Let’s talk about the dietary practice of meal prepping and eating the same thing over and over again. 

Meal prep is the practice of cooking up an excess amount of food and spreading it out over the course of a couple days, or even a week. Believe it or not, for fitness junkies this is a common practice. There is a huge convenience factor to having food pre-prepared and portioned out. The reason being, people have a tendency to give-in to cravings and temptation when food isn’t readily accessible. 

Easy Isn’t Always Better

Unfortunately, the convenience of meal prepping has some drawbacks that often go undiscussed. One of the notable drawbacks of meal prepping is the effect it can have on gut health. 

Everyone has a microbiome in their gut which consists of healthy bacteria that help break down food, fight off infections, and keep you healthy. The greater the quality of foods you expose your gut to, the more robust and healthy your gut microbiome becomes. Inversely, the less variety in the foods that you ingest erodes the health of your microbiome. 

Mix Up Your Meal Prep

So, eating the same meal for over a month, will have a negative effect on the gut microbiome. I’m sorry to be the first to tell you but chicken and broccoli (go to meal for fitness junkies) is a great meal but it isn’t a perfect one. The best way to keep your gut healthy is to mix up your foods. As such, try rotating in different proteins and carbs at least weekly, instead of sticking to the same meal indefinitely. 

Want to learn more about nutrition and meal prepping?  Join my free Facebook group where I discuss practical strategies to help you recomp your body. https://www.facebook.com/groups/nerdswholiftweights