FOOD MONOGAMY - Beat the Death of Dieting

Yeah, sure, variety may be the spice of life, but it also may be the death of dieting. Having a lot of food choices is what makes us live like we're in a never-ending speed-eating contest. But research shows that if you decrease your food choices, you'll automatically decrease your appetite and waist size. Pick the one meal you most often rush through and automate it. For most people, lunch is the hurry-up meal. So find a healthy lunch you like -- salad with grilled chicken and a light olive oil dressing or turkey on whole-grain bread -- and have it for lunch every day. Every day. Yes, every day. Another good choice for lunch is a steaming bowl of soup. The liquid in soup makes us feel full - even though we didn't eat alot of solid food.

The same old routine is the point. More and more research has found that putting a cap on the variety of foods and tastes you experience helps you control your weight. How does it work? It seems that when you have meals with lots of diverse flavors, it takes more calories to make you feel full. That's why we tend to eat more -- to satisfy our taste buds, not our bellies -- when enjoying foods like Mexican or Indian cuisine. We definitely don't want you to become bored, but if you make a habit of eating the same food for at least one meal a day, it'll decrease your temptations and help you stop thinking about flavor feasts. It's one of the ways to automate your brain so that your habits follow. Reference: YOU: On a Diet. Roizen, M. F., Oz, M. C., New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.