People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day • Hacker News Board

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#91

Post by wahern » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:04 PM UTC

leesec wrote: post #69

Mirioron wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know that you're getting enough of all the different micronutrients? Humans can eat a deficient diet for a long time and not notice serious side effects, so I'm wondering if you have some kind of good way of figuring out whether the different micronutrient quotas are fulfilled properly.

How does anyone? I have plenty of coworkers who eat fast food for every lunch and not much better or more diverse for dinner. Certainly they are not getting all the different micronutrients?

Fast food often uses fortified ingredients. Perhaps the most common is fortified flour. Some chains use iodized salt. Preservatives like ascorbic acid or vitamin E effectively provide fortification.

Other than a lack of fiber and ease of consuming too many calories, one could do much worse than fast food--McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc. I think it's easier to get it wrong using a so-called whole foods diet. The ingredient diversity of fast foods makes it more fail-safe, particularly if you're disposed to repetitively eating the same kinds of foods.

I mean, obviously you can't subsist on french fries, but if the issue is laziness, lack of time, access to good groceries, or lack of money, it can make sense. It's difficult to beat a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger for dietary money-value!

Granted, the removal of trans fats has helped. And note that I'm not arguing a whole foods diet can't be better. I'm not recommending a fast food diet ;) But we sometimes underestimate the effort involved in following a good diet and discount the benefits of a good-enough diet.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#92

Post by 0xbadcafebee » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

munificent wrote: post #78

When my daughter was born during the recession, my wife and I went through a stretch where money was pretty tight. One obvious expense to cut was eating out for lunch every weekday. So I switched to bringing in lunch. For several months, I brought the same thing: granola, yogurt, and chopped melon. I love food and love variety, so I was really surprised to discover that I simply didn't get tired of it or resentful. E…

As an aside, I save ~$1300 a year by bringing in lunch, and ~$550 per year in breakfast, in addition to controlling portions and nutrition. If I had been doing that for the past 10 years I could buy a new car by now, or put a pretty decent chunk into retirement. I now find it absolutely bizarre how many people at work go out for lunch.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#93

Post by TACIXAT » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

Like the person mentioned in the story with food allergies, I eat the same meal everyday for the same reason. I found a restaurant that will take care of cross contamination, and foods that don't make me feel sick. I'm going to milk this opportunity for as long as I can. I eat 3 beef patties, 2 chicken patties, and fries. For dessert I have some greasy corn tortilla chips. On the weekends I cook steak, brazilian cheese bread (Brazi Bites), and some broccoli.

The alternative is going from restaurant to restaurant, hoping they know about food allergies and take prep seriously, scrutinizing ingredients, then still ending up sick a few times a month. I'll happily take monotony for gains in health.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#94

Post by SketchySeaBeast » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:06 PM UTC

blue4 wrote: post #29

ozzyman700 wrote: post #25

I have 5 bottles of soylent a day, I absolutely love it and don't see myself stopping. I dislike preparing, eating, and cleaning up so I just avoid it. Every month I get a shipment of soylent and that is all my food related chores done for the month once I bring the boxes up to my room.

Sounds like some of my own work, I hypothesized that the body doesn’t need food itself, merely the chemicals and elements it contains. So, what if I consumed only the raw ingredients the body uses for energy? Soylent was the obvious choice because our bodies do not need food.

You're still consuming food - Soylent is food.

There is no magic "food" quality that is granted to chemicals, at the end of the day you need your macro and micro nutrients and that's it. As it stands we're also well adapted for finding and consuming nutrition, so we've evolved means of enjoying consuming those chemicals in certain ratios.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#95

Post by ChuckMcM » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:07 PM UTC

I'm one of those people who can eat the same PB&J sandwhich every day for lunch and be fine with it. My wife on the other hand really goes crazy if she doesn't get enough variety.

I can't think of an evolutionary advantage of desiring variety, it seems (although I don't know if there is any studies to the effect that it is true) typical that various fauna have a 'typical' diet that they forage for and rarely vary. Even omnivores who are able to forage on a non-seasonally variable food stock.

From an economics point of view, as a single eater, having a limited variability, allows bulk purchases to take advantage of the economics of scale and reduces landfill waste (fewer containers overall).

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#96

Post by DanDeh » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:08 PM UTC

jimhefferon wrote: post #35

One of the enjoyable things about surfing is when you find there are other people like you. Almost every day since the mid-80's, I have what I call a Tarnower lunch: half a can of pineapple chunks, half a can of mandarin oranges, a dollop of cottage cheese and a few walnut pieces, along with a small bran muffin. Tastes fine, not too bad nutritionally, and no congnitive overhead.

... Throw it all in a blender with a can of Albecore tuna, some Vanilla flavored Soy milk and you got yourself decent breakfast or even a pre-workout drink!

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#97

Post by kylek » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:09 PM UTC

For the last month or so, my lunch/dinners have mostly been quinoa+bone broth+eggs and either fruit or a salad. Fairly bland, sure. I've never felt better. And when I do go out and "splurge", it really feels like a treat. I find that I'm incredibly sensitive to sugar/salt/caffeine now (I cut out coffee for green tea months ago).

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#98

Post by RobertRoberts » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:10 PM UTC

I lived on the streets for a time as a teen. When I got off and had my first real place to live, I couldn't afford much. I had potatoes, butter (was like heaven) soy sauce and mustard. So that was my dinner for months.

My co-workers thought I was crazy when I microwaved a potato and put soy sauce and mustard on it. I simply didn't have anything else.

Later I got pickles and cheese (the greatest thing I had ever had up till then). But I was so grateful for having something the thought of feel anything negative about it didn't even cross my mind. I couldn't afford snacks, so that was my meal, my only food for hours before and after.

I think so many "problems" society has today is because we are all a bunch of rich snobs. And I have to remind myself to remember how grateful I was when I was really poor. I never want to lose that gratitude, it's protection against all kinds of mental/emotional problems.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#99

Post by seansmccullough » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:13 PM UTC

apo wrote: post #22

Article doesn't mention it, but I suspect one benefit is weight control. If you eat something different every day, it's hard to be mindful of consuming too many calories. Especially given the high levels of fructose corn syrup in just about everything. You can go broke even with a high paying job if you don't manage expenses. You can also get fat eating all the right foods but in too much quantity.

This is key. It’s a lot easier to lose/maintain weight if you eat the same things.

I care a lot more about being a healthy weight than eating a variety of foods.

Re: People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day

#100

Post by chrisseaton » Fri, Mar 08, 2019, 7:14 PM UTC

wahern wrote: post #91

leesec wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does anyone? I have plenty of coworkers who eat fast food for every lunch and not much better or more diverse for dinner. Certainly they are not getting all the different micronutrients?

Fast food often uses fortified ingredients. Perhaps the most common is fortified flour. Some chains use iodized salt. Preservatives like ascorbic acid or vitamin E effectively provide fortification. Other than a lack of fiber and ease of consuming too many calories, one could do much worse than fast food--McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc. I think it's easier to get it wrong using a so-called whole foods diet. The ingredient…

Did you know if you only ate McDonalds for every meal of every day... you'd be underweight?

A burger, medium fries and diet drink is 588 calories apparently. So three of those a day is only 1764 calories! A massive deficit for almost everyone.