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Still having trouble with diet? Try eating the same thing every day!
Nutrition | December 06, 2015
First off, it’s important to say that I don’t mean this literally. If you ate the exact same foods every day for the rest of your life it would be likely that you’d miss some important nutrients. Nutrient deficiency can lead to illness, diseases, and poor body functionality. And I would never want that for you! I want every one of you to feel your very best every single day. SO. Don’t eat the same thing every day for the rest of your life, ok?
What I’m talking about is eating the same meals every day for one week. Each week you can switch up parts or all of your meal plan. This can insure that you avoid missing out on important vitamins, minerals, and nutrients and can help you enjoy the the fabulous variety of foods that your locality has to offer.
So, why the heck would you want to eat the same thing every day? Sounds boring, right?
Exactly.
For many people, it can be really hard to stick to a healthful diet, especially during the holiday season. Eating the same foods every day for a week at a time can be a good plan to eliminate veering too far off course. Eating the same foods over and over again causes something called habituation. Habituation means that as you get used to something, you get more and more bored by it. In relation to food, it’s been proven in a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that the faster people habituate to a certain kind of food or meal, the less people actually eat of it. This particular 2011 study found that by the end of a week of eating the same meal of macaroni and cheese, most of the test subjects were eating a full 100 calories less at each sitting because they were, well, bored of it by then!
Now, I can’t imagine ever getting bored of mac ‘n cheese, haha! But making a meal plan and repeating it for 7 days has other benefits besides helping you to eat less at each sitting.
1. Shopping: If you only need a few ingredients, shopping can be a snap. Just make sure to get enough to make up all your meals and you’re done.
2. Planning: Once you decide what you’d like to make for your meals, you’re done planning. You don’t have think about what you should make or pack, because it’s already all mapped out. This also makes it more likely that you’ll stick to your diet. It can be exhausting to decide what to eat. That alone can make you reach for an easy bag of chips or carton of ice cream.
If you think the habituation plan sounds like a good strategy for you, it’s really important to make sure your meal plan includes plenty of fresh veggies, some fruits (try to make sure they’re low on the glycemic index), proteins, healthy fats, and good carbs (which you should try and eat after a workout). I call them Superfoods! Here’s a link to some information on what kinds of foods I think are best to fill each of those categories and why. For your meal plan, I have a ton of great recipes to pick from. Here’s what a sample day/week might look like:
Breakfast: Coffee with Butter and Coconut Milk OR Ham, Egg, and Cheese Cupcake
Do your Z Gym Workout(s): Have you tried my newest Black Diamond WO? So fun!
Lunch and Post-Workout Meal: Apple Quinoa Salad OR Spiced Carrot Cake Smoothie
Snack: Celery and Grapefruit Salad
Dinner: Tuna Nicoise Egg Salad
Dessert: Sugar Free Mocha Ice Cream
If you have trouble staying on track with your diet, give this meal plan a whirl. I’d love to hear which meals were your favorites and if you ended up eating less at each sitting because of boredom. Was the habituation plan TOO boring? Let me know!
xoxo
Private Member |
curitiba, parana, brazil
Hi Zu…I mostly eat same thing every day…not exactly same food or vegetable, but same type. Mostly every day I will drink that warm water with lemon, honey and coconut oil on empty stomach early morning (except Sat and Sun). For breakfast I eat tapioca ou american pancake or gluten free bread with sweet peanut butter (sometimes with cream cheese) and one portion of fruits-mostly papaya and banana, but sometimes mango and pear also. Post workout sometimes I have a protein bar and a banana, or a shake with vegan proteins. For lunch I eat a protein soup (made with green, pinto or black beans, green peas, lentils, mung beans, red lentils, chickpeas etc) with some vegetable steamed inside it and sesame seeds. Afternoon snack I eat an apple with low carb granola, a piece of cake gluten free or a muffin. For dinner I have eggs with salad or a grains soup if I did not eat them for lunch. I try do not eat eggs daily but every other day and I try to alternate between eating protein soup, vegetables and eggs but I never eat grains and eggs on same meal. It is same but not same…not boring at all. Since one year I am following this diet and I had amazing results, specially with my abs. Thanks for posting some vegetarian recipes, I am enjoying it…see you and take care.
Private Member |
Very good article!!
Thanks zu!!
I eat the same breakfast almost every day and my boyfriend always wonders why I don’t get bored of it. Well, oatmeal with fresh fruits is simply the best 🙂
Private Member |
I agree with this. Sometimes it’s too hard to think of anything. And when you think about it, you usually eat the same meals anyway. When people go on a diet and found out how much food they can’t eat, they freak out, but honestly, how often do you eat this food anyway. Like sushi – once a month, once a two months? Well, then I go and eat it even when I’m on “a diet”, because it’s one in a while. I think just the word “diet” means something bad for people, they just need to change their thinking about it and be happy and enjoy it.
Private Member |
I work 4 days a week 3 twelve hour shifts and 1 eight hour shift all overnights. I pack the same meals for these 4 work days all measured out. My husband thinks I am crazy for doing this but it keeps me consistent and these are all foods that I enjoy/look forward to each meal. It saves alot of time and money doing this.
All I have to worry about is my 3 day weekend which I find is more difficult to keep in check with more opportunities for unhealthy options or over eating since food is usually more spontaneous.
Private Member |
I do the same. Healthy meals all day long for the week. so easy and if it tastes good, go for it! warm lemon water w/ cayienne when I first wake up. protein shake after my zgym wo. right now I’m eating soup bc it’s cold outside. chicken, white bean chili w/ zucchini, onions & mushrooms for lunch and sometimes dinner this week. usually a green apple with freshly ground almond butter as a snack and a little bit of dark chocolate ea day. tons of water and herbal tea. easy, quick and convenient. I always keep fresh carrots and other vege’s for on the go and almonds. another go to dinner is baked vege’s in coconut oil, sea salt, pepper and turmeric with protein. usually chicken or fish. sometimes eggs. Thanks for all your nutrition info and your food journal. love love love!
Private Member |
santa cruz, ca
Yeah, I just keep it simple like this post suggests. Those of us in developed countries forget what a luxury it is to even have the ability to make a different dish each meal. I think it’s unecessary, and actually more expensive. I just choose the vegetables I want to eat that week (in my CSA box), the protein source, and other ingredients for a meal I have in mind. I make a larger quantity of that meal, usually with separate side of rice/lentil or rice/split pea or just rice, and I make my own bone broths that I use to cook everything (this is a key!) . I eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, literally, maybe doing something slightly different for breakfast until I finish it all. I save money this way because I never end up wasting anything, I only buy what I eat, and I snack less and hardly buy anything packaged/prepared. Sometimes for breakfast I’ll take the leftovers and stuff a poblano pepper and bake it with extra coconut oil or something. But honestly, I’m so busy that I don’t have time to care about fancy food anyway. I just want good nutrition. I have other priorities greater than to think about It’s pretty stressful being in grad school, so eating the same delicious simple food for each meal for two days is better on my digestive tract, too. I don’t even really buy snack foods or any of those fillers that people think they need, except for the occasional black sesame crackers or something. I always take my superfoods, like my Vitamineral Green, mineral/soil, herbal tinctures, mushroom mix, probiotics each day. A lot of those snack foods are too drying anyway. I definitely stay fit and don’t have to even bother with this thing someone invented called the “calorie”. What is that anyway? 😉