I think most dieters, everyone really, settle into a relatively limited set of foods that they eat, especially in day to day life. Assuming the "go to" meals provide the right number of calories (depending on needs), have a good balance of macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), there's nothing wrong with eating the same things most of the time. In fact, if you're dieting, it can make life easier.
That being said, the assumption of balanced micronutrients, in particular, is often not met. Broccoli is a great source of some micronutrients, but not others. Shaking things up can make it easier to get these micronutrients over the course of a week.
And, obviously, some people have a higher tolerance for boredom in their meals than others. I assume you don't mind or even like eating the same things, day in and day out, otherwise you wouldn't ask.
As long as the foods you are sticking with are basically healthy and offer a decent mix of lean proteins, veggies, fruit without too much sodium and sugar you should be all set.
I find that if I mix it up I want to eat more - new foods get my taste buds excited, even if ultimately I don't like the new stuff as much as the boring old stuff. It's just the shock of the new makes me want more. So sticking with the routine makes it easier to stick with-in my calorie budget.
I tend to eat the same things for a while and then eat a bunch of different same things for another while. During the summer I eat lots of greens, during the winter, not so much. Not only aren't they as fresh and yummy but i also just don't crave them in the winter. So I try to listen to my body and work with what it is telling me I need. (unless my body is telling me I want "ring dings" because I know my body is just messing with me when it says things like that...)
Now that I am maintaining, I eat more variety, but when I was actively losing I would eat the exact same thing every day for months and months and months. I liked the routine. Thinking about food, making food choices, just gave me the opportunity to make bad choices, and even if I resisted temptation, that drained my willpower. Autopilot really helped me.
Routine is the dieter's friend. It is easy to modify routine and understand how much change you have introduced into your diet, when you're tailoring things around.
I read a lot of frustration on 3FC from people that encounter unexpected treats at social gatherings. It also helps to manage who you see, and when you see them.
I think it depends on how picky you are, and how long you are going to be on the same routine. If you really mean the exact same breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day until you reach goal weight, I think that's going to make a balanced diet very difficult, even if the day is fairly balanced. You can compensate a bit with vitamin, mineral, and micronutrient supplements, but the best diet for health is a varied diet.
A lot of people do diet differently than they intend to eat forever. It's definitely how I always dieted in the past (but it's also how I failed every diet in the past).
For me, "this time" I decided to learn how to eat forever. I don't intend on changing my food plan when I get to goal. That has always backfired in the past (I was always thinking, "I can't wait until this diet is over and I can eat more").
Eventually I always gave up. So this time, I decided to learn how to eat forever. I don't make any changes that I can't commit to forever.
That may not work for everyone, but it's working very well for me.
In the short term, an unbalanced diet probably isn't a big deal. It's the long term that matters.
But when you say "picky" do you mean there are entire food groups you will not eat, or can you find a few things to eat in almost every color of fruit and vegetable. Several different kinds of protein and fat...
If you're "I only eat chicken, pizza, apples and green beans" picky, that's a lot different than if you have a lot of foods you like in addition to the ones you don't.
Even though I eat tons of variety, I use an exchange plan, so I can have the same meal every day without having the same food every day
For example, if lunch is
3 protein exchanges
1 bread/starch exchange
2 vegetable exchanges
2 fat exchanges
1 fruit exchange
I can eat that same formula every day without eating the same food every day. I can also try new foods and plug them into the same formula.
I'm not saying you have to do that, just that you have to balance the need for routine/pickiness and the need for variety.
I think a doctor (or better yet a dietitian) would have better input on whether your specific daily plan is too restrictive or not.
Is it okay to eat the same meals everyday?
