How Eating The Same Thing Every Day, Helps You Lose Weight
Can you eat the same thing day after day, week after week?
When I was a kid, I resisted breakfast. I simply didn’t want to eat it, and in fact I didn’t want to eat lunch either. Often (when I could get away with it) the first food I ate in a day was when I got home from school at between 3 and 4 PM. I would eat the sandwich, raw veggies, apple and cookie I was supposed to have eaten for lunch! Forty years later I discovered that I was “naturally,” following what today is called Intermittent Fasting.
I was lucky to be able to do this. Both my mother and father worked. My mother left for work at about 6:30 AM which was when I was rousted out of bed. My father pretty well never paid attention to us kids … so if he asked if I’d had my breakfast, I would smile, say nothing, and that would be that.
The weekends were a problem. When my Mom insisted, I would always eat the same thing. A slice of toast topped with a healthy layer of peanut butter and some of my grandmother’s home made jam or jelly. It was pretty well the ONLY breakfast food I could force down my throat.
I noticed my parents both had the exact same breakfast, day after day, month after month, year after year. It never varied. I never even thought to question it because I did the same thing!
My Dad, worked not too far from home and would come home for lunch. He made himself the same lunch every day. A piece of buttered bread and a bowl of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. Every now and again he’d switch to Campbell’s Vegetable Soup for a week or two and then back to Tomato.
We’re talking decades. Both my Mom and Dad were slim and trim. Neither of them did any kind of exercise. My Mom’s idea of exercise was to change into her bathing suit and lie in the sun for an hour or so.
Do YOU eat the same thing every day? Do you know anyone who does?
The reason I am bringing this up is to tell you in advance that people can and DO eat this way! They don’t get bored, they don’t think it is weird.
Here’s the weight loss part of it.
No matter what diet (eating plan) you are on … eating the same thing every day can help you achieve your weight loss goals more quickly, or help you from adding pounds as you age and your metabolism slows down.
One diet that actually encourages eating the same foods daily is the SLOW CARB DIET promoted by Tim Ferriss — in his book The Four Hour Body.
In a nutshell, the Slow Carb Diet is a low-carb eating plan in which you eat paleo style, low-carb meals for 6 days a week and then have a binge day during which you can indulge your cravings … yep indulge in ice cream, chocolate, fruit, potato chips and more. Six days ON, one day OFF.
One of the things that Ferriss advocates is … ta da
Eating the same thing every day.
He specifically mentions breakfast and lunch. But in one of his articles he also suggests eating the same dinner every day for a week and then, if you want to, switching to another meal in the following week.
Now what Ferriss doesn’t tell you is WHY.
Here’s WHY eating the same meals day after day can help you lose weight:
1. There is virtually NO meal planning. For example if you have the same smoothie every morning, you obviously already know what you will eat. No hauling out your recipe books, no deciding that on Monday you will have bacon and eggs, on Tuesday you will have a green smoothie. NO worrying about how you will balance your Keto meal so you have the proper ratio of protein, carbs and fat. No counting carbs or calories to make sure you are sticking to your plan.
It’s already decided. So is your weekly or monthly grocery shopping.
Ditto with lunch.
And while you do have to spend a bit of time planning your dinner meal, it is only once a week!
2. Grocery shopping is a cinch. You already know which grocery aisles to cruse down, No wandering around getting tempted by all the bad stuff in the snacks aisle. Buying a pack of 6 chicken breasts that will last the week is way easier (and faster) than buying chicken and pork and fish and tofu.
The bottom line of all of this … your meals are already decided. There is no thinking, there is just eating.
It is much easier to STAY ON YOUR DIET if you come home knowing that you will have a chicken breast and a Caesar salad vs coming home and not knowing what to eat. It is the “not knowing” that leads to stopping at a convenience store and coming home with a bag of chips or a vat of ice cream.
3. The third reason and possibly the most important reason that eating the same thing helps lose weight is because when your choices are limited, you will pay more attention to your body signals. After the first few days, you won’t want MORE. You won’t want a second helping, because you don’t NEED a second helping. You will naturally start eating less.
Research studies have shown that when people have a large selection of food to choose from they eat more … often much much more.
Think of a buffet or a pot luck dinner, or a huge Thanksgiving dinner spread. There is ALL that great looking food. You want to, you MUST try some of it … all of it. You want to try all those wonderful tastes and textures. You must refill your plate with that fabulous casserole that Auntie Tina made, oh and you forgot to try …
Contrast that with a dinner table that has two choices — a green salad and grilled chicken breasts. There is a lot of food and yes you can refill your plate as many times as you want … but it is the same two things. You eat less.
4. You will encounter less stress and less stress helps you lose weight. I remember in the past deciding to go on a new diet. I would read the “book,” go into a state of angst over what I would eat, read recipes, get stressed by the fact that I hadn’t even started and I was freaking STARVING. Does that sound familiar?
When you know you will eat the same thing for at least a week (and maybe way longer) it takes away all the stress. No recipes to search through, no weird foods to find, no grocery shopping nightmares. It just becomes easy!
One question I am constantly asked is …
Don’t You Get Bored?
Actually, NOT!
I follow an intermittent fasting, modified Keto diet. For the past six months, the first meal of my day (between 3 PM and 5 PM) is salad of shredded Kale, thinly sliced Brussels Sprouts, thinly sliced cabbage and broccoli slaw. I add a few ounces of stir fried chicken breast chunks to the top and pour a tangy home made olive oil dressing over top. If you are familiar with Costco’s Kale salad … it is similar to that without the cranberries and their sugar filled dressing.
I make enough of the salad to last for 3–4 days and package it in zip lock bags. Then I stir fry enough chicken chunks to last for 3–4 days and store in containers in the refrigerator.
My meal prep time consists of taking out a container of stir-fried chicken and putting it into the microwave for 30 seconds (enough to get it to room temperature). As the micro is waving I dump a bag of salad into a big bowl and toss it with some dressing. When the chicken is ready I arrange it over top the salad and … dinner’s ready. Less than a minute and a half and I can eat!
I have been eating this salad (with slight variations) for well over six months and have yet to get bored. I love it, simply love it!
What are the variations? Purple cabbage instead of green cabbage. Chopped up broccoli instead of broccoli slaw. Add an ounce of grated cheese (different kinds) for a bit of a flavor mix up. Stir fry the chicken with coarsely minced garlic. Stir fry the chicken in butter or ghee instead of olive oil. Toss chilli powder onto the chicken or into the salad dressing.
Go Ahead And Try Eating The Same Meal(s) For A Month.
Decide on recipes that fit into your eating plan (Keto, Paleo, Low-Carb, Slow Carb), recipes you really LIKE.
Purchase ingredients for a week.
On a Saturday or Sunday, make enough of the recipe for 3 or 4 days. Pack into zip lock bags or containers. Repeat the process on Tue or Wed.
Eat the same thing every day for a month and you WILL see the difference.
At the end of the month, ask yourself how you feel? Do you feel less stressed? Have you lost some weight, or stopped gaining weight? If it is working and you are OK with it … just rinse and repeat!
Simplifying your diet can be the way to less stress, a beautiful body and better health!
Melanie Rockett has been a freelance writer for over 40 years. About 15 years ago she was diagnosed with Diabetes — and began a long journey of discovery. Today she lives a sugar-free life and has lost 120 pounds.
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