Whether you make New Year's resolutions or not, you are likely to be thinking about the start of the new year as a time to make some changes to improve your well-being. If losing weight and keeping it off is a goal for the new year, you may be interested in information from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), an organization which surveys people who have lost at least 30 pounds and have maintained their weight loss for at least a year.

The diet plans used for weight loss by members of the NWCR are quite variable. Some participants count calories or grams of fat, some count exchanges or points, some participate in formal programs and others lose weight on their own. There are some behaviors used for weight loss that are common to the majority of NWCR participants:

#&149; Combining diet and physical activity. 89 percent used a combination of diet and physical activity to lose weight. Ten percent used diet alone. Only 1 percent used physical activity alone.

#&149; Walking for exercise. Average steps per day, as measured by a pedometer, totaled about 12,000 steps, which is above the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

#&149; Eating a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet. Most indicated that they avoided fried foods and limited foods with added fat.

#&149; Limiting fast food meals to once a week.

#&149; Eating four or five times a day.

#&149; Eating breakfast daily.

#&149; Eating nutrient-dense foods (grains, fruits and vegetables).

#&149; Limiting quantity of food eaten but allowing all foods.

#&149; Monitoring weight weekly.

As anyone who has lost weight can tell you, keeping weight off after losing it is a challenge. The NWCR respondents reported using the following approaches to prevent regaining weight:

#&149; Exercising at least one hour every day (the equivalent of walking 4 miles/day)

#&149; Maintaining a low calorie, low fat diet

#&149; Continuing eating behaviors that enabled weight loss

#&149; Monitoring weight weekly

The researchers at the National Weight Control Registry point out that lack of success in losing weight and maintaining weight loss is due to trying to lose weight without physical activity, as well as focusing too much on losing weight and not enough on keeping it off. They stress that weight loss of 5 percent or more of your starting weight has health benefits if you are able to keep the weight off.

Tip of the week:

Buy less, cook less and eat less. Your wallet and your waistline will be better off.

Christine Gutelius, MA, RD, CDN, is a nutrition resource educator with the Eat Smart NY program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County

Easy Italian Herb Foccacia

Makes 12 servings

3 1/4 cups flour

1 envelope rapid rise yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cup very warm water

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried onion

Spray a 9- by 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add water and 2 tablespoons olive oil, stirring until well mixed. Spread dough in prepared pan. Cover. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Poke multiple holes into the dough, using the handle of a wooden spoon. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over dough, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic and dried onion. Let rise an additional 15 minutes while oven preheats to 375 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.