Earlier this month, I ate the same thing every day for a week. And by I ate the same thing every day, I mean everything. Same breakfast, dinner, snacks…everything. I got this idea a little while back and I wanted to try it for a few reasons. I’ve heard of people doing this to try and regulate their metabolism. Likewise, I’ve seen people try it to make eating to their appetite easier. The idea behind that is that you’re less likely to overeat for the sake of enjoyment/ cravings if your diet is routine. I was curious to see whether any of this was true. Would I be more or less interested in food by the end of the week? How would my metabolism be impacted?
I ate the same thing every day for a week and this is what happened…
What I ate
This was a hard choice. Of course, I wanted to pick meals that I liked and wouldn’t get bored with, but I was also thinking about nutrition. We all know that not everyone gets 100% of every vitamin daily, but eating the same thing every day, I wanted to make sure I was getting at least 70% (ish) of everything. I know missing something for a week wouldn’t exactly kill me, but I wanted to make sure this was as healthy and balanced as possible.
In the end, I settled on berry oats with chia seeds, pistachios and almonds for breakfast. This gave me a serving of fruit, some healthy fats and my omega 3 for the day. Some days I saved the almonds to have as a snack later if I wanted a smaller breakfast. My other snacks included an apple, some other berries, and some protein crackers.
Dinner was this salad. It has a kale base, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, roasted chickpeas, toasted seeds, and some pesto. I chose this because it has a good mix of carbs, protein and fat so is a good one for keeping you satiated. However, as there are lots of components, it’s also easy to add a little extra of something or remove an ingredient depending on appetite.
What Do You Mean By The Same Thing?
So, just to clarify, I ate the same thing every day means the same meals/ foods, it doesn’t mean the exact same amount. If one day I had a larger appetite, I would eat more, but it had to be a larger portion of the same thing rather than an additional meal. Or if I wanted less, I could cut back, not have a snack or have a smaller serving.
How I felt
This was very interesting to me. As a food blogger, I spend a lot of time thinking about cooking/ meals/ recipe ideas and I thought that this week would make me think about food a lot less. For the first two days, I ended up thinking about food constantly.
As I planned my diet to try and keep it nutritionally balanced, it was constantly in the back of my mind that I really should be eating everything I’d planned for the day. I’ve spoken before about having a smaller appetite, so I found myself trying to schedule my next meal/ snack before I’d even finished the last one to make sure I was going to eat it. There was definitely nothing intuitive about how I was eating.
After the first couple of days, when things started to feel more routine, those feelings settled down. Days 3 and 4 were probably the easiest. I was thinking less about having to eat and I wasn’t too bored of my meals yet.
After that, understandably, I was getting bored. I rarely eat the same dinner meals twice in a month, and there I was eating the same one over and over again. As much as I love that salad, and would still enjoy it when I ate it, I really wanted the option of something else. 
I did this early July, and as I was getting increasingly bored, you were reading my strawberries and cream recipe series. I spent a long time coming up with those six recipe ideas for Wimbledon and I was excited to share them. And watching the comments roll in from people enjoying the series during that week of pure dietary boredom was bittersweet.
Did I notice any changes?
So, I didn’t get cravings. As much as I was getting bored, I wasn’t sat there craving anything in particular, I was just ready for something different. My diet was definitely routine. I don’t know if this really stops you overeating. I think my portions got slightly smaller as the week went on due to the boredom of not wanting the same salad again. On that basis, I guess the excitement theory was correct. As for my metabolism, nothing to note here. Part of me wondered if eating the same things at roughly the same times each day would mean that everything in my body would regulate accordingly. Digestion, sleeping patterns maybe? That was a firm no on all counts. No change in any department.
Overall
As much as my tone throughout this post has been more negative, I was very interested to see what would happen. If anything, I was a little disappointed about how little happened. And in case you hadn’t picked up on this already, I was bored. However, I create recipes, I cook a lot and I like to try new things. I think if you’re in a routine where you often repeat meals for the sake of convenience, this would be easier. And if anyone wanted to try this to test whether any of the theories in the introduction came true for them, it could be worth a shot.
Needless to say, I very much enjoyed myself the day after this ended.
P.S. I’ve had that salad since, we’re friends again now. It’s all good. This challenge was unsuccessful in ruining one of my favourite meals.
Have you ever tried anything like this? Are you at all surprised by my results?
Until next time,
Sophie
I would love to try this too. I’m always confused with what ingredients I need!
Marie
The Flower Duet
Wow very interesting! Yes, maybe you would notice more changes when you would do it for longer than I week I suppose, but I couldn’t do this for longer than two days probably haha
But I have to say I do eat the same breakfast everyday and only slightly change it up for each season.
Really cool experiment♥
xx
Selina | Selinas Inspiration
This was a super interesting read – I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as a foodie so I reckon I could do this really easily so glad your favourite salad wasn’t ruined by it!!
Ooh this sounds like a really interesting project! I’ve not actually heard of it regulating your metabolism but I see the logic- it’s good to know that it didn’t do much for you though so I don’t have to try it myself haha. I don’t know how you got through a week without cravings! I’m pretty much always craving junk food so I should definitely get that regulated better haha.
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
Wow I have a lot of respect for you for trying this! I would never be able to keep eating the same thing for a week. Even though there wasn’t much result other than boredom, at least you’re friends with the salad again!
Variety is the spice of life!
http://a-woman-of-a-certain-age.com/
I thought this was quite an interesting post! I’ve never really thought to do this before but it does sound like something good to try. I do think that I would definitely get bored of certain foods but it may help me to stop snacking! X
I give so much respect for people who can eat the same thing every day. I feel a bit too selfish for having to find something different. Your meals always look delicious! It is great that after a few days, things started feeling normal. I might need to look into this! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
wow i am pretty sure that i will get bored if i eat the same food in the next day but one week isn’t enough to get any noticeable result , you need at least one month .
Well done I don’t think I’d cope with that kind of food boredom x
I think I would get bored with eating the same thing over and over with no excitement and trying new things! At least you can say you have tried it and didn’t benefit from it! Thank you for sharing your experience xx
This was still a very interesting experiment to try! Personally, I love to eat a lot more than I like to cook, but I still like to occasionally try different recipes (otherwise, it’s trying a different restaurant). I think the only time I ever stuck loosely to the same things for a few weeks was when we were on a strict budget due to fewer finances coming in, and all that did was give me more motivation to find a better paying job!
I feel like I’ve accidentally tried this whilst being at uni! And if definitely does get boring – but at least you gave it a shot haha
Becky | Uptown Oracle
I have no idea how you actually managed to do this! I had the same lunch at work for too many days in a row and now I can’t ever face it again. I’m glad doing this hasn’t ruined the salad for you!
This is really interesting because I recently noticed that I’ve been eating the same thing for a while without even noticing. It wasn’t until I wanted the same thing today & realized. I really need to switch it up! Haha
This is a really interesting post, I eat things that are similar to each other anyway so I could probably do this easily haha (maybe), I don’t know if I could always eat the same thing as I do enjoy trying new things. But I’d love to be like you always cooking different things/creating recipes! Xx
Sophie | sophiemayj.wordpress.com
What a fascinating idea… did you notice anything in prep time or time saving?
Was it easier than a normal week?
A great test – and sometimes you learn more by what DOESN’T happen than what does…
Kudos to you for managing to eat the same food for a week! I would definitely need more options xD I’m glad to hear that despite it not showing much changes, there wasn’t any negatives to it either.
Eena ☼ cabin twenty-four
I think I can never do this for a week and never have the options. Mad respect for you.
https://sarahrizaga.blogspot.com/
This is a really interesting topic! I’m glad I stopped by your blog and found out about it
http://www.recklessdiary.ru
Haha, this is such an interesting challenge! I already eat the exact same thing for breakfast each day but I don’t know if I’d be able to do that for lunch and dinner. It’s a shame you didn’t notice much change. Still a really cool post though!
Wow this looks amazing! Thats cool that you ate the same thing for this challege. I couldn’t do it lol
xx- Nina
I’m not sure I’d have the willpower to stick to this but well done you! Such an interesting idea and at least you can say you gave it a go. I always enjoy your food posts like this xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Now that’s interesting. I even try to stop myself from eating the same meal per week, can’t imagine what it must have been like to do that for a whole week. I understand why one would get bored. Great article, and I am happy that the experiment didn’t ruin salad for you ♥
Wow, that’s amazing. The longest I’ve done was two days lol. I definitely would try doing this though to get more nutrition. According to the comment before mine, I eat the same breakfast every morning (most mornings)! That I can do lol. Your salads look tasty.♥️
This sounds like a really interesting experiment, I guess it’s for the best that it didn’t have any major health benefits though!
Such an interesting post, I never thought to eat the same meal everyday would curb cravings. My mother said my grandpa would eat bacon, scrambled eggs and toast everyday for breakfast and never got bored Personally, I’m like you, I enjoy eating different meals, just nice to switch it up. Great topic idea
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com/
Wow, props for being able to stick to that. I tried meal prepping before just for lunches and by day 2 I am bored!
I also would have been disappointed if I didn’t notice any real changes either. Oh well, it was still an interesting experience I bet!
Casey |
When I make food for work lunch, I make a big batch and i am good for the week but I definitely get bored with eating the same thing again and again
I haven’t ever tried it on purpose – it sounds like an interesting idea x
This is an intriguing premise though I’d definitely worry in case I scunnered myself of something!
Ashleigh | http://www.ashmosphere.com
This was such an interesting post! I definitely want to try this out to help get myself into a better routine with food. Thanks for sharing your experience! 🙂
melissakacar.blogspot.com
That is an interesting thing to try! I do eat pretty much the same thing every day except for dinner, so maybe I’ll try this out!
http://www.sundaydahlias.com
This was such an interesting read! I’d deffo get bored and put myself off that food forever haha! x
I think I’d really struggle with this! Although I eat the same breakfast every single day and sometimes a variation of the same lunch multiple times a week. But I’d definitely get bored if I KNEW I had to eat the same thing over and over again!
I have done the same thing in the past and it was not funny for me, haha. This salad looks delicious.
http://www.ninakobi.com
This is an interesting idea! I would definitely get bored as well, I think I could do it for a week though, but maybe not much longer than that. Although when I was younger and at school I would have the same lunch for a good few years and I don’t remember getting bored of it – but saying that, I’d still have a different dinner so maybe that helped. The salad does look great though, glad you’ve had it since and still love it!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
I would be very bored by this but I appreciate the ease of not having to think what to eat every day.
This was a really interesting post. I usually eat the same things for breakfast and lunch, but usually mix up my dinners. I’m not sure how I’d feel eating the same dinner everyday!
I’d actually freak out to have to eat the same meals every day. I get annoyed when I’ve had something the week before, haha. I would try it but, I know I’d be annoyed!!
I’m one of those people that eats the same things every day! I can’t imagine doing it on purpose though- I think the strictness would get to even me!
Imogen’s Typewriter. <3