One of the most interesting lines of scientific research in recent years has been Calorie restriction and its effect on aging. The New York Times Magazine has an interesting article about clinical studies on the subject this week.

Of particular interest is how they got people to endure a diet consisting of 25% less calories than they typically ate:

Most of the recipes seem to steer participants toward foods that are nutrient-rich but low in calories, or what dieticians refer to as “low in energy density.” A number of recent experiments — notably by Barbara Rolls at Penn State — demonstrated that humans tend to eat a consistent weight of food from day to day, but not necessarily a consistent number of calories. For the Calerie study, this has proved a useful tool in the defense against hunger. By building a diet around foods with a low-energy density, especially vegetables, fruits and soups, participants can conceivably ingest the same weight of food as they might on a regular diet while taking in fewer calories... Roberts said she didn’t think anyone would be successful by reducing portion size. “If you don’t change your diet to a high-satiety diet, you will be hungry, and you will fail,” she told me. A high-satiety diet, she said, was bound to be a healthful diet with a lot of vegetables, fruits and insoluble fiber — the kind found in some breakfast cereals, like Fiber One — that her research indicates has a unique effect in helping calorie-restriction subjects feel fuller, probably because they activate certain receptors in the lower intestine. Roberts added, “If people are doing this on their own and succeeding, well, I’d be surprised if they’re eating a lot of Hostess Twinkies.”

i didn't really believe this technique for a long time, but Jamie sounds like she lost a ton of weight on this Diet, and if these people are losing thirty plus pounds on it than there must be something to it.