Many people believe that variety is the key to a healthy diet. They try new foods, change meals often, and look for exciting options to stay motivated.
However, a new study from the American Psychological Association suggests that when it comes to weight loss, keeping things simple and consistent may actually work better.
The study, published in the journal Health Psychology, found that people who ate similar meals each day and kept their calorie intake steady lost more weight than those who changed their food choices frequently. This challenges the common idea that variety always leads to better health results.
Weight loss is not only about what people eat, but also about how easy it is to maintain healthy habits over time. In today’s world, people are surrounded by many food choices, including unhealthy options that are high in sugar, fat, and calories. This makes it harder to make good decisions every day.
The researchers wanted to understand whether creating simple routines around eating could make weight loss easier. To do this, they studied 112 adults who were overweight or obese. These participants joined a 12-week structured weight loss program.
During the program, participants recorded everything they ate using a mobile app. They also weighed themselves daily using a wireless scale. This gave researchers detailed and accurate information about their eating habits and progress.
The researchers looked at two main factors. The first was calorie consistency, which means how much a person’s daily calorie intake changed from one day to another. The second was meal repetition, which means how often a person ate the same foods instead of trying new ones.
The results showed a clear pattern. People who often repeated the same meals lost more weight. On average, they lost about 5.9 percent of their body weight. In comparison, those who ate a wider variety of foods lost about 4.3 percent.
Calorie consistency also played an important role. People whose calorie intake changed a lot from day to day lost less weight. For every increase of 100 calories in daily variation, weight loss dropped by about 0.6 percent.
This suggests that having a stable eating pattern may help people stay on track. When meals are predictable, people may spend less time making decisions and feel less tempted by unhealthy options.
Interestingly, the study also found that people who reported higher calorie intake on weekends actually lost more weight. The researchers believe this is not because they ate more, but because they were more consistent in tracking their food. Many people stop recording their meals on weekends, which can lead to less accurate data.
The findings do not mean that variety is always bad. In fact, previous research has shown that eating a wide range of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, is important for overall nutrition. However, in today’s food environment, too much variety may make it harder to stick to healthy choices.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies about orange that could help obesity, and a berry that can prevent cancer, diabetes and obesity.
For more health information, please see recent studies about ginger’s journey in weight management ,and green tea: a cup of weight loss.
Source: American Psychological Association.
