. You just feel it more when you are on a diet because you focus on food more when you are on a diet. Trying to eat out of character for you might also contribute to the boredom because many of your favorite foods are off the table.

I try to make effort not to let my diet veer too far from how I used to eat before. Of course modifications need to be made because my previous diet had too many calories which wouldn't work for weight loss, so I control that by altering the quantity or the frequency of higher calorie foods.

I totally understand what you mean when you say you look for recipes then just end up going back to the same dishes. I love trying new foods and recipes. I have tens of cookbooks and thousands of recipes and I don't mind cooking. After trying a couple of recipes I find myself going back to my good old routine of some kind of grain with some kind of vegetables or beans with sauce, the same old variations and flavors rotated, then I catch the recipe bug again and try a couple of other new recipes, repeat.

I don't think of it as boring, it's just how I always tend to eat. Realizing that, coupled with not changing my diet drastically, helped me stop trying too hard not to get bored. I just needed to relax and eat whatever I felt like eating, even if it was weetabix for dinner for the 6th day in a row. If it's what I want it's what I want, I don't need to bend over backwards and turn my diet into a pinterest board.

Some of the snacks can get repetitive, but each week I try to buy different things to keep my diet varied. There are thousands of fruits and vegetables and grains and legumes and nuts and herbs and spices offered at the grocery store, and there's millions of recipes out there, so healthy definitely doesn't have to be boring!

Follow as many healthy food blogs as possible, or sign up for meal plans. The Happy Herbivore does weekly meal plans that always vary, and Joe Cross (guy from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead) has free meal plans; Forks Over Knives always has recipes; etc. There are so many to follow out there. Another thing you could do is go to the produce section of the grocery store and try things you've never eaten before. Or pick a theme for the week, like Asian or Hispanic food, and find as many recipes as possible under that theme, so you can re-use similar bulk groceries but still have varying flavor profiles. Just a few seconds of research will reveal that cultural food is much more broad than traditionally thought! :P Or use Pinterest, it's my favorite resource! I can pin all the recipes I find to go back to. While there are a few favorites that the hubby and I occasionally repeat, and snacks sometimes are repeated, main meals are always different!

I definitely occasionally miss less healthy options, but those are just cravings which can easily be curbed with healthier alternatives (banana nice cream or smoothies in replacement of ice cream; popcorn lightly oiled/buttered and salted instead of chips/crackers/theater popcorn; peaches or nectarines heated in the microwave with cinnamon instead of pie/candy/sweets; baked potato in the microwave w/ organic ketchup instead of chips or fries; etc.). And "cheating" occasionally isn't a bad thing as long as you don't eat enough to make your stomach hurt. :P

In summary, if you find your diet boring, turn to the internet and healthy food blogs for inspiration!

I shop at Costco so I do tend to rotate a lot of the same foods - because I have a lot of it! I don't find it boring though. I enjoy what I eat. It can taste a little different with a few changes (spices, cheese, sauces).

My diet might be boring to others but I like to eat simply. Lots of grilled meat and raw veggies/fruits and eggs. Very easy to prepare.

bioklutz wrote: »

I shop at Costco so I do tend to rotate a lot of the same foods - because I have a lot of it! I don't find it boring though. I enjoy what I eat. It can taste a little different with a few changes (spices, cheese, sauces).

High five!

I don't think about it too much.. just eat what I eat. Basically the same just prepared differently. Far too lazy to spend a lot of time on prep lol

Is your diet boring?

Not at all. I eat a wider variety of food now than I did before I started with MFP.

When I started with MFP, I made the decision that I would eat only foods I liked ... I would not waste my calories on anything I didn't like.

I also explored markets and grocery stores and so on all over the place to find foods that I might like and would fit within my calorie limit ... and I discovered all sorts of options I hadn't noticed before.



And ... I tend to be more of a 'food is fuel' sort of person anyway, so as long as it is the right texture, and as long was what little bit of flavour I detect is OK, I'm good.

My 'food world' really opened up when I started getting into spices and herbs- game changer - even using teas as rubs. One can change the same food and change it into whatever your mood.

Oh and then there are salts too! There are so many kinds and are so amazing.

I have a couple of different friends who are both in amazing shape and spend a lot of time on their overall health but I see them eating the same things all the time.

I've read elsewhere that this is pretty common with maintainers. I do it too, generally, for the same reasons everybody else is saying: it's easier than variety and you've already figured out the stats.

So I have my standard, default food. I've gradually improved parts of it (ie:"iterated") over time as I get better at cooking or whatever, so I think it's really good at this point.

But if I were into cooking as a big hobby or something, I'd probably be bored with it. And then would put in the effort to mix it up more. But I'm not, so I don't.

I think the issue is less the caloric density of the food, and more a question of how much effort someone wants to put into finding and/or creating a wider variety of foods in their diet. You can just as easily have a "boring" diet if you eat the same high-calorie foods all the time.

You need to take the things you loved and make them healthier. For instance, I love pizza and burgers with a passion. Therefore, I make them at home. Pizza I use whole wheat 100 cal. flat bread with pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, fat free cheddar, diced onions and green peppers. I can have the whole pizza for a little over 200 calories and not feel guilty. The burgers I usually by the Butterball frozen turkey burger (seasoned is my fav) and couple it with a whole wheat bun or lettuce bun with mustard, fat free cheese, pickles. All this for less than 300 calories. If you love mash potatoes make cauliflower mash potatoes with cheese and bacon pieces. If the cauliflower isn't your thing mix it with a little instant potato flakes. Top it with spray butter and chives. Enjoy.