Nutritionists regularly talk about the importance of variety in your diet to ensure you meet your nutritional needs. But new research suggests that’s not actually helpful, at least not when you try Weight loss.
The study was published in the journal Health psychologymakes a strong case for sticking to the same diets when you’re on a weight-loss journey. If constantly thinking about new meals is stressing you out, this might sound like good news.
“While this approach isn’t right for everything and isn’t necessarily ideal in the long run, for those who are content to eat the same things a few days in a row or eat some of the junk food and snacks they rely on, it can simplify eating healthy, balanced meals that support weight management goals.” Jessica Cording, RDauthor The little book of game changerssays the self.
But the results also don’t mean you’re a failure in the weight loss department if you prefer to mix things up in your diet. This is why.
The study delved into a mix of dietary patterns.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from food logs collected from 112 overweight or obese people obesity Who are enrolled in a structured behavioral weight loss program. Participants were asked to track their food on an app and measure their weight on a wireless scale.
The researchers focused specifically on the first 12 weeks of the program, the time when participants are typically most interested in tracking their food intake, and measured the extent to which participants’ diets skewed toward routine. They did this in two ways: They looked at participants’ calorie stability which is how much they had Daily calories It fluctuated from day to day and between weekdays and weekends. The researchers also delved into participants’ diet frequency, looking at how often people recorded the same meals and snacks over time.
After analyzing the data, the researchers discovered that people who adhered to a low-diversity diet lost an average of 5.9% of body weight compared to the 4.3% lost by people who mixed their diets more. A higher calorie intake was associated with better weight loss outcomes. Specifically, for every 100-calorie increase in fluctuation between days, participants’ weight loss decreased by about 0.6% over the 12-week period.
Based on all this, the researchers concluded that reducing variety in your diet and maintaining a stable calorie intake may help people create sustainable habits to support weight loss. “Conventional wisdom about dieting says that you should incorporate lots of different foods to avoid getting bored, and that you should splurge on weekends or special occasions so you don’t feel deprived.” Charlotte Hagerman, Ph.Dsays study co-author and researcher at the Oregon Research Institute. “However, this contradicts research showing that consistency makes your behavior more habitual, that is, more automatic and effortless.”
