Hey guys, I realized through trial and error that I am more successful when I eat the same foods every day. I briefly read a “powerliftingtowin” article that said that it isn’t so ideal. Ben Pollack says that he eats the same thing every day and it works for him. If any of you guys have experience with this let me know if it affects your training, recovery, and all. If it more beneficial or not? Thank you!
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I’m sure others will chime in, but happy to offer my input. Bodybuilding prep is all about eating the same things every day. Even in the off season, my meals may vary slightly but for the most part are the same every day with the exception of a family event or something like that. Eating this way has a lot of benefits especially if you’re more successful in a consistent routine
I think where some people go wrong is not getting enough variety throughout the day and covering all nutritional bases. So, if you’re eating the same foods every day, then make sure to get enough variety of fat, protein and carb sources, and realize some things can be switched out easily. Get lots of veggies, heart healthy fats, and quality carbs. Here’s my current meal plan along with some substitution samples.
Breakfast
1 or 2 whole eggs with some egg whites
Veggies
Ezekiel toast with an apple or hot Ezekiel cereal with frozen berries and crushed raw mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts and pistachios)
OR
I might sub out the egg and egg whites for whey protein and almond butter in the hot Ezekiel cereal. Pretty similar macros but allows for variety
MEAL 2
-homemade tuna or chicken salad
-Ezekiel English muffin
-sunflower seeds on the salad
Preworkout
-Finibars and protein milk
OR
-rolled oats with almond butter, whey and frozen berries
Dinner
-meat (chicken breast, chicken thigh, ground chicken or turkey, sirloin, pork roast, etc.)
-veggies
-rice/quinoa/sweet potato
Pre bed
-cottage cheese with whey and Ezekiel cereal
So, you can see I have a variety of fat sources, including egg yolks, mixed nuts and nut butter, sunflower seeds, and animal fat in the meat. Also the fish oil from Flameout as well as cooking with olive oil. Sometimes I’ll also throw some flax seed in with my shakes or cottage cheese. Variety of carbs like Ezekiel products, veggies, fruits like apples, mixed berries or frozen pineapple and mango, oats, rice, sweet potato, quinoa and Finibars. Protein from eggs, whey, and meat.
I also use Superfood every morning.
SO, if eating similar foods every day works for you, to for it. Just make sure you’ve built enough variety in your plan and are able to rotate carb, fat and protein sources as needed.
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I eat the same stuff almost every day. I just do different recipes/variations with them.
You literally answered your own question.
And yeah, eating the same thing every day works for the same reason Steve Jobs and Einstein wore the same outfits every day. It’s one less distraction, one less thing to think about, and it makes the process more automated which improves efficiency and compliancy.
Even sticking to the same template and swapping out the details is better than free wheeling everything.
I’ve been doing well with…
Breakfast: Coffee with stevia or Spike energy drink, eggs with vegetables, piece of fruit. On training days, add rice or toast or bagel
Dinner: Meat, vegetable, carb source.
Before bed: Mag-10 protein drink
The less stray from that outline, the better I look and feel.
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If you are more consistent eating the same thing every day then you would be foolish to not do it. With that being said eat the same thing every day but, make sure you are smart about it. I eat the same thing pretty much every day but each of my meals have different sources. I don’t just eat plan chicken breast, broccoli, and rice 6 times a day.
Eggs, chicken, beef, fish, liver, whey, oats, rice, beans, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, pineapple, banana, blue berries, spinach, green beans, kale, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil and tomato juice.
Pretty much is my entire diet. It’s same meals, same time of the day, but I have pretty much a very well thought out and easy to prep and eat meals.
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I say sticking to a template is easier then sticking to an exact meal plan. That’s what I do. My usual day looks like:
Breakfast - protein, fat, fruits
Lunch - protein, fats, loads of veggies
Dinner - protein, fat, carbs, loads of veggies
Snack - some fruit with nuts
This seems to work well for me and I end up in my 2500-3000 calorie range for food depending on the portions.
What everyone else has said.
I eat the same things largely each day in a week but every sunday morning when I food shop I mix it up in turns of the meat, veggies and fruit I buy so that I don’t get stuck in a rut
I have 3 recipes to choose from
700g/1.5lb of bolognese mince - with 8 eggs kinda poached in the mix and 3 large jacket potates
or
6 chicken thighs with 1kg/2lb of mash (made with the fat run off of the chicken and butter and eggs)
Or
6 chicken thighs with 400g of rice (weighted before cooking) slow cooked.
I eat this for Breakfast at 5:30 pre lunch at 10:00 and lunch at 14:00.
After this I have a massive dinner. I estimate never less than 1200 cals and 50g or protien. And then 6 eggs on 2 toast before bed if I’m hungry. If I’m not hungry I’ll just have 4 eggs on 1 toast.