I went to Weight Watchers and happily reached my goal weight. Why couldn't I maintain it when I was without that weight-loss support?

This is a problem many people have. There is a principle at work here and it has to do with this: Did you see yourself passively, as though Weight Watchers gave you what you needed to lose the weight?

Or: Did you see yourself as the actual "changer", utilizing Weight Watchers, yes, but actively making the changes yourself?

This is a critical distinction. Here's why.

When you go someplace for a weight-loss program, and you think of the program as having an "effect" on you, that effect just might begin to wear off after you are no longer attending your meetings. But if you feel that with the help of Weight Watchers you mastered the learning needed to keep you in control, then this is something that won't wear off. This is something you can take with you wherever you are, because the ability resides in you, not in Weight Watchers.

Here's an analogy. If you buy a great new outfit for a special party, and you put it on and think you suddenly look so good because of the outfit, then when you go back to your usual clothes, you won't feel as though you look so good. But if you buy a great new outfit for a party and put it on and feel: "Wow, I really make this outfit pop", then you can take your "popability" with you to every outfit in your wardrobe. You can take the good-looking you wherever you go, whatever you're wearing.

It's active versus passive. It's owning an accomplishment rather than seeing it as having been bestowed upon you from someone else. It's knowing how to apply basic principles, rather than just following the rules of a particular diet program.

Perhaps, at this point, you can go over in your mind the process you went through at Weight Watchers. What strides did you make personally that can help you now? What strengths did you use that you can use now? What strategies did you come up with during the week in between meetings when you were on your own?

What can you do right now to step into the weight loss and see it as a central part of who you've become? Once you truly connect with the weight loss, once you acknowledge and give yourself full credit for being the do-er of this wonder thing, then you can hold onto it.

So: What is it about you yourself that pulled you through to your goal?

© Maria's Last Diet. Maria's Last Diet is an online weight loss support website for women. At Maria's Last Diet, you'll find the tools to fix the thoughts, feelings, and automatic habits that fight against you when you diet. Because it's never just about the food. Visit www.mariaslastdiet.com for more diet tips and weight loss motivation.

You can reprint this article on your website, newsletter or blog by including the above paragraph.