61)Back in my early 20s. when "sensible" wasn’t part of my
weight-loss vocabulary., I tried a diet that was limited to just a few "healthy"
foods. Three weeks into it, after religiously adhering to a regimen of
salads and meats, I had nearly reached my goal of losing 8 pounds. 62) But my
progress wasn’t as sweet as I exnected. Instead of celebrating my emerging
figure. I was obsessed with what I couldn’t eat. Warm, crusty bread. Noodles
smothered in red sauce. Chocolates packed with almonds. One night I abandoned
the diet and gorged on every food I’d been missing. Over the next two weeks, I
ate more than ever. No surprise that I quickly regained 8 pounds, and put on 2
more. 63) It sounds like the old diet-binge cycle that we’ve
all heard about so often. But many weight-loss experts are starting to think
about that cycle in a new. more positive way. The answer for long-term
weight control, they say, may be just the opposite of restriction: it may simply
be eating a greater variety of foods than ever. My brazen (and
unfortunate) act of indulgence was the direct effect of a boring, restrictive
diet, suggests Kathy Hubbert, coordinator of the EatRight Weight Management
program at the University. of Alabama, Birmingham. "If you tell someone they
cannot have, say, a piece of cheesecake, then that is the first thing they want
to have," says Hubbert. "And then when they eat that piece of cheesecake, they
say, ’Oh, now I’ve blown it, so I might as well blow it every day.’"
At Tufts University in Boston, researchers studied 71 healthy men and
women aged 20 to 80 years who provided detailed reports of everything they ate
for six months. 64) People who routinely ate a variety of nutrient-dense
foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains tended to be lean. The
researchers found that when people eat a variety of desirable foods, especially
vegetables, they eat fewer nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods such as cookies,
candy, and chips. Overall, they consume fewer calories without consciously
restricting their intake. They are also much more likely to
consume the full range of vitamins and minerals they need. 65) Nutrition
studies, including one conducted by scientists at the Department of Agriculture.
which analyzed the dietary records of 3.701 people representing a cross section
of the US population, regularly find that individuals who eat different foods
from each of the major food groups have the healthiest diets.