Well, I was going to post about my day, what I ate, exercise, the usual, but I got a packet in the mail today and thought I would talk about that.

I joined the National Weight Control Registry a year ago, as I had maintained at least a 30# weight loss for a year and decided to join, even though I was not at goal.  Today was the 1-year update packet that was sent out with a survey for me to fill out on the last year as it relates to my weight.  Interesting that I am pretty much the same weight as I was a year ago, even though I was a bit lower at one point.  Anyway, they included a little sheet on Secrets of Successful Losers.   The database has over 6000 people in it. The successful maintainers tend to do the following:

1.  They eat a low-calorie diet.  Most are low-fat and they eat 4-5 times a day.

2.  They eat a consistent diet from day to day.  These maintainers also tend to eat the same during the holidays and special occasions.

3.  They eat breakfast every day.

4.  They are very physically active.  Averaging about 60 minutes per day.  Walking is the #1 exercise.

5.  They weigh themselves frequently.

6.  They watch limited amounts of television.  About 10 hours a week.

7.  They don’t let a small weight gain become bigger.

How many of these things do you do right now?  I pretty much do all 7, although I don’t know if what I eat constitutes a real low calorie diet, and I eat moderate fat.

Interesting to note that the above 7 things are pretty much what you do to lose weight as well.

The other interesting tidbit is that once you have maintained your weightloss for at least 2 years, the risk of regaining the weight is cut by more than half.   So it seems as though time is on your side the longer you keep the weight off.