Table 1.

Characteristics of Included Studies

Study reference	N	Country	Age	Gender	Weight status	Context	Aims and main findings
Beruchashvili & Gentry, 2006	18	USA	Not described	All women	Not reported	Women who were trying to lose weight or maintain lost weight	Describes factors that aid self‐control—freedom from family responsibilities and social support—and factors that hinder self‐control—seeing food as comfort and its omnipresence.
Couch et al., 2014	47	Australia	Mean 29 years (range 20–43)	All men	BMI 39 (range 30–57)	Men who described their weight loss program in men's health magazine	Men described losing weight by exercise, dietary changes, and associated behavioral strategies.
Davis, 2014	5	USA	All in their 20s	2 men, 3 women	Not reported	US college students actively losing weight	The students separated the processes of weight loss in different stages of the process, felt support was useful to them, their weight loss was adversely affected by stress, and the campus environment.
Frank, 2012	10	USA	Not reported	10% men	Not reported	People who had lost weight and kept it off	Individual growth allowed people to break free of former ways of life and develop a sense of agency over eating.
Granberg, 2006	46	USA	Mean 47 years (range 27–79)	22% men	Mean BMI before weight loss=33, after weight loss=25	People who had sustained weight loss recruited through Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous	The possible future self‐concept and how bodily change reinforced and developed a new self‐concept.
Heading, 2008	19	Australia	Not reported	32% men	21% were healthy weight and the remainder overweight or obese	People who were or had been overweight	Broad ranging: risk logics, embodiment the interplay between the physical, social and subjective body and issues related to adult obesity in remote New South Wales
Hindle & Carpenter, 2011	10	UK	Mean 44 years, standard deviation 12	All women	Mean starting BMI 33	People who had lost weight	Broad ranging: motivation for weight loss and feeling that this was the time, accepting lapses, and lack of motivation to maintain weight because of lack of reinforcement of actions by rewards.
Jaksa, 2011	12	USA	Aged 20 to 57 years	8% men	Not reported	People who had lost at least 20% of body weight and maintained this for at least 2 years	The spectre of the former overweight self‐motivated weight loss maintenance, which was marked by constant vigilance and moderated by trying to find a psychological balance.
James et al., 2016	20	USA	Aged 50 to 70 years	All men	Mean BMI 29, standard deviation 5	Men in general, not necessarily overweight or had lost weight	Description of weight loss strategies used by baby boomer men
Karfopoulou et al., 2013	44	Greece	Mean 32 years, standard deviation 10	41% men	BMI before weight loss was mean 32, standard deviation 7	People who had lost at least 10% of body weight	Contrasts between people who had maintained and regained weight: motivation for weight loss, dealing with eating out, and managing cues to eat.
Klingemann et al., 2016	133	Switzerland	Mean 51 years, standard deviation 14	48% men	Maximum lifetime BMI = 35	People who had lost weight and maintained it versus those who lost and regained weight	The development of behavioral changes in individuals who were able to achieve successful long‐term behavior modification weight loss and maintenance compared to individuals unable to lose substantial weight or to prevent weight regain after weight loss
Macchi, 2007	10	USA	Aged 30 to 45 years	All women	Not reported	Women who used behavioral support contrasted with women who did not	Women approached a “crisis” or threshold, which either prompted action to change themselves or pushed them back to their old behaviors.
McKee et al., 2013	18	UK	Mean age 44 years, standard deviation 13	11% men	Mean current BMI 28	People who had lost 10% of body weight and maintained this contrasted with people who had lost weight and regained it	Contrasts: realistic versus unrealistic goals, the value of routines, self‐monitoring, rules about banned foods, and coping with lapses.
Monaghan, 2008	37	England	Mean age 43 years	All men	Most currently overweight	Interviews explored the value of exercise, not necessarily related to weight control	Men's rejection of the notion of slimness in favor of fitness.
Reyes et al., 2012	29	USA	Mean age 47 years, standard deviation 11	34% men	Mean current BMI 32, standard deviation 5	People who had lost 10% of bodyweight and maintained contrasted with people who regained	Contrasts: maintainers more often continued strategies used during weight loss, weighed themselves regularly, and used productive problem‐solving skills and positive self‐talk.
Ross et al., 2016	20	USA	Mean age 57 years, standard deviation 9	25% men	Mean BMI 27, standard deviation 6	People losing or lost weight through yoga	Yoga helped shift towards healthy eating through mindful eating and stress control, yoga inspired a change in self‐concept, and developed muscle mass.
Stuckey et al., 2011	61	USA	Aged over 21 years	28% men	Not reported	Lost at least 13.6kg and maintained this for a year	People had changed diet by changing food type and quantity, drinking more water, with consistent meal times and planning, regularly used physical activity with monitoring, practised restraint, self‐monitored weight, and deliberately boosted their motivation.
Sweeting et al., 2016	35	Scotland	Mean age 24 years	49% male	Range of BMI from healthy to overweight	All had been overweight in adolescence, some now healthy weight, others still overweight	All were actively controlling their weight with few differences between the healthy weight and overweight participants. Life transitions either helped or hindered weight control.
Thomas et al., 2008	76	Australia	Mean 47 years, range 16 to 72	17% male	Over half had a BMI≥40	Understand experience of people who had a BMI of at least 30 and their approach to life and weight loss	Participants blamed their lack of ability to stick to diets and thought that dieting usually worked
Thorp et al., 2014	11	England	Aged 27 to 59 years	All men	Range of BMIs from healthy to ≥30	To examine men's attitudes towards weight management and behavioral support for weight management	Men set their own standards for what constituted healthy weight for them based on functionality. Men saw weight loss as work and traditional weight management as feminine.
Tyler et al., 1997	80	USA	Mean 34 years, standard deviation 10	All women	Half currently healthy weight, others overweight	Contrasting weight loss methods of African‐American and Euro‐American women	African‐American and Euro‐American women used similar weight loss methods.
Whetstone, 2016	7	USA	Aged 35 to 60 years	All men	All currently had a BMI between 25 and 30	Men who had a BMI>30 and who currently had a BMI<30 maintained for at least a year	To describe understanding of weight and weight loss generally with 14 themes emerging.
Witwer, 2014	12	USA	At least 18 years of age	33% men	Not reported	People who had lost 10% of bodyweight and maintained this for at least a year	To develop a theory of weight loss maintenance, based on transformation of the self.