Living a Healthier Lifestyle

What makes these successful weight loss stories so remarkable is that, according to a UCLA study, up to two-thirds of people who lose weight on a diet will gain it back within five years.

In 1995, Terry was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show for losing 95 pounds. Now he's gained that weight back, plus an extra 20. Terry says that weight loss was motivated by his goal of looking good and getting an Oprah makeover. "Once I achieved that goal, I got home, I kind of dwindled," he says. "Four nights at the gym turned into three, two, one and then none. And then I slipped back into my eating habits—and in Mississippi it's smothered, covered or fried. So it's just easy to gain the weight back there."

Bob says this kind of relapse is common when dieters focus on the wrong thing. "The weight is a symptom of something in your life that needs to change," he says. "It's about your lifestyle; it's not about that weight. And so if you lose the importance of losing weight, ironically, that's the person that has success."