Why do I always put the weight back on?

Many people who come to us have lost weight successfully in the past, sometimes several times, only to see some or all of it return. It can feel disheartening, and it often leads people to believe they've failed. They haven't.

Weight regain is extremely common. Understanding why it happens is the first step to preventing it.

The conventional story says that people regain weight because they "let themselves go". The reality, supported by a substantial body of research, is much more complex. After weight loss, the body adapts: appetite signals can become stronger and the body can use energy more efficiently. These are real biological changes, and many of them are outside our conscious control.

Knowing this doesn't make keeping weight off impossible. It means planning for it, rather than being caught off guard.

Most diets focus entirely on losing weight, with little or no guidance on what to do once you get there. Yet keeping weight off requires its own set of skills, and many people find it harder than losing weight in the first place. Without a plan, it's easy to drift back into old habits without noticing until the weight has returned.

That's why the final course of the Raiys programme is dedicated entirely to maintenance, giving it the attention it deserves.

People who keep weight off in the long term often have good support around them, whether that's family, friends, a group, or a health professional. Having someone to share successes with, and to help you get back on track after a difficult patch, can make a real difference. This course looks at how to build the right support and accountability for you.

There's an important difference between a lapse and a relapse. A lapse is a temporary slip: a difficult week, a holiday, a period of stress. A relapse is when that slip turns into a complete return to old habits. Every lapse is an opportunity either to get back on track or to drift further away, and what you do in the days after a lapse matters far more than the lapse itself.

The final course of the programme helps you spot the early warning signs that a lapse may be turning into something bigger, and gives you a clear plan for getting back on track quickly.

There's a behavioural side too. Once a goal feels achieved, it's natural to relax the routines that got you there. Life events, a new job, an illness, a bereavement, can disrupt even the best habits. These aren't signs of weakness; they're predictable risks that can be planned for.

Everyone has lapses. The difference between those who keep weight off and those who don't is often how quickly they get back on track. The final course of the programme brings together everything you've learned, and helps you build a personal plan for the long term, one that fits your life and your values, and that recognises the identity you've built along the way.

Week 12 may be especially valuable if you:

• Have lost weight before and regained it
• Worry about what happens once you reach your goal
• Find that one difficult week often turns into months off track
• Tend to stop your healthy routines once you feel you've "made it"
• Want to feel confident about keeping your progress for life

One of the most powerful shifts in lasting change is moving from "I'm trying to eat healthily" to "I'm someone who looks after my health". When healthy habits become part of how you see yourself, they become much easier to sustain. The final week helps you recognise how far you've come, and carry the identity you've built into the years ahead.

You'll finish the programme with your own personal maintenance plan: a practical, realistic guide built around your life and your values, ready for whatever comes next.

Motivation is usually at its highest at the start of a journey, when everything feels new and progress is visible. Keeping it going over months and years is a very different challenge. The programme helps you find sources of motivation that last, connecting back to the values and reasons you identified at the very beginning.

After weight loss, the body makes a number of adjustments that can encourage weight to return. Hormones that signal hunger can increase, while those that signal fullness can decrease. The body may also need a little less energy than before. These changes can last for some time after weight loss.

This isn't something you can simply will away, and it's one of the main reasons why so many people regain weight despite their best efforts. But understanding it is powerful. It explains why maintenance can feel harder than expected, and it highlights why the habits and skills you've built over the programme matter so much.

Week 12 explains this biology in clear, simple terms, and shows how the strategies you've learned can help you work with your body rather than against it.

There's no single maintenance plan that suits everyone. What works for you will depend on your life, your preferences, your challenges and your goals. That's why the final session of the programme guides you through creating your own plan, drawing on everything you've learned over the previous 12 weeks.

It's not an ending, but the start of the next stage of your journey. With the BeChange app alongside you, you'll have ongoing support to help you keep your new habits going, and to keep living the life you want.

Long-Term Weight Maintenance is one of 12 weekly courses in the Raiys Weight Management Programme. Each course is broken down into short sessions of around five minutes, one for each day of the week, so you can fit them around work, family and everything else. Each session ends with a short reflection, something to think about, and a simple action, something to try that day.

You can work through the programme in order, building each week on the last, or, if long-term weight maintenance is the area you most want to work on, you can go straight to it. Either way, the sessions are designed to be used alongside the BeChange app, which helps you put what you learn into practice in everyday life.

In Week 12 of the programme, you'll learn:

• Why weight regain happens, and the biology behind it
• How to prevent relapse
• How to recover from lapses quickly
• The role of social support and accountability
• How identity-based habits make change stick
• How to stay motivated long-term and create your own personal maintenance plan

Is regain inevitable?

No. Regain is common, but it isn't inevitable. Understanding why it happens and having a plan in place makes a real difference.

What happens after the 12 weeks?

You'll leave with a personal maintenance plan and can continue to use the BeChange app to support your habits for the long term.

What if I haven't reached my goal by Week 12?

That's absolutely fine. Many people are still losing weight at the end of the programme. The maintenance skills in this course are valuable at every stage.

Can I come back to the programme later?

Many people find it helpful to revisit particular courses when they need a refresher, for example during a stressful period or after a holiday. Returning to the topics that matter most to you can be a valuable part of keeping your progress going.

Will I still have support after the programme?

Yes. The BeChange app is designed to continue supporting your habits after the 12 weeks are over.

The Raiys Weight Management Programme is a 12-week, clinician-led digital programme designed to be used alongside the BeChange app. Each week focuses on one course, broken into short five-minute daily sessions, each with a reflection and a simple action to take into your day. It's built on current NICE and SIGN guidance and on proven behaviour-change approaches, and it's written to support you, never to judge you.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice. If you have a health condition, take regular medication, are pregnant, or have concerns about your weight or eating, please speak to your GP or healthcare professional before making significant changes. If you have had, or are preparing for, weight loss surgery, please follow the advice of your specialist team.

Dr Laura Coia is a GP Partner in NHS Scotland with over 25 years of clinical experience, and Co-founder and Medical Director of Raiys Digital Health.

Dr Izzy Howat is a Consultant Endocrinologist and NHS Weight Management Specialist, and Weight Management Lead at Raiys Digital Health. She is the author of the Raiys Weight Management Programme.

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2025). Overweight and obesity management (NG246). London: NICE. (Replaces CG189.)
• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) (2010). Management of obesity (SIGN 115). Edinburgh: SIGN. (Some recommendations may since have been superseded; read alongside NICE NG246.)
• Jensen MD, Ryan DH, et al. (2013). 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. Circulation, 129(25 Suppl 2), S102–S138. Co-sponsored by The Obesity Society.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2014). Behaviour change: individual approaches (PH49). London: NICE.
• Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, et al. (2011). Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 1597–1604.
• Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational Interviewing; and Prochaska JO, DiClemente CC. Stages of Change (Transtheoretical) model, consistent with NICE PH49.
• Hayes SC, et al. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and values-based behaviour change literature, consistent with the behaviour-change approaches referenced in NICE PH49.
• British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS). Clinical guidance for patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Relevant only to readers who have had, or are preparing for, weight loss surgery; this programme is a non-surgical behavioural programme.