According to a new report released by the Calorie Control Council, 103 million American adults were successful in losing weight over the past 12 months. The bad news is that two thirds of the dieters regained weight after 6 months. The report also found that over the 12 month study period, half of the subjects tried two or more ways to lose weight.

The top obstacles to achieving a healthy weight, according to the national survey, are: not enough exercise (69%), metabolism slowing (62%) and too much snacking (52%).

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, two thirds of the American population is overweight or obese. “Many have taken the first step – admitting they want to lose weight for overall better health,” says Beth Hubrich, a registered dietitian with the Calorie Control Council. 50% of Americans now acknowledge that they need to lose 10 lbs. Of the Americans that are trying to lose those extra 10 lbs, 86% are trying to cut down on sugar.

So what can you do to make sure that you don’t become part of the two thirds of Americans who regain weight lost? A recent study from researchers at Stanford suggests that recognizing weight loss progress and positive changes in appearance at the six month park predicted less weight regain from the six to twelve month mark. Maybe there is something to those progress pics after all.

Speaking of progress pics, did you see this video meme from last week? Pretty impressive.