The person is your role model, a mentor, and teacher. Often they will be able to provide a step-by-step plan of action that will help you achieve success and maintain it, far faster and for far longer than if you had made the attempt on your own.

Sometimes in the area of successful fat loss, however, such a mentor is hard to find. Sadly, most of us do not know many people who have achieved the apparently miraculous combination of both losing weight and keeping it off. It is not often that we are able to surround ourselves with such a group, let alone find a single person that falls into this elusive category.

Thankfully, such a group exists, and we are going to show you exactly where to find them.

The National Weight Control Registry is a research project that tracks the progress, habits, and characteristics of people who have lost over 30 pounds and kept it off for longer than a year. The study follows the lives and habits of 5000 people, year after year, seeking to find the success clues that create and maintain consistent fat loss.

To keep current with the National Weight Control Registry's (NWCR) findings, be sure to frequent their website at www.NWCR.ws. In the meantime, here are five of the key factors associated with people that have achieved results.

1) One of the best findings of the NWCR is a subject that appears to be very well known, yet somehow people ignore it day after day and year after year, as they add pound after pound. Here it is: diet AND exercise were "the secret" to consistent, persistent weight loss. Just dieting does NOT work! Exercising 2-3 times a week while eating junk food does NOT work! We all know this, yet why do so many continue to struggle every single day, ignoring the facts?

2) In one study, the average participant had lost at least 66 pounds and kept the weight off for over 5 years. Pretty impressive, right? The common characteristic of this group was that they followed a lower calorie, low-fat diet. Before you completely kick fat out of your diet and off of your plate, however, it is important to know that this group's average daily caloric intake from fat was 24% of total calories. In other words: don't be a fat-o-phobic. Healthy, dietary fat is imperative to successful fat loss, so achieve this percentage as you eat throughout your day.

3) Almost 80% of the most successful "losers" ate a healthy breakfast...everyday. Breakfast helps jump start your metabolism each day, so make it a top priority in your weight loss program.

4) Participants in the study who were consistent with their diet throughout the entire week, as opposed to just Monday through Friday, were 150% more likely to keep their weight at bay over the course of a year. Take note: a cheat DAY will probably prevent successful fat loss, but a cheat MEAL or two each week will not only keep you psychologically sane, but actually help with your overall fat loss achievement.

5) We know that the NWCR group lost weight through both diet and exercise, but how have they successfully kept it off for over a year? Take a deep breath, please, as the shocking solution is revealed...

They continued to do both diet AND exercise. It's just that simple.

There you have it. The combination of diet and exercise is, by far, the most important factor in the achievement of fat loss. The group from the National Weight Control Registry can be fantastic allies in your weight loss endeavor. Use them as mentors and role models, and allow the lessons they have learned to more quickly help you develop new lifelong habits that virtually guarantee weight loss success!