A recent study reported dieters thought losing 40% of their weight in one year would make them happy with their diet plans. To meet this goal, a 200 pound man would have to lose 80 pounds; a 150 pound woman would have to lose 60 pounds. I don't promise you will lose 40% of your weight in the next year with the Stop That! Program, because you don't want to! Losing that much weight in 12 months would require strict dieting, deprivation, and vigorous exercise. It also might damage your health, and any weight lost would probably be regained just as quickly (95% of dieters regain lost weight in one year, as old habits gradually take over again). Most dieters did not gain the weight they hope to lose in one year. The pounds went on gradually, and waistlines kept increasing, year after year. In order to lose weight and keep it off, weight must also be lost gradually. Rapid weight loss requires great changes in diet and behavior that few dieters can maintain. Dieters, successful and unsuccessful, eventually return to their old eating habits, as exercise equipment begins to gather dust. Pounds and inches come back, month after month, and year after year, until dieters are even heavier than before.

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