Fewer carbs, more protein, more fiber…what else? When you want to lose weight, you’ve likely heard just about every way to slice-and-dice your diet to eat the right foods.
New behavioral research is suggesting that really, maybe the secret to shedding pounds is actually not to overthink it. For a 2026 study published in Health Psychology, a team of social psychologists engaged 112 participants to log their food intake for 12 weeks, hypothesizing that “caloric stability” and “dietary repetition” would yield greater weight loss results than participants who ate a varied diet. A food that was logged 10 or more times over those 12 weeks was the benchmark for “routine” eating.
“Overall,” concluded the team, “findings suggest that more routinized eating patterns during a weight loss attempt may facilitate success.” Specifically, reports StudyFinds, “People whose entries were mostly repeats shed an average of 5.9 percent of their body weight, compared with 4.3 percent for those who logged mostly unique items.”
For a 180-pound individual, this would mean an 11-pound weight reduction for the repeat-eater, versus an eight-pound drop for someone whose diet was more varied.
Reasons for this could be that routine eating helps eliminate major calorie swings, and also helps an individual anticipate what they’ll eat next rather than conjure up a craving that they’ll be tempted to give into.
One surprising discovery the research team reports: “[…C]ontrary to hypotheses, participants with higher weekend–weekday deviations also had greater weight loss.”
So, in all, following general recommended guidelines on consumption of variables such as fat, protein, fiber, and water can help you stay on track—but if you allow for a slightly more relaxed menu on the weekends, it might enable you to stay better disciplined throughout the week.
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