By: Kennedy Shelley
When I first started tracking my eating using an app called Fat Secret, I noticed something: I’m kind of a boring eater.
Every morning I eat the same thing. It made tracking easier, but I wondered if it was good for me in the long run.
It turns out that this may be an unheralded way to lose or maintain your weight.
Why have we not heard of it? Well it’s boring. You just can’t sell many books called “Just Eat What You Are Eating Every Day, and You Will Be Fine”. How do you make a book of the same six recipes and repeat them day after day?
But it’s not a bad thing.
1 – It saves time
People who consistently eat the same thing don’t have to poke around at the supermarket. They know what they need each week.
And they don’t need to spend time looking for new things to cook.
And they don’t need to print out instructions to prepare their food. All this is done by rote memory.
As I used to tell my kids, “the foundation of all learning is repetition.” Or in other words, “if you want to learn something, repeat it.”
Our eating behavior gets grooved in, and then we don’t have to think about it.
2 – No meal planning
Once you figure out what your body needs and if you like the taste and it doesn’t make you sluggish, why would you mess with it?
When you find what works, stick with it as long as you enjoy it.
Planning takes time and thought. It is inherently stressful, so why do it if you don’t have to?
3 – Cut down on temptation
One of the problems with grocery shopping is we usually do it when we are rushed and hungry, two bad things when it comes to making good decisions.
If you are eating the same thing all the time, your mind is on autopilot. You are not hunting for new things at the store.
The end result is fewer temptations to try something that will throw you off your diet.
Personally, I’m glad I don’t have to go down the ice cream and cookie aisles at the grocery store.
4 – You pay attention to your body
How many times have you finished off a carton of ice cream, package of cookies or a bag of chips and wondered, “why did I do that?” Well, the first reason is because it was available.
We often will not get dressed and go to the store to eat impulsively. We only do it when it is easily available.
So, eating the same stuff all the time limits the availability of our impulse comfort foods.
5 – Storage is easier
You don’t need to store a wide variety of ingredients when you eat the same things.
You only need the stuff for your relatively simple menu, and you know what to pick up at the store.
And leftovers get used the next day because it’s just a continuation of what you ate the day before.
6 – Limited choices
You will eat less if your only option is more of what you just had. Variety and novelty lead to eating more than you need or planned.
One of the reasons we tend to overeat at Thanksgiving is “we just have to try Aunt Martha’s pasta.”
Having many choices tends to make us want to graze longer over food.
7 – Cuts down on stress
If you want to pack on the pounds, put yourself in a state of constant stress.
Being a little predictable and boring can cut down on stress.
What do you do? Are you stressing that you are too predictable with what you eat? Share your comments and thoughts below.
