I found this article at WebMD a couple weeks ago, and have been pondering it since. Here's the link and a quote:

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/106/108326

I know I've heard a lot of you say you eat the same things over and over. I try to get variety in my diet to keep me interested, and to rotate in different trace nutrients in veggies and other foods. But in reality, I do tend to eat more or less the same things over and over, and when I eat something 'new' it tends to be something like chocolate cake, which I could live without from a maintenance perspective.

How much variety do you guys get in your diet as you maintain? Does same ol' same ol' help you stay on track or do you need new/different foods to keep you interested?

Anne

In terms of the foods I prepare for myself, it DOES tend to be the same-old same-old in a way. I don't eat exactly the same thing every day by a long shot, but I have kind of a pool of foods from which I choose day to day. The pool changes a bit over time, and with the seasons -- for example, when navel oranges are in season I'll eat a lot more of them than, say, apples. And in the summer I eat a lot of fresh local tomatoes, whereas I generally don't eat hothouse tomatoes at all. Etc. I live by myself, so for me that has a lot to do with it. But, with just me in the house, I simply can't buy a whole lot of different fresh foods without them going bad before I use them, and my freezer ain't very big. If I were cooking for a family, had a nice roomy freezer, etc., I'd incorporate a LOT more variety.

I DO eat lunch and dinner out at least once a week, so that's where I tend to get things outside the usual, but even then I have favorites -- i.e., I tend to eat sushi after my Saturday yoga class.

LOL...Mike Fumento has a section in his book Fat of the Land that is titled "Variety is the Spice of Overeating". I think he's totally right on for the most part.

I have what I call my 'staples' - foods that are a permanent part of my mental shopping list - what I basically 'live on'. Stuff like chicken breasts, oatmeal, frozen blueberries, lean steak such as London broil, apples, diet Coke, etc...then I liven things up with fruits and veggies in season. Right now that would be stuff like Bing cherries, strawberries, sweet corn on the cob (just picked that morning if possible, and purchased at the local Farmer's Market), watermelon, and so on.

It might sound boring, but what the heck - my CATS eat the same food EVERY DAY and I never hear them complain (except when their bowls are empty!).

Same ole, same ole keeps me on track. I don't even have to think about what I eat for breakfast, for example - I know that when I come back from cardio at 7:00 AM, I eat one whole egg, 4 egg whites, and oatmeal. It's a no-brainer and there's no room for slippage.

Just like Funniegrrl and Karen, I've got my staples list, though it tends to vary over time (like when I burn out on tuna for a few months). Right now it's grilled chicken, 95% lean ground beef burgers, grilled fish, lots of kinds of summer fruits, humungous salads, the aforementioned egg whites and oatmeal, protein shakes, green beans ... when I look at Fitday, my list of Recent Foods is usually the same 15 foods.

I've also read some interesting studies that say that we eat more when given a large variety of foods at one time - the 'buffet phenomenon'. It's like being stuffed from dinner but having room for dessert because it's a different taste.

Dull and simple works for me!

Yep, I've got staples and I stick to them... Like my breakfast rarely changes and when I do change it on weekends my day starts off on the wrong foot...

I'm the same way. I eat pretty much the same thing everyday. That way I don't have to really think about what I'm going to eat. It's easier for me to stay on track that way and I seem to have less cravings.

Mandy

I eat the same breakfast for 5 years now, except now I am using ff yogurt... It is cereal, ff yogurt and tea without sugar... When I bike to work I add 5-7 cashews. My lunches are huge plate of salad without dressing and Lean Cuisine or dinner leftovers... My dinners vary but not much, and often it is just a sandwich... I also noticed that when my weekend starts with different breakfast, I tend to have a wrong day. I even use the same snacks and I am sure that if I stick to those staples, I am fine.

Recently I noticed that I like fruits and can actually enjoy fruit instead of my favourite poppy seed pie, as my kids like pie so much and they are so skinny - so I buy only one fresh once a week and they mostly finish it.

So I totally agree that as long as we stick to our staples, we are safe.

On the other note I would like to add, that one of my doctors when I was a kid (did I tell you I was very severe asthmatic and spent 2 years in special facilities with purified mountain air to survive) always said that humans should only eat what is in season and rarely eat fruits and veggies which are brought from far away. Mind you, my favourite fruit is pine apple, but still, I was always skinny when child or teen, and I think it is because I always ate the same ole foods!

I eat pretty much from the same list of staples most of the time. Every once in a while, I find a new food that gets added (currently in love with fresh mango salsa) or I get really sick of one a drop it out for a while (tilapia ). Even when I eat out, unless it's a special occasion or a restaurant that is particularly known for a special dish, I'll stick to my staples. My one rule is that I NEVER order chicken in a restaurant I have waaay too much chicken at home to be bothered!

I do eat a varied menu, 'tho. I eat loads of different vegetables and pretty much consider them to be "free foods". I use a lot of different home made condiments to make the same foods taste and look different so that I can usually feed my family the same thing that I'm eating without them complaining about "diet food." Occaisionally, ds badgers me into ordering pizza and recently both he and my husband have complained they don't like the way they feel after eating it! What a surprise

Mel

I eat from a list of staples mostly, but I like to mix them up so that I have a daily variety. Like a bowl of cereal and a boiled egg one morning, or a scrambled egg, slice of bacon and wheat muffin or bagel the next, then yogurt, a friend egg, and tomato slices yet another morning. And like someone mentioned about the fruits in season. I'm really big on fruit and buy according to the season or my mood. I might really like oranges at one point and get tired of them and switch to grapes, or depending which is fresher at the time. Even eating from a group doesn't have to be boring. Take a piece of chicken for instance and think of how many ways one could cook it. Though I can't seem to get enough of roasted chicken. At least I latched onto a healthier alternative to my previous love for KFC fried chicken. LOL

i tend to stick to the same meals and snacks that i know the caloric intake for. i love them all so i am happy eating my regular 10-12 favorite meals. any variety i get may be a restaurant meal. but then i still stay with those meals i know totals for. i find this helps me maintain my weight. changing things up is fine i think as long as you are aware of what is in the food.

Hi Anne and all, Glad to see you are doing well. I used to think I ate a wide variety of things, but in reality, I dont. I look at, and consider buying different things, but when I hit the check-out, I seem to only buy the things I know I already really like. I eat the same bread -toasted in the same way, the same exact cheese, the same meat cuts, the same veggies. I know I can eat whatever I really want, but I do choose the same things over and over again. I dont feel as if I am in a rut at all because I really do love the things I eat. I do buy (and grow) a greater variety of good fruits and veggies in season.

In addition, I have always considered myself a 'serial eater'. I love to cook and still make large batches of things, then eat the same thing for lunch and dinner for days till its gone. And if I really liked it, I will cook another batch and do it all over again. I would guess there are about a dozen different main foods I prepare that I randomly rotate over the year, and once in awhile, something else does creep in for mild variety. There is no master plan.

Breakfast is always the same yummy thing daily. A fruit, hot tea, one egg plus one white cooked in token olive oil, placed on top the same well-aged cheddar cheese on a slice of the same whole grain bread dry oven-toasted. I've been eating that breakfast for many many months, and when I dont, the day just starts off on a bad foot somehow.

Jan