I Eat Essentially the Same Foods Every Single Day

neillc57
neillc57 Posts: 86 Member
edited November 25 in Food and Nutrition
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 :smile: .
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Replies

  • Gretaholden1
    Gretaholden1 Posts: 18 Member
    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
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Do what makes you happy <3
  • Katiebear_81
    Katiebear_81 Posts: 719 Member
    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
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    If it works for you, keep with it
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    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
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    Those are 3 of my 4 favs. How do you cook them?
  • chase7612
    chase7612 Posts: 24 Member
    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
    neillc57 Posts: 86 Member
    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
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    Thanks! Sounds super easy and good.
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    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
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    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
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    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
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    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 :D
  • chornak05
    chornak05 Posts: 135 Member
    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
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Same thing every day here! It's easier to calculate and helps me stick to the plan.
  • iWishMyNameWasRebel
    iWishMyNameWasRebel Posts: 174 Member
    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
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    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
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    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
    mijaryer Posts: 4 Member
    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
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    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
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    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
    neillc57 Posts: 86 Member
    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
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    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
    neillc57 Posts: 86 Member
    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
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    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
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
    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
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    edited March 2018
    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
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    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
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    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
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    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.
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