Monotonous eating is a habit that exists for many reasons, and while it can be boring to live with this eating habit, that’s rarely an issue on its own. This article will explore monotonous eating in more detail, so I hope you find it educational.
What Is Monotonous Eating?
Monotonous eating, also referred to as repetitive food choices or dietary restriction, refers to the behaviour of consistently selecting and consuming a limited variety of foods over an extended period. While some people may find comfort or convenience in repetitive eating, it can lead to potential health concerns if not managed properly.
According to Mendonça et al. (2019), there is an inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables globally, as well as an issue with the diversity of the fruits and vegetables we all eat, or do not. Thus, you may be monotonously eating without even knowing it.
The Difference Between Monotonous Eating And Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
It’s important to understand the distinctions between monotonous eating and ARFID because, while they both involve limited food intake, the underlying motivations and severity differ significantly.
When it comes to monotonous eating, it means we’re eating a limited variety of foods, but that doesn’t necessarily mean someone who’s eating monotonously isn’t eating enough variety. However, it can limit essential nutrients if not managed correctly.
More often than not, monotonous eating is a result of habit, convenience, lack of culinary interest or ability, budgetary issues, or simply preferences. This is the case for me. I tend to always go back to the same few easy-cook things. I may dabble in trying something new, and I may even really like it, but I’ll soon grow bored with it, and if it requires too much time to prepare, which is anything more than a few minutes, it doesn’t take me long to return to my monotonous eating habit.
Part of why I do that is my depression, as I have a very low baseline mood. I hate the amount of time that is taken up by preparing food and eating food, so convenience always wins out, which is where my habit, or rather, depression meals, comes in. I’m very unhealthy as a result. But that’s enough about me.
ARFID, on the other hand, is an eating disorder, characterised by significant and persistent disturbances to eating that lead to nutritional deficiency, not to be confused with monotonous eating or picky eating. This can be a common issue for those experiencing autism (ASD), where in extreme cases, a person with ASD may only eat one or two items of food.
ARFID differs from monotonous eating because of this key fact, but also because items of food may be avoided due to texture, smell, taste, and appearance. For example, someone with ARFID may only be able to eat food that is white.
There is also often fear of adverse consequences, such as a fear of choking, vomiting, or other negative anticipated experiences. However, it should be noted that even though ARFID is an eating disorder, it’s not one driven by a fear of gaining weight or the desire to lose weight. There are also no body image concerns, such as with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Yet, monotonous eating and ARFID can share one thing in common: a lack of interest in eating.
Simply put, monotonous eating is a behavioural pattern, whereas ARFID is a diagnosed mental health condition.
The Difference Between Monotonous Eating And Orthorexia
It’s also important to differentiate between monotonous eating and orthorexia nervosa, as they both involve restrictive food choices as well but stem from different motivations. Although monotonous eating often involves limited variety, this isn’t because certain foods are seen as “bad” or “good”, which is often the case with orthorexia. Monotonous eating isn’t linked to a desire to obsessively eat “healthy”, but orthorexia is.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder that is characterised by a person becoming fixated on the idea of eating “pure” and/or “healthy”. When someone has orthorexia, they become preoccupied with food quality, causing them to avoid foods deemed “unhealthy”, and this extreme behaviour regarding food can lead to severe nutritional deficiencies, as with ARFID. Psychological distress is also likely to develop as a result of orthorexia as the self-imposed dietary rules ruin their lives.
The Difference Between Monotonous Eating And A Mono Diet
According to Shukla (2024) in their article for the Hindustan Times, the mono diet is used as a quick way to lose weight, whereby someone eats one type of food or a small selection of similar food for a short period of time. Therefore, it’s not meant to be a long-term practice. However, that hasn’t stopped people from doing just that.
Celebrities like Victoria Beckham have been outspoken about their mono dieting, with her claiming to have eaten the same meal, steamed vegetables with grilled fish, for 25 years. When I first heard that, I wasn’t sure if she meant that she only ate that for every meal or was a meal they had every day for 25 years.
It appears to be the latter, at least according to what was reported in The Mirror by Veljanovski (2024), who reported that she also ate salads, seeds, and nuts and would have a green smoothie for breakfast from time to time.
Although the mono diet can be very monotonous, especially if you’ve been living that way for 25 years like Victoria Beckham, it’s still not the same as monotonous eating. The mono diet is done because of a fear of weight gain or with the goal of weight loss.
Furthermore, the mono diet can be difficult to sustain because of the boredom it can cause, the cravings it can trigger (Hijab, 2024), and just the distress that sticking to such a diet can cause. Whereas, monotonous eating is a person’s eating default, their habit, and thus doesn’t lead to such issues.
Like a lot of diets, they can become all-consuming. When I tried going carb-free to lose weight, I became so obsessed with avoiding carbs that it made me miserable. To the point that it was akin to having orthorexia. It triggered all my nonpurging type bulimia thoughts, desires, and behaviours.
Following a mono diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies (Hijab, 2024), just like with orthorexia, ARFID, and monotonous eating, although a monotonous eater wouldn’t be distressed to eat something different and would find it easier to meet their nutritional needs if motivated to do so.
Strategies For Expanding Monotonous Eating And Restrictive Food Choices
Start small
If you want to expand on what you eat, then introduce one new food at a time. The reason why I suggest this is because if you try to add a load of things all at once, you may find that food will go out of date before you get around to trying it. It can also help to choose items that are similar in taste or texture to your preferred foods.
Experiment with preparation methods
Try out different preparation methods so you can find ways that might help get around your monotonous eating habit. For example, it may be easier for you to eat a larger variety of food if you batch-cook simple meals and freeze them. Another example might be to buy a load of vegetables, cut them all up, portion them out, and freeze them. I do this so I can just chuck a portion into my air fryer, making it just as quick as putting chips in the oven.
Find what works for you
Basically, try your best to find easy shortcuts that’ll fit with how your monotonous eating habit affects you on an individual level. For example, if it’s loneliness, then do something about your loneliness, such as eating more with people or joining friend-making apps and groups.
Summary
Monotonous eating can be boring, no doubt about it, but often that doesn’t matter. There are a lot of other things at play when it comes to monotonous eating, whether it’s the bog standard version or one that’s developed as a result of a diet or an eating disorder.
We’re also busier now more than ever, and many of us struggle to find the time to cook, let alone generate the motivation to cook. Because of this, we often don’t make the effort to cook if we’re eating alone (Danesi, 2012), and thus convenience food is reached for, adding to our monotonous eating.
Therefore, for many people with monotonous eating, our food choices will be heavily influenced by convenience and time constraints. But I imagine the biggest factor is a lack of motivation. That’s my biggest factor, at least.
Just because “Food is life”, it doesn’t mean it has to be boring or should be boring. After all, as a species, it’s one of the simplest pleasures we have. Nor should we let our health suffer because of our monotonous eating habits.
If you or someone you know is struggling with restrictive eating patterns, it’s essential to seek professional evaluation to determine the underlying cause and receive appropriate treatment.
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with monotonous eating in the comments section below. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.
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References
Danesi, G. (2012). Pleasures and stress of eating alone and eating together among French and German young adults. Menu: the Journal of Eating and Hospitality Research, 1, 77-91. Retrieved from https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_34E57A3F87E4.P001/REF.pdf.
Hijab, R. (2024, December). Mono diet craze Is this Celebrity-Backed trend truly worth the hype. Onlymyhealth. Retrieved from https://www.onlymyhealth.com/what-is-mono-diet-and-is-it-truly-worth-the-hype-12977822756.
Mendonça, R. D. D., Lopes, M. S., Freitas, P. P., Campos, S. F., Menezes, M. C. D., & Lopes, A. C. S. (2019). Monotony in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and food environment characteristics. Revista de Saude Publica, 53, 63. Retrieved from https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rsp/2019.v53/63/en.
Shukla, K. (2024, December). Mono diet: Is this celebrity-approved trend worth the hype? Hindustan Times. Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/wellness/mono-diet-is-this-celebrity-approved-trend-worth-the-hype-101735024979083.html.
Veljanovski, L. (2024, November). Expert explains whether Victoria Beckham’s ruthless diet is actually healthy. The Mirror. Retrieved from https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/expert-explains-whether-victoria-beckhams-31097082.
It seems I’m a very monotonous eater. I didn’t know there was a word for it. It has become a lot worse since the start of the pandemic when everything got to be too overwhelming and busy, and it’s more convenience plus comfort that made that monotony all the more monotonous. This certainly made for interesting reading, especially to know it’s not just me who does this so much. x
Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s certainly not you. But of why I have a monotonous eating habit is that every seems to taste the same or quite bland, so putting the effort into properly cooking doesn’t have the pay off for me
I’ve learned something new again. But it also reminds me of a previous post of yours. It was on the benefits of maintaining an eating schedule, where structured routines were highlighted.
Great recall. Having a meal plan or eating schedule could also help with managing a monotonous eating habit
Never knew the word for what I was doing. Monotonous eating huh it seems with chronic illness & depression I do not have energy to always prepare so yes stick to what I know & whats convenient. This was interesting to read.
I’m glad you found it interesting. Thanks for commenting
I didn’t know there was a term for that. Is there one when you are the opposite?
I always try to eat something different during the week and rotating to keep a balanced diet, ok not always I manage to but I can’t have the same thing 2 or 3 times on a row.
I recently bought a thermomix too and that helps me a lot in the kitchen.
That’s a good question, but one I can’t answer. I have no idea if there’s a name for the opposite of monotonous eating
I did monotonous eating before when I was on my Herbalife diet. And it doesn’t do me any good. So I quit it. I believe it is bad to limit your choice of food.
Diets are hard to maintain at the best of time. Thanks for commenting