Ten strategies drawn from the National Weight Control Registry (US data on people who've lost 30+ lbs and kept it off for 1+ years) and parallel research. These aren't diet tips — they're sustain-the-loss patterns.

1. Weigh yourself weekly. Not daily; not never. Weekly catches drift before it becomes significant.
2. Eat breakfast most days. Correlated with long-term success in 78% of NWCR members.
3. Exercise 60+ minutes most days. Higher volume than most diets require, but the sustainers do it.
4. Maintain calorie consistency across weekdays and weekends. Weekend splurges that undo weekday discipline are the #1 regain pattern.
5. Track food periodically. Not forever — but re-track for a week every few months to recalibrate.
6. Keep a limited-variety diet. The same breakfast and lunch most days reduces decision fatigue; fewer food choices = fewer chances to stray.
7. Don't skip meals. Regular eating prevents the overcorrection that drives rebound.
8. Prepare most meals at home. Restaurant meals average 300-600 more calories than equivalent home cooking.
9. Have a plan for slips. Everyone slips. Sustainers return to baseline at the very next meal.
10. Accept that maintenance is active work. Not passive "I don't need to think about it anymore." The people who succeed long-term consider it an ongoing practice.

Ten patterns. They're boring. That's the point — maintenance is boring by design, and the people who internalise that succeed.