One of the more exciting things about food is the many ingredients to try and enjoy. But that can also make it challenging to figure out what to have at any given moment, causing stress when it’s time to eat.
This anxiety over making food choices has led to a new trend of people eating the same thing daily. TikTok is packed with testimonials from users who swear by meal uniformity, whether that means sticking to a specific lunch or cycling through the same menu daily. “I’m trying to create a habit,” content creator Bishoi Kella shared in one TikTok. “I’m trying to put this on autopilot. I don’t want to think about what meals I’m going to be eating.”
Fellow TikToker Aubree Malick, who said she eats the same lunch every day, revealed in a video that she looks “forward to the fact that I don’t have to make that decision when it’s 12 o’clock in the middle of the day and I’m working from home, and I’m hungry.”
Repeatedly making the same food choices isn’t exactly a new concept in popular culture: Victoria Beckham, for example, has eaten the same meal every day for more than two decades, according to her husband. Barefoot Contessa star Ina Garten also previously told People that she’s been eating the same breakfast every day for a decade.
But do health professionals recommend this, or is there a downside to sticking with the same meals every day? Here’s what you need to know about this trend.
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There are a range of reasons why people might abide by the same menu daily, ranging from being on a tight budget to not having enough time and energy to think up a variety of meals, Laura Bishop-Simo, RD, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Health. “Sometimes it’s just plain easier,” she added.
For some, sticking with the same menu can be tied to weight loss plans. “Some people who are trying to lose weight find that eating the same thing every day makes calorie counting easier because they know exactly what to eat each and every day to stay in a certain calorie limit,” Deborah Cohen, DCN, an associate professor in the department of clinical and preventive nutrition sciences at Rutgers University School of Health Professions, told Health.
But having the same daily foods can also stem from psychological issues around food, including textural sensitives, food-related fears, and even disordered eating, Rebecca Boswell, PhD, supervising psychologist at the Princeton Center for Eating Disorders at Princeton House Behavioral Health, told Health. (More on that in a moment.)
Eating the same thing every day may be easier, but nutritionists say it’s not necessarily healthier. “Eating the same thing every day may not be the best for the gut microbiome,” Cohen said. “The bacteria in our gut like a diversity of foods and nutrients for a healthy balance.”
Sticking with the same meal plan can also raise the odds you’ll miss out on certain essential nutrients, Bishop-Simo said. “Different foods contain different nutrients, and eating the same foods every day increases the risk of your body not receiving what it needs,” she said. That raises the odds of developing nutrient deficiencies and health issues like anemia, osteoporosis, and more, depending on your diet.
Even if the foods you’re choosing to eat daily are filled with minerals and vitamins, eating them over and over again wouldn’t provide enough nutrient diversity, Cohen pointed out. “There is no one perfect ‘superfood,’” she said. “Some foods are very nutrient-dense and contain a lot of phytochemicals and antioxidants, and some do not. But even those who eat the healthiest of diets may not necessarily consume all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and phytochemicals for good health on a daily basis.”
Eating a variety of foods “is one way to ensure you have an optimal intake of nutrients,” Cohen said, adding, “It is very difficult to consume a diet that has 100% of all nutrients every single day.”
Eating the same thing every day can not only feel monotonous, but it can also be a sign of an underlying mental health issue, Gail Saltz, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at the NY Presbyterian Hospital and Weill-Cornell Medical College and host of the How Can I Help? podcast, told Health.
Repeatedly choosing identical meals can be “a symptom of disordered eating, which is not the same thing as an eating disorder,” she said. “Disordered eating is often problematic psychologically,” she said, adding that disordered eating can also expand and become an actual eating disorder.
“It often causes stress in needing to follow an exact pattern, and this prevents the person from numerous things, such as joining normal social events to eat because they would need to break their rules,” Saltz said. People can also become consumed with the ritual of eating the same thing daily and even feel guilty if they don’t stick with the parameters they’ve set.
That doesn’t mean you’re destined for an eating disorder if you prefer to stick with the same meal or meals daily. Cohen points out that some people find this easier while juggling a busy schedule. But Boswell said it’s important to look for signs that this habit has become unhealthy, like feeling stressed, scared, or fearful of foods outside your usual diet.
“When we think about signs of eating disorders, we often look at how flexible people are in those behaviors and how fearful they are of straying away from those,” she said. “It’s more about our relationship with food.”
Ideally, dietitians and mental health professionals would prefer you mix your diet up, even if that means sticking with the same meal for a week and then trying something new the following week. But they also recognize that convenience is important, especially if you have a busy schedule.
For people struggling to maintain a varied, healthy diet, Bishop-Simo recommends menu planning. “Take one day during the week and plan ahead what meals you would like,” she said. Then, shop for the ingredients so there is no last-minute stress around whether you have what you need to cook.”
If your schedule makes that difficult, she suggests picking one meal a day where you can mix things up. “If you don’t have time to cook for yourself other than dinner, make that the meal with the most variety,” she said. You can even swap in a new vegetable or switch up your protein source so that you’re still sticking within your general parameters but have more variety, Bishop-Simo added.
But if you eat the same thing every day and you feel like you get a solid mix of nutrients, Cohen said it’s okay to keep doing just that—for now. “It’s not the worst thing in the world to eat the same thing every day, as long as what is eaten is relatively healthy,” she said. Just try to add a little variety in the future when you can.
