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The National Weight Control Registry

In an effort to understand how dieting works, a National Weight Control Registry has been set up. This registry tracks anyone who has lost 30 pounds or more, and kept it off for more than a year.

So far there are over 4,000 names in this registry and more are being added every day. Each person is asked questions about how they lost the weight, what exercise they do (if any), what their outlook was on dieting, and so on. The hope is that as this database grows, dieticians can learn what really works as far as losing weight and keeping it off.

In fact, while the minimum weight loss is only 30 pounds, the registry's average weight loss is a full 60 pounds, and most people who have registered have kept that weight off for 6 years or more.

Most of the registry members had tried and failed a few times before finally getting that weight to stay off. The common characateristics of the success seems to be:

* They eat breakfast daily.

* They monitor their weight at least weekly and take action when they start to gain.

* They have found an exercise routine they enjoy - be it dancing, biking, hiking, etc. and burn around 2,800 calories a week.

If you're looking to make a permanent change in your own health, be sure to consider this a "lifestyle change" and not just a "temporary diet that I can abandon later"! And if YOU have lost 30 pounds or more and kept them off, be sure to call to register:

800-606-NWCR (6927)

I registered online a few months ago. It took them a few months to send me the paperwork. Now, I've just got to send back the paperwork with my signature. I guess that once I send it back, they'll send me a survey.