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If NBC''s hit show 'The Biggest Loser' taught us anything. it's that water weight is the first and easiest to lose...then goes the actual fat. While many people can drop pounds quickly in the early stages of dieting, it's hard to lose the rest of the weight and harder still to keep it off. Almost like any addiction, regression without very careful and serious commitment is almost a sure thing.

It is also a fact that the older we get, the harder it is to lose weight. The small pooch of motherhood or the beer-belly of bachelor years becomes a badge of age for many, one that is seemingly and depressingly permanent.

Dietitians note that for post-menopausal women, particularly, natural declines in energy expenditure could make long-term weight loss even more challenging. Behaviors that are related to short-term weight loss can be targeted and changed in time to treat and ultimately prevent long-term obesity outcomes.

  "Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase and researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you've lost weight," notes chief investigator Bethany Barone Gibbs, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Health and Physical Activity.

This, combined with a decrease in energy expenditure, makes it much harder for menopausal and post-menopausal women to maintain weight-loss.

But very doable. 

In a study published in the September issue of Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers changed the dieting habits of 508 overweight post-menopausal women, seeking to determine if alterations in eating behaviors and selected foods were associated with weight-loss, as reported by Elsevier Health Sciences in a news release.

They found that the eating behaviors associated with weight-loss at six months focused on comsuming fewer desserts and fried foods, drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, eating more fish, and eating at restaurants less. Eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat and cheese emerged as additional important predictors for long-term weight loss.

The results suggest that decreased consumption of desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages consistently associate with short- and long-term weight loss or maintenance, but increased fruits and vegetables and decreased meat and cheeses are additional factors that may improve long-term weight loss or control.

Researchers suggest that in order to decrease obesity, doctors and dieticians should stress that dieting and/or healthy eating is a life-style. Though moments of indulgence are expected and even recommended, relapse is not an option. In order to lose-weight and keep it off, one must stick to their diet for the long-term, shaping their eating habits around sustaining a desired weight.

It's hard, but you can do it!