Adherence

Successful long-term weight loss maintenance (defined as losing ≥10% of body weight and keeping it off for ≥1 year) is strongly associated with high levels of regular physical activity (approx. 1 hour/day or 2500-3000 kcal/week expenditure), low-fat diet (approx. 24% of calories from fat), and frequent self-monitoring of weight and food intake.

To maintain weight loss, you must adopt three specific behaviors: eat a low-fat diet (around 24% of calories from fat), monitor your weight and food intake frequently (weighing yourself daily or weekly), and engage in high levels of physical activity (approx. 1 hour of moderate activity like brisk walking daily). These are the common traits of successful long-term maintainers.