In more rare cases, people find it difficult to stop at goal weight and keep losing, which obviously becomes a different kind of problem. (Question: at what point should gyms become accountable for allowing anorexic members to keep training?) Reaching goal weight is a tricky time for a number of reasons: Progress has probably for a while now no longer been as fast as in the beginning, so there are fewer immediate rewards. We seem to create only enough energy and inspiration to get us to where we want to be - think of how you relax / collapse on reaching a deadline that you’ve been gunning for… Most programmes and outside support is focused more on losing rather than longer-term maintenance. For those who have (either consciously or unconsciously) been using their weight to shield themselves against eg attention or dating, it suddenly becomes very scary. Perhaps most basic of all - in those that have been overweight for a long time, the new reality simply does not fit with their most dominant self image. Combine the attitude of ‘this just isn’t me’ with our human instinct to revert to the strongest habit, and you have a problem. In light of the above and other challenges which people face in approaching goal-weight, is there any wonder that many gradually start moving back towards from whence they came?! Preventing these challenges involves doing it right from the beginning. This means minimizing up front, the change that will be required on achieving goal weight.  In fact, what if there were no goal weight in mind at all, and rather just specific behavioural changes designed to improve health and energy? So unless there is a real medical need for you to lose weight quickly, rather aim for a gradual, step-by-step process, simply by eating and exercising in a healthy manner, and to an appropriate level.  With this approach – barring any real contributing medical factors – an overweight person will probably lose weight steadily, before eventually slowing down and stabilizing at some point. The point at which things stabilize is then of course what the goal weight should have been all along – ie that weight which is natural for you, all things considered So in summary, second prize is when you get to goal-weight, to make a conscious shift from a ‘losing’ to a ‘maintenance mentality’. This might require you to make some very specific changes to your thinking and your routines, as well as to put in renewed conscious efforts until such time as these new behaviours become integrated as absolutely routine.   First prize on the other hand, is in fact for nothing to need to change at all, as you gradually ‘happen on’ goal weight, through consistently eating and exercising in a way that optimizes health and energy.