I eat the same food every week! (and like it)

Soopatt
Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have found myself in a pretty firm food choice pattern, with very few exceptions. Limiting my choices seems to help me stick to calories and I am losing nicely. I used to try to get maximum variety but the result was feeling stimulated to eat more by too much choice. I wondered if others feel too much choice helps or hinders them?

I eat one of two breakfast options: option A - mini English breakfast (bacon, egg, sausage). Option B - Egg McMuffin and oats. Coffee without sugar with both.

Most days I skip lunch. On 4 days a week (as I am doing IF) I have satisfying portions of Pizza (Tuesday), Crispy Duck, sweet pork & dumplings (Thursday), Curry with the trimmings and caramel popcorn for dessert (Saturday) and Buffalo Wings (Sunday).
(I describe the above to show what I mean by eating the same food and not for critique on the food choices- my macros are just fine, thanks)

When I have a less predictable week, it leads to going over and I am never bored when I follow this basic formula which includes all my favorite foods.
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Replies

  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    Me too. If it weren't for my husband, I'd eat the same thing every day and love it. I'm a creature of habit, that's for sure.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    I pretty much eat the same breakfast and lunch every day. Dinner varies. It works for me.

    Same with me- my breakfast and lunches rarely change and if they do, it is minor tweaks. Dinner is where I get my variation.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited June 2017
    "Too much" means "too much". Enough is also enough. If you don't get bored, you get enough variety. It's about perception, I guess. For me, a wide variety of great tasting, home cooked (by me, lol) food, is not something I get an urge to overeat. But it may look like very little variety to others - it's basically a weekly themed rotation of 10-15 meals with variations, made primarily from simple whole food ingredients, balanced, moderate portions, and not elaborate. I also need predicability, and I get that by planning my meals.

    Socalled hyperpalatable foods (I'm getting more and more inclined to calling them hyperengineered foods, because the taste isn't that amazing, it's the anticipation), is difficult for me to moderate. So I take care to not bring home anything that's more stress than fun. But I can feel overwhelmed by choice even in the produce section. Limiting choices is important. Decision fatigue is a real thing. A good shopping list (as an integrated part of my meal plan) helps a lot. But I still have to be a little strict sometimes, and it can be hard to leave something behind, that I know I can't incorporate in my meal plan. It always feels better, when I get home with just what I wanted and not the whole shop.
  • Tazzie0208
    Tazzie0208 Posts: 66 Member
    Nothing wrong with eating the same thing everyday.. but I love welcoming changes often as well. Open mindness...i call it. :)
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    I'm starting to get there myself. I'm lazy and it's easier to log.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I have eaten a hot dog salad almost every night for like 4 weeks straight. If it works it works.

    I tried this the other night and I thought of you. That ish was good af.
  • leanitup123
    leanitup123 Posts: 489 Member
    I've followed the same eating routine the past 5+ years. Of course some days I am flexible, I love the structure.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    edited June 2017
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I have eaten a hot dog salad almost every night for like 4 weeks straight. If it works it works.

    I tried this the other night and I thought of you. That ish was good af.

    YES FINALLY!!! I've been pushing so hard lmao.

    You made my day.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    May I ask what hot dog salad is? I am not familiar with that...
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Penthesilea514 wrote: »
    May I ask what hot dog salad is? I am not familiar with that...

    For mine, I put cut up hotdogs, mustard, ketchup and caramelized onions over a huge bed of spinach and mixed greens. The volume is filling af and low calories... yummy macros.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    So do I and I prefer it. I eat the same for breakfast, almost the same thing for lunch, but dinner varies. It's easier and saves me time.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    ditto - I found that I'm ok with eating variations on the same thing (different amounts depending on macros) day in and day out - I don't need huge variety. Previously when I tried to diet or go with a certain eating style - I got sucked into complex recipes that I really didn't need
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Penthesilea514 wrote: »
    May I ask what hot dog salad is? I am not familiar with that...

    For mine, I put cut up hotdogs, mustard, ketchup and caramelized onions over a huge bed of spinach and mixed greens. The volume is filling af and low calories... yummy macros.

    That sounds pretty good, actually (minus ketchup for me). I was not thinking salad as in greens but salad as in like pasta salad or egg salad and I was not sure that sounded very good lol. That makes more sense.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    I eat the same thing every day for breakfast right now (cheese, strawberries, protein bar, coffee with cream or milk). Sometimes on the weekend I live dangerously and get Tim Hortons oatmeal, hashbrown & coffee for breakfast. Although maybe not this weekend since the local Timmys tried to burn down earlier this week and is closed for repairs.

    Lunch on weekdays is always cheese, bell pepper, cucumber, protein and some kind of salad (today it was hard boiled eggs and a Costco southwest salad that I can't find the calories for anywhere).

    Dinner varies in that we don't eat the same thing every Tuesday, but most of our meals are one of about 15 regular things.
  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
    My breakfasts, lunches, and snacks don't have a ton of variety during the week, though sometimes I switch it up on weekends (or skip them). I "have" to have variety for dinner though- otherwise I get bored and end up either eating out or getting take-out/delivery. If I plan to do that (eat out, etc.), I can do okay but if I intend to make dinner but decide not to at the last minute because I can't stand the thought of chicken yet again, I don't make great choices and end up over-eating. Part of the problem is I don't like leftovers (which is something I'm trying to not be so weird about because cooking every day is a PITA).
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    I eat the same breakfast and lunch almost every day, and rotate through a handful of snacks and dinners most weekdays, depending on what macros I need. I don't like cooking and having to play macro Tetris causes me a lot of stress, so having some standard meals helps reduce my food-related anxiety a lot.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    I eat the same thing pretty much every day it's my night snack I usually switch up
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    Yay! I am not weird or alone! Thanks everyone!

    I feel secure and happy eating the same things and it eliminates logging stress.

    My plan is to change a few things and tweek my weekly plan (want to add more veggies) but it will only happen very slowly over time.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    I'm glad you found what works for you. :)

    With that said, if I had to eat the same thing every week I'm pretty sure I'd kill myself to put myself out of my misery.

    I do meal plan on Sundays though and I stick to my meal plans. If I've planned to have x for breakfast then I'm going to have x for breakfast.

    On the weekends I tend to eat whatever because I sleep in so at most I eat twice, sometimes only one real meal on weekends, and I've been being very active lately on weekends too so it's rare I even get close to going over on the weekend so I'm not as militant or worried about it.
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
    When I lived with my parents several months ago, every day/week it was the same *kitten* thing. It's helped keep their own weight and health in check, and while a part of me wishes I were the same, if you try to make me eat another freakin' ground turkey patty, I will throw it back in your face.

    OP it at least looks like you mix it up each day, and everything sounds delicious! I am more on the side of "variety is the spice of life"! Keep doing you.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I usually use the weekends to try new recipes or have things I don't normally have during the work week. I'm not coming home to home make a pizza on a day I commuted an hour and have to train in 2 but Saturdays and Sundays are my creativity days... the rest are predictable (protein/veg/carb x cals) and fast through the week.
  • SeikoMonster
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
    Ive had the exact same meal since January. At night I add chicken. In the morning I add some cheese.
    But its 14 oz of boiled potatoes (nothing added) every single meal. Done in the waffle iron, they taste better than french frys. Some ketchup and hot sauce Im good to go.

    120 pounds lost since January.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    SeikoMonster wrote: »
    Ive had the exact same meal since January. At night I add chicken. In the morning I add some cheese.
    But its 14 oz of boiled potatoes (nothing added) every single meal. Done in the waffle iron, they taste better than french frys. Some ketchup and hot sauce Im good to go.

    120 pounds lost since January.

    Wait, since January you haven't had anything but potatoes, chicken, cheese, ketchup, and hot sauce?
  • grinning_chick
    grinning_chick Posts: 765 Member
    I "batch cook" a recipe with 4 (will double)-6 servings. And I grocery shop either once a week or once every two weeks if I'm feeling particularly organized/eating stuff that can be frozen and reheated for week 2. So I eat the same thing, for each meal, for a week at a time. Done it my entire life.

    It comes in handy these days as once I have a menu entered that meets my needs, I don't have to worry for the rest of the week what I am eating and/or figuring out recipe macros. As long as I stick to the menu, I know I'm good.
  • SeikoMonster
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »

    Wait, since January you haven't had anything but potatoes, chicken, cheese, ketchup, and hot sauce?

    Essentially yes. I also have some bran flakes, dry, as a daily snack. Once in a while I will have salsa instead of ketchup. Rarely Ill toss some minced garlic into the potatoes.

    Once a month I allow a "cheat meal" of a chick fil a sandwich but only adds in 100 calories above my 1400 daily goal. One day this year I had 2 chicken tacos instead of the chick fil a.

    Im full every day and look forward to every meal. I get not everyone could do it, but it is working for me. I get into trouble with having too many options.

  • Losinandmovin
    Losinandmovin Posts: 188 Member
    What in the world is a hot dog salad?? :)
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I have eaten a hot dog salad almost every night for like 4 weeks straight. If it works it works.

    I tried this the other night and I thought of you. That ish was good af.

  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
    I so wish I could do this. My husband does this for breakfast and lunch and I envy how easy it is for him. The longest I can go is about a week with the same thing over and over before I am going nuts. I hope one day I can get there. :)

    I guess I just need a lot of variety, but I hate it. I would love to keep it simple.

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