The weight loss surgery diet is pretty structured. Your choices are so limited on the liquid diet (a little chicken broth, anyone? Oh, no thanks, maybe I’ll go with beef broth instead for lunch today!) and on the pureed foods diet. Even once you get to semi-solid and solid foods, you don’t have much flexibility since you need to eat your Protein first, your veggies next, and there’s not much room left after that.

So it makes sense that once you find a meal pattern that works, and meals you like, that you stick to them. Soon, it becomes a habit, and maybe a rut. For me, I’m perfectly happy eating Greek yogurt with blueberries every day for Breakfast. Some chicken breast with broccoli makes an easy dinner. A tuna salad makes a quick lunch. For snack? Apples seem to come up quite a bit!

So, I guess you could say I’m in a bit of a food rut. Between lack of time, lack of desire to cook (you could call it laziness, I suppose), and the fact that it basically works and I’m happy with it, I eat pretty much the same things day in and day out.

What are some of your food ruts – either your favorite meals or your regular daily menus? Or are you a little more motivated or more of a foodie, and you switch up your foods all the time?

Thanks for all of your answers! It looks like the good news is that a lot of us have healthy food ruts going on!

Something I’ve noticed is that these food ruts are based on convenience foods or easily prepared foods – like yogurt, deli slices, cheese, and Protein shakes. That seems to make sense, since most of us don’t have the time, energy, or interest in cooking a lot now, Still, I wonder if some of the gourmet chefs on here get into food ruts or not.

WL Warrior, Yes, food ruts are definitely a strategy for success! Find what works, and do it, over, and over, and over again! The fact that cutting out a lot of foods and depending on a limited variety can help you lose weight is one reason why a lot of the fad diets work, too (for a time, until you get sick of them). I think there’s research also to show that the fewer different foods you have at one meal, the fewer calories you eat because your taste buds get tired so your appetite goes down sooner.