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Does It Matter How Fast You Lose Weight? It's a dogma in weight loss circles that losing pounds slowly and steadily is the best way to stay lean. But a new study in the Lancet suggests that's a myth — whether you drop pounds over a couple of months or over the course of a year, your odds of keeping the flab off are exactly the same. What really matters, experts say, is sticking to a healthy lifestyle routine by tracking your progress, controlling your portions, and exercising. Australian researchers put one group of obese volunteers on a medically supervised rapid-weight-loss (RWL) program for 12 weeks and a second group on a less-restrictive gradual-weight-loss program (GWL) over 36 weeks. The rapid diet participants consumed a strict 450 to 800 calories per day from vitamin- and mineral-fortified meal-replacement supplements. (Note: This super-low-calorie program would be dangerous without doctor oversight.) Meanwhile, the gradual diet group reduced their normal intake by roughly 500 calories per day while consuming a steady diet of 15 percent protein, 25 to 30 percent fat, and 55 to 60 percent carbohydrates. The target weight loss for all dieters was 12.5 percent off their bodyweight. RELATED: Why Experts Now Think You Should Eat More Fat By the end of each respective study period, 81 percent of those on the rapid diet hit the goal while only 50 percent of the gradual diet group lost 12.5 percent of their bodyweight. Experts say that's probably because the rapid dieters were much more closely monitored, consumed far fewer calories, and felt more naturally rewarded, contributing to stricter adherence. But the most surprising finding was that over the next three years, the rate of weight loss made no difference in whether the pounds stayed off. From the gradual diet group, 71 percent regained weight. And from the rapid diet group — exactly the same. "This study demonstrated that regardless of the way in which weight is lost, either rapidly or gradually, keeping it off is a challenge," says Corby Martin, a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center who wrote a commentary on the study in the Lancet. Nevertheless, there's still a proven formula for staying lean, says . "Successful people eat portion-controlled foods, exercise about 250 minutes or more a week, weigh themselves every other day, and track what they eat by recording it or using a smartphone app." He also recommends a health maxim that actually does hold up to prevent bingeing and putting on weight: "Eat breakfast. Every day.