Is There a Shortcut to Maintaining Weight Loss?

Consistency is key! For some people, losing weight alone is not worth the effort. They lose every pound. New research shows what an individual needs to do to lose weight and maintain weight loss. It's not that easy. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have compiled a National Weight Control Registry of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off.

Experts have so far analyzed a detailed questionnaire from 629 women and 155 men who have lost an average of 66 pounds and maintained at least 30 pounds. Weight loss for 5 1/2 years. Most of these people managed to lose weight by burning an average of 2,800 calories a week with exercise. This means burning about 400 calories a day. (The average person consumes about 100 calories per mile while walking or running.) These people also limit the amount of high-fat, high-calorie foods.

People at USA Today should not be discouraged, says James Hill, co-founder of the Weight Control Registry and an obesity expert at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. If they forget about weight and focus on proper diet and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, they lose weight.