Keys to Keeping Off the Pounds: Successful Long-Term Weight Loss Management

How do you keep off the pounds? Scientists have uncovered the keys to successful long-term weight loss maintenance. They've followed volunteers over a 10-year period in order learn exactly what methods are best for warding off weight gain.

In this case, the researchers observed nearly 3,000 participants who self-reported weight loss and behavior change over 10 years. The volunteers had initially lost at least 30 pounds and had kept it off for at least one year when they were enrolled.

"On average, participants maintained the majority of their weight loss over this extended follow-up period, and better success was related to continued performance of physical activity, self-weighing, low-fat diets and avoiding overeating," said J. Graham Thomas, one of the researchers, in a news release.

So what else did the scientists find? About 87 percent of the participants were estimated to be still maintaining at least a 10 percent weight loss at years five and 10. They also found that a larger initial weight loss and longer duration of maintenance were associated with better long-term outcomes. In addition, they found that decreases in physical activity, dietary restraint and self-weighing along with increases in fat intake were associated with greater weight regain.

"This is one of the only studies to follow weight loss maintenance over such a long term," said Thomas in a news release. "What the results tell us is that long-term weight loss maintenance is possible, but it requires persistent adherence to a few key health behaviors."

The findings reveal how important it is to take behavior into account when it comes to weight loss. While initial weight loss can be a huge boon to health, gaining the weight back can leave a person back where they started. By simply changing their lifestyle, they can maintain their weight loss for years to come.

The findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.