Could you eat the same meal everyday?

Leo_King84 wrote: »

Before I cut out bread and marge I would have scrambled egg on toast every morning, for years.

Now I'm doing carnivore diet I've found that 1 box of mince, 4 eggs and a bit of cheese, twice a day, then split 3:2 with my dog is perfect for both our calorie needs and it's cheap... so I'll be eating like this, twice a day for the foreseeable.

I do have a chicken day and steak day once a week but ultimately I've found my main meal.

Can you eat the same meal over and over if it's efficient?

Whether you can and whether you *should* are 2 different questions. Can you? Of course, nobody's going to stop you. And you are perfectly able to eat however you like. Should you? No. The health consequences of limiting yourself to only egg, mince, and cheese will catch up to you.

I eat a sandwich for lunch almost every day. Never tried the exact same dinner all week, but could probably do a burrito bowl every night and just switch out the protein.

I do cook the same 4/5 meals every week, at home. It streamlines grocery shopping and saves time. I'll usually switch out a few every season.

Also, eating at a restaurant once or twice per week, which adds a little variety.

lisakatz2 wrote: »

I eat the same foods everyday: plain oatmeal, low fat plain Greek yogurt, turkey burgers, natural almonds, avocado, etc. The only things I really rotate are type of fruit and veggie and the main dish for dinner but even then, I have a stock list of things I rotate (salmon, pork chop, roast chicken, etc.) I never get tired of the same foods.

ETA: hit reply on the wrong comment... sorry Lisa.

If you're literally only eating 3 food items you won't get them the variety of nutrients you need.

Leo_King84 wrote: »

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

lisakatz2 wrote: »

I eat the same foods everyday: plain oatmeal, low fat plain Greek yogurt, turkey burgers, natural almonds, avocado, etc. The only things I really rotate are type of fruit and veggie and the main dish for dinner but even then, I have a stock list of things I rotate (salmon, pork chop, roast chicken, etc.) I never get tired of the same foods.

ETA: hit reply on the wrong comment... sorry Lisa.

If you're literally only eating 3 food items you won't get them the variety of nutrients you need.

@sollyn23l2

I add innards to 2 of those meals.

Good. That does improve it. I still wouldn't recommend it, but I'm a big believer that we can all choose how we eat. And if it works for you, brilliant.

Almost every work day I have the same breakfast of 3 weetbix.

I desperately, desperately wish I could. I would give a lot to dump meal planning and preparation drudgery. Except giving up variety, apparently.

Here's how I think about questions like this:

Humans have evolved in a context where most diets were somewhat varied, whether seasonally or daily variation or something in between.

I've been alive long enough to see many, many nutrients scientifically identified as essential or beneficial to thriving that were not known to be so earlier in my life. I doubt that such discoveries are over. Microbiome research, in particular, seems likely to bring some things to light.

To me, those things alone make eating varied foods a bet-hedge for good health. I think most people do have certain patterns on repeat. To me, it seems like if those are multi-food (like people who eat certain foods every day, varying others; or those who eat the same thing for a week or two, then vary), that should be reasonable.

Eating the exact same very few foods every single day for indefinitely long time periods? That wouldn't be something I'd consider a good bet.

Just my opinion, though; and I'm just some random idiot on the internet, not any kind of credentialed expert.

Can a person eat the same meals over and over?

Many people who have dietary restrictions or food sensitivities do.

It’s actually a very common autistic thing. Not that every autistic person repeats meals, but in the autistic community there’s a phrase for this: Same Foods
And it can be a dietary emergency for some people if a key “same food” changes formulation.

Fed is best.
Multivitamins might be necessary for some to ensure they’re getting the bare minimum of daily nutrients.

Now, is the question whether it’s best to have a variety of foods in your diet?
Sure. Adventurous eaters definitely are more likely to get key micronutrients.

But again. Fed is best.

Log your foods. Pay attention to what nutrients you might be lacking.
Supplement as needed.
And, as always, consult a registered dietitian for any medically complex dietary issues.

I would have a hard time doing that, but obviously you don't.

My personal worry about that plan would be that you are probably not getting the vitamins, minerals, fiber and nutrients in a way that your body can absorb. (I am assuming you are supplementing). There is some evidence that we evolved to eat such a variety so that encounter a wide variety of nutrients throughout the day, week, month, and over long-term periods of time to optimize our body’s functions. If your goal is weight loss, studies have shown people offered a variety of foods tend to lose more weight than those who do not.

However, you may have a plan to get all your nutrients in a really balanced way through other sources and it is hard to say what works for most will always apply to one individual. One of the challenges of discussing diet is that the same thing that works for me doesn't apply to others.