Everyday Systems

Just curious.

I don't, unless I just happen to be on " a kick". For example, a few weeks ago I had a fried bologna sandwich ( don't judge. Haha). I hadn't had one in forever, but it was so good I made one for about three days in a row. some people eat the same things routinely because it's convenient or they know it will keep them full until the next meal, but that's just not my style. I'm planning on trying out several new recipes for dinner this week, actually. What do you do, lizzie?

Hi Lizzie. For breakfast I normally do. As it's quick and easy. 2 boiled eggs, fruit and a crumpet with butter and jam. Other meals not so much as I cook a variety of food for the family and eat accordingly. A quarter of my meals have veg/ fruit with them. That's the only similarity for lunch/ dinner I have.

How about you Lizzie?

Hi, babybird!
I usually rotate the same two meals for breakfast and the same two for lunch. Dinner varies depending on what I cook for the family. I was just wondering if other people do this too.

no, my meals vary...

unless there are leftovers from previous meal or day...

my son's breakfast, though, tends to be the same variation of 2-3 meals...

My breakfast is almost always a fruit/yogurt smoothie. The other meals vary.

The macronutrient ratios tend to be routine except for breakfast, which can go anywhere from nearly all carb to low carb, but is usually my smallest volume meal of the day. I tend to like Indian and Middle Eastern food, so I use commercial sauces or spices to flavor the meal components and have those pretty often. But if I make a recipe, I usually store the leftovers so I can have it at a later date, not the same week. In the end, a lot things get repeated. Barry Sears, I think, said research shows people tend to eat the same 20 foods. If you want to lose, you have to either eat less of them or change them. I've opted for a combo, with leaning toward less of the old foods over time.

I batch cook on the weekends so I eat the same thing for most of the week but then have a completely different menu the next week.

I have "default" meals for lunch and breakfast (oatmeal and mestemacher black bread) but these defaults allow for a lot of variety (and default doesn't mean required, I do have something else a fair amount of the time). I've toyed with the idea of putting together mini cookbooks of the quick, delicious, reasonably healthy and quite filling variations you can make on the bare canvas of those two defaults.

I do not eat the same exact foods every day but my meals, esp lunch and dinner, tend to be built of the same building blocks every day. Breakfast is simpler so it may be very starchy one day or very unstarchy another or a combo. Or very small.

I don't eat the same meals every day, but i "repeat" a lot of meals.

Breakfast (Default): Cereals
Breakfast (Alternatives): Sandwiches,Eggs or Smoothies
Lunch (Default): Sandwiches or Oatmeal or Leftovers
Lunch (alternatives): Eating out
Dinner (Default): Whatever i'm willing to fix, sometimes it's just sandwiches, sometimes it's Microwave-Meal and other times it is a "real" Meal.
Dinner (Alternatives) : Eating out.

So, i eat a lot of sandwiches and heaps of cereals. Take that you low-carbers...

I don't eat the same thing everyday. I'm lucky to work for a Healthcare company that urges us to eat healthy, so the cafeteria downstairs has a variety of healthy things to eat on a daily basis.

But if I look at what I eat on a weekly basis, then yeah, it starts looking like the same things every week.

Imtigahwoeodz wrote:I trust this review of Proextender and don't eat the same thing everyday. I'm lucky to work for a Healthcare company that urges us to eat healthy, so the cafeteria downstairs has a variety of healthy things to eat on a daily basis.

But if I look at what I eat on a weekly basis, then yeah, it starts looking like the same things every week.

I do if I'm watching my calories because I'll create a diet plan and it's easier to just eat the same stuff every day. There's nothing wrong with it.

Overly wrote:I do if I'm watching my calories because I'll create a diet plan and it's easier to just eat the same stuff every day. There's nothing wrong with it.

Yes, a friend of mine does something similar:

https://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11253

Well, unless it leads to backlash. But if plain ol' Vanilla is your fallback position, you'll likely be ahead of the game.

I also have some 'default' meals - breakfast in particular is usually either porridge, or granola and fruit (something more fancy on the weekend if it's not a work-day and I have time). Otherwise, no, I like variety and although I have favourite recipes, I don't eat the same thing every day.

Having said that, since I've been doing No S, the power of food 'novelty' has weakened a lot. When I began, as soon as I'd eaten one meal I'd be hyper-aware of what I was looking forward to eating at the next meal. Now (about 20 months in) I just eat my meal, then forget about food until the next meal - most days I couldn't even tell you what I'm having for dinner - although I have it written down on my menu-planner! So - perhaps this will develop further into more repetitive meals - as I have less desire for novelty in my meals.

Lately I've been eating the same breakfast and lunch everyday (mostly). I've been doing this for about a month.

I have coffee and sometimes a piece of fruit (1/2 banana usually), for breakfast. I'm rarely hungry in the morning.

Then I have a small meat sandwich, with an apple and piece of cheese. Lots of water and tea. I like keeping my meals small and simple during the day while at work. Then I have a large dinner that changes every day.

germanherman wrote:I don't eat the same meals every day, but i "repeat" a lot of meals.

Breakfast (Default): Cereals
Breakfast (Alternatives): Sandwiches,Eggs or Smoothies i take phenq
Lunch (Default): Sandwiches or Oatmeal or Leftovers
Lunch (alternatives): Eating out
Dinner (Default): Whatever i'm willing to fix, sometimes it's just sandwiches, sometimes it's Microwave-Meal and other times it is a "real" Meal.
Dinner (Alternatives) : Eating out.


So, i eat a lot of sandwiches and heaps of cereals. Take that you low-carbers...

My diet plan is quite similar to yours except the sandwiches part

Breakfast--homemade muesli with berries, nuts and plain full-fat yogurt OR green smoothie. Green tea is a must; every so often I have coffee.

Lunch--hummus and tabouli with pita bread OR soup and bread with cheese OR PBJ sandwich with apple and yogurt OR huge salad with veggies, beans, avocado and vinaigrette. I have water or herbal tea.

Dinner--soup and salad OR sauteed veggies with quinoa and beans OR sauteed kale and butternut squash with an egg on top (etc.) Dinner is where I get creative. I have water or kombucha.

Nota bene: I'm 61 years old and quite active, but even I have had to adjust my portions as I've gotten older to avoid weight creepage. Also--no more alcohol. I like red wine and some hard spirits (single malt Scotch, and brandy) but the rebound effect just wasn't worth it.

Most of these sound so smart and un-junky that it makes me wonder what people were eating before No S. Was it basically the same but you were doing a lot of snacking and eating desserts? Or have these default meals evolved from more fast food or the like?

Breakfast: Rolled oat porridge every day, sometimes with sultanas, or a few nuts and seeds. If I don't make porridge, my son will cry.

Lunch: Usually a PB sandwich and fruit, or dinner left overs. Sometimes a tin of tuna with some salads.

Dinner: There is a pretty short list of meals that we like and both kids will eat, e.g. pasta with veg and meat sauce, eggs with "soldiers", veg frittata, tortillas with a veg/bean chilli and sour cream, lamb and barley soup, sausage on a bun with salad. Pretty dull, and about averagely healthy.

Has this evolved? Somewhat I guess, but most of my pre-No S issues were with junky snacks and sweets - lots of inter-meal toast and sugary stuff like biscuits or muffins.

With two little kids, both of whom are effectively vegetarian except for shaved ham, my cooking is relatively limited these days. I'm also pretty short on time and money, so not a lot of fancy stuff. Certainly no seafood or expensive steaks!

oolala53 wrote:Most of these sound so smart and un-junky that it makes me wonder what people were eating before No S. Was it basically the same but you were doing a lot of snacking and eating desserts? Or have these default meals evolved from more fast food or the like?

I've been vegetarian for a long, long time. However, earlier I was eating a lot more bread, pasta, and baked goods. Over time I realized that veggies are more nutrient-dense and way lower in calories. It took me so long to come to that realization because I was big into running in the 80s and 90s and it was all about carbo-loading, at least at that time. I was also younger and my metabolism was higher. Due to that, and my activity level, I could eat pretty much anything in any quantity and not gain weight. Menopause put a stop to that.

The big things I got from No S were cutting out snacking and seconds. That, plus moderating the amount of bread, pasta, and baked goods I eat, plus adding a lot more vegetables, allowed me eat well and not gain weight even post-menopause. Baked goods (muffins, bagels, cookies) and pasta are S Day treats, and I don't indulge all that often.

So you basically maintained your weight, which wasn't actually officially overweight? A gift and a feat in itself, but curious. And congrats for three years of No S-ing.

oolala53 wrote:So you basically maintained your weight, which wasn't actually officially overweight? A gift and a feat in itself, but curious. And congrats for three years of No S-ing.

Why "curious"?

I saw my weight creeping up during menopause, and even though it might not have seemed "overweight" to anyone else, I didn't like it. I don't own a scale; it was all about how my clothes were starting to fit, even with regular exercising. I wasn't going to accept the idea that weight gain was something natural "for women my age". I applied the No S concepts (especially no snacking and no seconds) and that took care of the "creep" quite painlessly.

I didn't phrase that well. In fact, I can't figure out what I was trying to say now! I was curious about something, not saying anything was curious.

I actually didn't expect to lose, having entered menopause myself before I started, but it happened anyway. I can't say it was painless, just a lot less painful than the alternatives!