Do routinized eating behaviors support weight loss? An examination of food logs from behavioral weight loss participants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Weight loss requires constant effortful decision-making. Following a more routine (vs. varied) diet may allow healthy choices to become more habitual, that is, automatic. The current study examined whether routinized eating patterns predicted success for 112 participants in a behavioral weight loss program. METHOD: Using daily food logs from the first 12 weeks of the program, we examined whether caloric stability (daily calorie fluctuations and weekday-weekend fluctuations) and dietary repetition (percentage of unique foods tracked and percentage of foods logged 10+ times) predicted 12-week weight loss. RESULTS: Greater dietary repetition (both metrics) and more daily calorie stability were associated with higher weight loss. However, contrary to hypotheses, participants with higher weekend-weekday deviations also had greater weight loss. CONCLUSION: Overall, findings suggest that more routinized eating patterns during a weight loss attempt may facilitate success. Future work should confirm these findings with experimental manipulations and identify potential mechanisms of action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).