"Good luck with your toilet!"

Aaron recently asked me how I can eat the same thing all the time. Here's what he means:
when I go shopping, I buy bananas, yogurt, milk, cereal, slices of ham, bagels, vegetable or chive cream cheese, a few Clif bars, orange juice, apple juice, cheese sticks, spaghetti or fettucine and tomato basil or alfredo sauce, and, occasionally, a bottle or two of mineral water. This makes for cereal, yogurt, and a banana for breakfast, a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a slice of ham for lunch, a cheese stick wrapped in ham for a snack, and pasta for dinner. Sometimes I'll splurge and buy a glass bottle of Pepsi or Coke, but I'm usually drinking milk, apple or orange juice, and water. How am I okay with this?
Well, first of all, I think there's some variety in what I buy. I know I need carbohydrates so I don't wake up exhausted; I need calcium so I can keep my nearly 23-year streak of not breaking a bone alive; I need potassium to, y'know, not spend too much time in the bathroom; vitamin C is necessary so I'm not solely relying on coffee and cigarettes to keep me awake; and the rest is sustenance, I suppose. I know the best diets tend to avoid red meat, but I don't think the amount of ham I eat is very consequential.
That said, I try to look at effects of the food I eat before I indulge-- I would rather eat a vegetable sandwich and a cup of water (because, afterward, I'll feel ready to run a marathon or beat Hank in a game of basketball) than a delicious bacon/bleu cheese burger with an egg on top (which will do nothing past putting me in a coma).
This hasn't always been the case. Throughout high school, the only days I'd eat breakfast would be when my dad cooked me eggs as an incentive to get up on time (I usually rousted myself to be polite, not for the eggs). I've worked many hours on an empty stomach, just as I've drank lots of coffee and smoked lots of cigarettes on an empty stomach; I'm more than familiar with the pangs of hunger and the thought of food never satiated my mind. When I enjoy food, it's usually because of the people I'm with. Sushi with Lucy tastes romantic, french toast with Aaron and Danny tastes comfortable, and a hot dog, cheese fries, and a Pepsi with shreds of ice from Demon Dogs tastes like home (well, maybe not home-- my mom's cooking is far above par... Demon Dogs tastes like my best friend's house. Yeah).
Because of my tendency to associate good friends with good food, I have no reason to find the food I'm eating to be particularly good or bad. Since there's no immediate reward (as far as taste is concerned), then I might as well consider the long-term reward (or punishment). I don't know of any long-term reward for eating a bucket of fried chicken or a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so I might as well eat Honey Bunches of Oats and a banana.
My mindset in regard to eating is much like Aaron's toward his car: use premium, change the oil regularly, keep it clean (instead of higher octane, I go for organic).
On the other hand, his mindset (that I'm crediting him with, but know that I've never discussed this with him so every claim I'm making is merely an inference that may or may not be entirely correct) on the topic of food is similar to the way I view sleeping: it's always gotta hit the spot. I sleep when I have to, when I want to, and when I have nothing better to do. I'm not trying to say that Aaron's always eating, but from what I've seen he always has to be completely satisfied. If I need another hour of sleep (which I know will make me late for class), then I'll take that extra hour.
Of course there are exceptions. I went on a Twinkie/cupcake rampage recently, and I also drink a good amount of beer and I smoke cigarettes and drink too much coffee and sometimes I smoke weed. Sometimes I stay up all night and rely on energy drinks and one day last May I ate at McDonald's twice in one day.

Anyways, my work day is nearly done. To sum things up: people do things that I don't understand. I do things that other people don't understand. I make these comparisons all the time and I'll eventually learn if this is beneficial or detrimental.