varying your diet....why?

biggysmalls

Too big to fail
Hi guys,
So I know SW tell you to vary your diet. My consultant is always telling me off for eating the same things all the time and it's true, I tend to find a breakfast I like (for example) and then stick to it. I guess it's because I have in my head that variety will make me go off the rails and because I like knowing inside-out how many syns are in things, how filling they are etc.

Anyway, do we all agree that mixing things up = better losses and if so,.........

anyone know why?!
who can explain the science? xxx
 
I am interested to know this too!! :)
 
For one, to stop you getting bored! Being bored and uninspired by your food doesnt set a good mindframe towards your meals.

Secondly, your body gets used to, and expects, the same food if you are always eating it. By eating something new, your body is shaken up, so to speak. It has to work harder to break down & decide how to use the specific elements.

Thats my take on it anyway!
 
For one, to stop you getting bored! Being bored and uninspired by your food doesnt set a good mindframe towards your meals.

Secondly, your body gets used to, and expects, the same food if you are always eating it. By eating something new, your body is shaken up, so to speak. It has to work harder to break down & decide how to use the specific elements.

Thats my take on it anyway!

Yep I totally agree.

Our C tells us about somebody who had done really well with their weight loss, but it just stuck; when the told her what the ate they ate the same thing everyday for breakfast, once this was changed the weight loss began again. Strange but true:D
 
Mainly as jerrice has said - it staves off the boredom factor.

I first did SW 7 years ago and i could tell by what i had for dinner what day it was - sunday was bolognese (without the spaghetti), monday was reheated blogonese, tuesday was steak, wednesday salmon, and so on. Boredom did get the better of me it has to be said on more then one occassion near the end. (I also in the 5 or 6 months i did it then only had about two green days (there was no EE then)).

Now days - I'll mix things up from time ot time - introduce a new food item into the regular diet (as well as removing something else if unncessary) or just changing the proportions around a bit. I've recent stopped having brocolli as one of the dinnertime veg - but am tonight giong to try celeriac for the first time. It's only been the last 6 months or so I've discovered I like asparagus, and i had a parsnip in my last batch of soup - a vegetable i've always in the past said i didn't like.

But even on the thnigs like fruit - i like change from time to time - i'm a big fan of pineapple - but will every so often go without for a few weeks - just to let the body accept the changes. I've started eating a lot of pears - so need to look at changing that sometime soon and eat something new. and again - i've also discovered lately that i actually like raw/cooked tomato - something i've always avoided. Still learning abotu that as sometimes i still don't like it.

Give your tastebuds a new adventure from time to time whilst varying the diet - the risk of boredom deminishes - and you never know - may find something you like. :)


.
 
I like trying new foods etc .... in my fridge at the mo I have 3 new fruits to try.... DRAGONFRUIT, LONGKONG and RAMBUTAN. Dunno what they're like but there's only one way to find out.
I am also always trying to find new snacks / low syn items to keep boredom at bay and have recently started having mini pots of Haagen Daz Pralines & Cream once a week - YUM!!!
Also every Saturday I try a new recipe just to keep things interesting.
 
Thanks, guys. Good advice. I find I don't actually get bored eating the same things...I love them and that's why I eat them (eg. Alpen Lights, could eat those all day!) But I will follow the advice to mix things up all the same.
Anything for good losses! xx
 
it will also give you something to look forward to instead of thinking"not that again!!!"I try not to eat the same meal more than once every 2-3 weeks.
 
Thanks, guys. Good advice. I find I don't actually get bored eating the same things...I love them and that's why I eat them (eg. Alpen Lights, could eat those all day!) But I will follow the advice to mix things up all the same.
Anything for good losses! xx

I understand, but do you really want to be eating them for the rest of your life? We might like wearing black clothes because they make us look slim but do you never want to wear any other colours? I think it's important to be excited about the foods you eat as well as the clothes you wear!
 
I know, I've started to try to vary things around despite my inclination to keep eating the same boring things....Just been looking at some recipes for ideas and have the new magazine too. That seven-day plan looks good and would broaden my horizons!

I should say, I didn't mean "Changing things...why?" as in "why bother?"
I meant "Changing things...why?" as in "why does it work?"
 
i'll only ever eat bran flakes for breakfast i love them.. there easy filling and so yummy!!
when im good throughout i get goo losses! so i think eating my fav breakfast dont effect my weightloss personally...
 
I like trying new foods etc .... in my fridge at the mo I have 3 new fruits to try.... DRAGONFRUIT, LONGKONG and RAMBUTAN. Dunno what they're like but there's only one way to find out.

. . .

Also every Saturday I try a new recipe just to keep things interesting.

When I stay with my sister (every other weekend usually) we try new recipes from SW books or the magazine. She is a consultant and likes to be able to recommend recipes to her members.

I have tried Dragonfruit and quite liked it, but not enough to bother with it again. Rambutans are lovely, if a bit odd to look at - like a hairy lychee!! :8855:

I had never heard of Longkong so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It looks really interesting, a little bit like a lychee, but it says that the seeds are really bitter, so you might want to avoid those. Let us know what it was like.
 
Scientifically, it's important to 'trick' your metabolism so it doesn';t get complacent. Eg. if you have the same amount of cals everyday it will accept this as normal and then you will plateaux, but if you vary your foods and therefore you cal intake day by day then your metabolism never gets to a point where that happens. Hope that makes sensexx
 
Different foods have nutrients in different proportions. So, leaving aside the weight loss issue, a variety of different foods means that you will have a better chance of getting a wide range of nutrients, which must be a good thing.

With fruit and vegetables, it is often suggested that we try for as many different colours as possible, as this also means we are getting different vitamins and minerals, etc. Also, a rainbow salad looks really good on the plate!!
 
I also think that if you vary what you eat you pay more attention to it and don't get complacent. You don't get into that mindset where you think you know what 28g of cereal looks like for example!
 
Avisk - had half the dragonfruit tonight - ok but prefer kiwi fruit - AND the insides resembled frog spawn to me - urgh!!!
Tried a LongKong - avoided the seed - not bad - edible
Tried a Rambutan - I won't say what it reminded me of lookwise (bit rude!) - LOL - bit like a larger sized grape - not very strong flavour!
I think it is good to try new things BUT I won't be rebuying any of these in the future.
 
Avisk - had half the dragonfruit tonight - the insides resembled frog spawn to me - urgh!!!

Finally!! Someone agrees with me!!! hehe
the fella said I'm mad, for saying it was like frogspawn...!

I'm all for trying new things. Every week, I try to get something "new" that I haven't had before. Last week was the rambutans, which were definitely fun to eat!!!

This week, I have passionfruit. I have never had passionfruit before!!

I think it's important to vary things, that way the body doesn't get used to the same things, and you also get to try new things :)
 
I think it is the same logic as exercising, you wouldnt do the same exercise routine day in, day out, year in and year out.... your body would soon get used to it and you would stop losing weight.

They (whoever they are lol) suggest changing your exercise routine every 6-8 weeks to "shock" your body and I feel exactly the same about what you eat,

x
 
during busier weeks i have definately been guilty of this sort of meal repetition. I know I shouldn't and eventually get round to correcting it
 
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