A Boring Diet Might Not Help You Lose Weight

Think eating a boring diet might help you shed pounds? Think again. According to new research from the U of Tennessee, eating fewer foods might not be one of the best ways to lose weight. That's because, although you might eat less junk food and high-sugar/high-fat options, you'll likely eat more calories from other sources to make up for the deficit.

According to UT professor/researcher Hollie Raynor:

"Limiting variety was helpful for reducing intake for that type of food group, but it appeared that compensation occurred in other parts of the diet."

Many experts believe that overall calorie intake -- not food selection/types of calories -- is the most important thing when it comes to weight loss. Of course, there is quite a lot of evidence showing that the type of food you eat is just as important, if not more important, than calorie counts. We don't care what anyone says: 300 calories of pure refined sugar is not the same (health wise or weight loss wise) as 300 calories of apples!

Still, the new study shows that a monotonous diet based around a handful of foods might not work very well. The best option may be to avoid junk foods and refined sugars while eating  wide variety of healthy but delicious foods -- like fresh fruit!

Note: This is closely related to recent research proving that many people have a hard time losing weight during exercise-based programs because of increased hunger and food consumption!

Learn some mo': Fewer food choices don't help people lose weight