Do you need a variety of foods in your diet?

Question

Is a variety of foods necessary to your diet? When exercising to lose fat or build muscle, nutrition is like 80% of your results. I understand that you need a lot of protein to support muscle growth, and generally want healthy fats and low-moderate healthy carbs to lose fat. Now breaking that down a little bit further, is it necessary to get a your proteins from a wide variety of sources, or your fat from a wide variety of food?

I, personally, would rather just eat the same thing everyday without any variety, because it is easy to manage. Would it be OK if I simply ate the same thing everyday, or do I need to get my macros from a wide variety of foods?

For example, this diet:

Every day:
Breakfast: 100% whole grain bread with organic fruit spread and almond butter and string cheese.
Lunch and Dinner: Chicken breast, black beans, brown rice, 2 servings broccoli, cooked in olive oil.
Other: Protein shake, a couple hard boiled eggs for snack, multivitamins, omega-3 fish oils.

Would it be sufficient to simply eat this diet every single day, or would a variety of different sources of proteins, carbs, and fats be necessary for losing weight/building muscle? Would this diet give me all the essential nutrition I need?

Answer 1

You don't necessarily need variety, but your body does require certain nutrients that it might not necessarily get without that variety. Micronutrients such as all of your vitamins and minerals are important. On the macronutrient side of things, getting enough protein to at least sustain your muscles is important, and having healthy fats is also important. Carbs are your body's main source of energy, so lacking in those will cause problems as well.

Bottom line? You don't necessarily need variety in food choices, but you do need the nutrients that they would typically provide. Regardless, the body will take whatever you give it and utilize it the best that it can. The human body is designed to live under sub-optimal food choices for extended periods, so you don't have to worry about getting things exactly perfect. That being said, the better you provide for your body, the better it will do.