Do you get stuck in food ruts?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Do you get stuck in food ruts?
7
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 12:43pm

Filling in my journal today I realized that I tend to get stuck in food ruts. I will eat the same thing for 2 or 3 meals a day for a week or two, then I will move on to something else and do the same thing. I was just wondering if this happens to anyone else? Do you think that this helps you stay OP or that does it lead to you falling off?

I know that for me, a lot of it has to do with necessity. I am generally the only one that eats a lot of the stuff I buy, so I have a lot of it. This week, for example, I bought a loaf of Wonder Light Bread and 2/3 lb turkey from the deli. I've been eating about 2 turkey sandwiches a day for three days now, and I have enough turkey for a couple more days, so I know that's what I'll be having probably until next week. Then it might be chicken pita pocket sandwiches for a week, etc.

In some ways it makes life easier, because it saves me money doing this (all the stuff for all the sandwiches cost me about $4-5), and it gives me automatic meals where I know the calorie counts. My "regular meals" all run about 200-225 calories. That means if I have two, or even 3 of them a day, I get plenty of calcium, plenty of protein, and even a good deal of fiber for 500-700 calories. Then I still have another 1000 calories to spend on whatever. I think that my "food ruts" are actually good for the most part, because I do get variety when I change every week or every other week, but I limit my offerings so that I'm not tempted to eat 2 turkey sandwiches AND 2 chicken pita pocket sandwiches AND other junk. Also, by having my "regular" cheap meals, I free up money to spend on high quality foods and snacks for my leftover calories, such as lean steak or mmmmm, my favorite, Lindor White Chocolate Truffles, which are about $3.00 for 3 servings.

I've read conflicting reports on whether variety is good for weight loss or not. A lot of things say that you should have a good variety of foods to keep you on track, but then they also say that if you have too many choices you are more likely to overeat. What do you guys think?


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-22-2005
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 1:01pm
I tend to eat the same foods Monday-Friday. This is due to my being the only one home during the week as my dh travels during the week. Weekends we do creative cooking and have more variety in our menu. But, since it is just me, I eat what I like and is easy to fix.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-23-2003
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 4:50pm

I think variety is a good thing, for several reasons...not only does variety help you from not getting bored, it also gives you a chance to meet your nutritional requirements...a good way to see if you're meeting your nutritional requirements is to keep a food log on fitday.com...it tells you the RDA of major and minor nutrients, what percentage of the RDA you ingested that day, etc.

    
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-26-2004
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 5:02pm

I absolutely need variety - if my husband didn't take leftovers for lunch the following day, they'd rot in my fridge because "I already had that". In a way it's good because it does keep me from picking at the leftovers, no matter how much I liked it the first time. And I really like to cook - I do a week's worth of meal planning before I make my shopping list. I'm not as weird about breakfast or lunch - like I'll happily eat the same cereal for breakfast 5 days in a row - but there's no way I'm having the same dinner over and over.

M.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 6:20pm

I also get into ruts but I try to freeze alot of stuff and thaw out single portions.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Thu, 08-18-2005 - 6:40pm
That's a good idea. I was wondering if anyone knows how long deli meats that are hermetically sealed can be kept, if they are frozen? A local grocery store has the Hillshire Farms lean deli meats on sell for $1 each, and they are 5-6oz packages, so that comees to only $3/lb, which is great, but I know I won't eat that many packs of it w/ in the next few weeks, so I was thinking of stocking up and freezing like 5-6 packs. What do you guys think? Do you think they would still be good in a couple of months??


 


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Registered: 01-05-2000
Fri, 08-19-2005 - 6:51am
Once frozen they should keep in your freezer for a long time. When you take them out you will eat them soon enough I'm sure. Keep them sealed good and you shouldn't have a problem. Stephanie
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-19-2005 - 1:26pm

I do! But then I don't have a choice with allergies.


I used to have a variety breakfast, but now that egg whites give me hives and dairy causes a problem as well, I have pretty well the same breakfast every day. Lunch depends a lot on how much energy I have but dinner is where I get real variety.


My doctor has warned me repeatedly to