People who eat a more repetitive diet and maintain stable calorie intake lose weight more effectively than those who constantly change their meals, according to an international team of researchers. The study was published in the journal Health Psychology.

The research was conducted under the auspices of the American Psychological Association. It involved 112 adults who were overweight or had obesity and were enrolled in a 12-week weight-loss program. Participants recorded all their meals in a mobile app and weighed themselves daily.

“Maintaining a healthy diet in today’s environment requires constant effort and self-control. Developing stable eating habits can reduce this burden and make healthy choices more automatic,” said the study’s lead author, Charlotte Hagerman from the Oregon Research Institute.

The researchers evaluated two key indicators: calorie stability (how much daily calorie intake varied) and dietary repetition (how often the same foods were consumed).

The results showed that participants with more repetitive menus lost an average of 5.9% of their body weight, compared to 4.3% among those who changed their diets more frequently. In addition, calorie fluctuations also played a role: every 100 kcal increase in variability was associated with about a 0.6% decrease in weight-loss effectiveness.

The authors explained that simplifying food choices helps build consistent habits. When a diet is predictable, it becomes easier to stick to a plan and avoid lapses.

Interestingly, participants whose calorie intake was higher on weekends also lost weight more effectively. Researchers linked this to more accurate food logging: people often forget to record meals on weekends, so higher reported intake may reflect more precise tracking rather than actual overeating.

The authors noted that while dietary variety has previously been associated with health benefits, this typically referred to variety within healthy food groups such as fruits and vegetables. In today’s environment of excess high-calorie foods, a simpler and more repetitive diet may be more practical.