Health

Study reveals one simple eating habit that may help boost weight loss

Published

3 months ago

April 4, 2026

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Study reveals one simple eating habit that may help boost weight loss

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Losing weight might be as simple as sticking to the meals you know, a new study found.

People who ate the same meals more often lost more weight during a 12-week weight-loss program, according to a new study published in Health Psychology.

“Maintaining a healthy diet in today’s food environment requires constant effort and self-control,” lead author Charlotte Hagerman of the Oregon Research Institute said in a statement.

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“Creating routines around eating may reduce that burden and make healthy choices feel more automatic.”

Experts say maintaining muscle after 50 may require more protein than the minimum federal guideline. (iStock)

Hagerman and fellow researchers from Drexel University and the Oregon Research Institute analyzed food logs from 112 adults who were overweight or obese who tracked their meals in an app and weighed themselves daily, according to the study.

The researchers measured “routinized” eating in two main ways —how much participants’ daily calorie intake fluctuated and how often they repeated the same meals and snacks over time, according to the paper.

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Those whose diets included more repeated foods lost an average of 5.9% of their body weight compared to 4.3% for those whose eating patterns were more varied, according to a press release from the American Psychological Association.

A man shows how much weight he has lost by holding out the waist of his jeans, symbolizing his successful diet. (iStock)

People who kept their daily calorie intake more consistent also lost more weight, according to the researchers.

Liza Baker, a Vermont-based nutrition expert and founder of Simply: Health Coaching, said the findings line up with what she has seen firsthand in more than a decade of working with clients.

“Removing the mental load of ‘What’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner?’ can make the wellness journey much more sustainable,” Baker told Fox News Digital.

A breakfast of oatmeal porridge with summer berries. (iStock)

She said repeat meals can reduce decision fatigue and make it easier for people to stick to healthier habits, especially when they are packing lunches, cooking at home and following a simple routine.

Baker said people do not necessarily have to repeat every meal to see benefits.

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“One can start by eating one meal that is repetitive, usually breakfast or lunch,” she said. “As results start to show, it’s then more conducive to increasing to two to three repetitive meals a day.”

At the same time, experts cautioned that the findings do not prove cause and effect. The study was observational, meaning it found an association between routine eating and greater weight loss but could not show that repetition alone caused the better results, according to the researchers.

Consistency — not variety — may be key when it comes to weight loss, researchers found. (iStock)

Baker also warned that repeat meal plans can backfire if they are not nutritionally balanced or if they trigger perfectionism.

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“Unless someone is well-versed in nutrition, setting up a repeat meal plan can quickly become a nutritional nightmare that leads to becoming deficient in one or more nutrients,” she said.

The study authors similarly noted that too little variety could come with trade-offs. Future research is needed to determine whether a more repetitive diet should be actively recommended as a weight-loss strategy, they said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the study’s authors for comment.

Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital.

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Health

This Protein Smoothie Trick Helps Women Over 40 Lose Twice as Much Fat

Published

3 hours ago

June 27, 2026

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This Protein Smoothie Trick Helps Women Over 40 Lose Twice as Much Fat

This Protein Smoothie Trick Helps Women Lose Twice as Much Fat

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Health

These leafy greens could help protect your lungs, study suggests

Published

4 hours ago

June 27, 2026

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These leafy greens could help protect your lungs, study suggests

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Scientists have linked eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli to better lung health.

There are two primary forms of vitamin K found in foods. The primary kind is vitamin K1, found mainly in vegetables, which plays a major role in the body’s blood-clotting process.

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Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, certain dairy products, eggs and meats and helps regulate calcium in the body and supports bone health.

Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University examined whether dietary intake of vitamins K1 and K2 was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung function.

Leafy green vegetables are high in vitamin K1, a nutrient that researchers have observed conributes to improved lung health. (iStock)

“Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide and were the third leading cause of death in 2019, accounting for 4 million deaths and affecting 454.6 million individuals globally,” the scientists reported in the introduction to their study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Although asthma and COPD can be managed with available treatments, neither condition is curable, underscoring the need for effective prevention strategies,” they added.

The leading cause of COPD is smoking, the Mayo Clinic reported. Exposure to other irritants, such as dust, chemicals and pollution, can also cause it.

The researchers analyzed data from 179,062 participants over a 10-and-a-half-year period and concluded that, “Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD.”

Researchers found that people who increased their vitamin K1 intake were less likely to develop COPD. (iStock)

Participants who consumed the most vitamin K1 had a 16% lower likelihood of COPD, the researchers observed. The effects were more pronounced in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations.

Consumption of vitamin K2 did not result in lower COPD rates.

“No association was observed for vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma,” the researchers also wrote.

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Associate Professor Marc Sim, who was involved in the study, said that it’s likely Vitamin K activates a protein that may help keep lung tissue flexible and prevent damage.

Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that vitamin K1 directly reduces COPD risk, only that higher intake was associated with better lung health.

Researchers have associated higher consumption of leafy green vegetables with better lung function. (iStock)

Just one extra serving of leafy greens “is an achievable way to boost your vitamin K1 intake,” said Chengfeng Li, one of the study’s researchers.

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Other foods rich in vitamin K1 include collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens.

Teresa Mull is a freelance writer with the Lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.