In November 2005, 6-foot-1 Eric Schiemer weighed in at a Weight Watchers meeting at 368 pounds, his peak. On Jan. 9, 2008, the Moon-based DJ and graphic designer was down to 214.

Twenty-five pounds to goal weight and lifetime membership -- unless he decides to up the ante.

"We'll see what happens when I get to 189." he said.

You see, Mr. Schiemer, 37, has made this journey before, and he knows the real trip begins after a Weight Watchers participant reaches first goal and then lifetime status. "There's no fix," he said. "There's a constant struggle."

Back in the early 1990s, he lost 105 pounds with the system that relies on weekly meetings to provide support for eating and behavioral changes -- only to regain it "plus another 70 or 80 pounds."

"I did this when I was in my 20s," he said. "I had the wrong motivation. I was young and single, looking to meet girls. ... Once I achieved [goal] I hadn't set myself up for lifetime reasons [to maintain]."

He got married and a job, "started living life," and forgot about the "constant struggle."

Over those years, Mr. Schiemer tried NutriSystem and another diet plan for which he no longer remembers the name. They didn't work for him. He also unsuccessfully tried Weight Watchers a few more times. "It was a matter of finding motivation to do it again," he said.

Ironically, he said, blood pressure high enough to require prescription medication didn't provide the motivation it should have. (Nevertheless, the pressure has dropped enough during his weight loss that he no longer needs to take the drug.)

But he did find the motivation necessary for any diet to succeed with the birth of his first child, Alex, who now is 2. "I didn't want him to know me as the Big Dad," Mr. Schiemer said.

"Big Dad" started shopping for a Weight Watchers meeting that fit his schedule and comfort level.

He found one that even had what seemed like a cosmic connection. "The leader was one I had back in 1992. I said, 'OK, this is a sign that this is where I belong. [It's been] 17, 18 years.' She helped me twice, so we have a good relationship."

Weight Watchers has two different eating plans. In the Flex Plan, foods are assigned point values and dieters are given a number of points they're allowed each day plus 35 points they can use any way they want over the course of a week. In the Core Plan, participants eat from an established set of foods that, Mr. Schiemer said, are higher in proteins, like lean meats, and lower in carbohydrates.

Mr. Schiemer started with Flex points but hit a plateau after a year. He then switched to a regimen combining the two systems.

With Core, he said, "you're supposed to judge how full you are. ... That's why I have to count those points. If I wait for my body to tell me I'm full, I'll never stop eating!"

But the weekly meetings, which include a weigh-in, are what really make Weight Watchers the plan for Mr. Schiemer.

"For me, there's something about the meetings, going every week. [It's] that added sense of obligation and accountability that you only get going to a regular meeting, where you say [to yourself] 'Here comes Wednesday again; what have I accomplished this week?'

"That's the key to my success," he said.

And now he has further motivation to keep going. Son No. 2, Kevin, was born on New Year's Day. "I have motivation all around me."