Talk to a doctor

Learn

After you reach your goal weight

Before you join a weight programme, ask whether regular measuring, a review of your routine and the same care team continue after you reach your goal.

KiloCare Team · · How we write and review

A woman settled in an armchair under a floor lamp reads a message on her phone with a small relieved smile, tea and a book beside her.

The note on the bathroom mirror has a number on it, written months ago. This morning, the scale shows that number.

For some weight programmes, this is the last day. The weekly check-ins stop, and the plan ends with the weight loss. Maintenance is the care after you reach your goal. Some programmes do not include it.

Weight care has a second stage
  1. While you lose weight, progress shows each week
  2. At your goal weight, some programmes stop
  3. Maintenance carries on, with no fixed end

What should carry on after the goal

  1. Regular measuring. A check every month or so catches a change early.
  2. A review of your routine. When you reach your goal, your doctor goes through your routine with you again.
  3. The same care team. A doctor and a care coordinator who know your history, so you do not start again at every call.

A 2014 review in the BMJ pooled 45 trials of support given after people had lost weight. Support that covered both food and activity helped people keep more of the weight off. The benefit was small.[1] The UK's guideline on obesity care, from NICE, asks for diet support to come with follow-up, to help people keep weight off over the long term.[2]

4 questions to ask before you join

Tick them off as you ask, or copy them to send to a programme you are thinking about.

Questions to ask before you join

NICE also asks weight programmes to contact people 12 months after they finish.[2]

When a doctor leads your care

When a doctor leads your care, your reviews carry on after the goal. Your doctor decides any change with you, and keeps a record of each consultation and the reports used in it.[3] At your next review, your doctor has your earlier notes and reports. At KiloCare, the Clinical plan includes a monthly video review with your doctor.

The note stays on the mirror. Each month, before the review, a new number goes under the old one.

Ask what happens after you reach your goal. Who will you speak to, how often, what will be measured, and what will it cost?

It has no fixed end. Treat it as a regular part of your care, and agree with your doctor how often you will review it.

Not usually. What helped you lose weight may not suit the months after. Go through your routine again with your doctor when you reach your goal.

Sources

  1. Dombrowski SU, Knittle K, Avenell A, Araújo-Soares V, Sniehotta FF. Long term maintenance of weight loss with non-surgical interventions in obese adults: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 2014;348:g2646. doi:10.1136/bmj.g2646. PMID: 25134100. Available from: bmj.comCited atAbstract
  2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Overweight and obesity management. London: NICE; 2025 Jan 14. NICE guideline NG246. Last updated 2026 Jan 8. Available from: nice.org.ukCited atp. 76, rec. 1.16.5p. 107, rec. 1.19.27
  3. Board of Governors in supersession of the Medical Council of India. Telemedicine Practice Guidelines: Enabling Registered Medical Practitioners to Provide Healthcare Using Telemedicine. 2020 Mar 25. Appendix 5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. Available from: esanjeevani.mohfw.gov.inCited atp. 24