If you want to lose weight and keep that weight off, the secret may be to not diet, a surprising new study has found. Researchers found that eating regularly is actually a much safer and more effective way to lose weight and then maintain that healthy weight, and that dieting may actually pack on the pounds.

The counterintuitive study was published in the journal Eating Behaviors, and it could change the way we think about dropping unwanted pounds. The study states that establishing healthy, regular eating habits is simply more effective than going on a diet, especially for the long term.

The study is based on an examination of 5,000 men and women. The participants filled out survey son their weight, weight change, eating habits, and other factors. They found that those who dieted did not do as well as those who were on a healthy, regular eating regimen.

“Most subjects gained weight during the decade in between. Only 7.5% of women and 3.8% of men lost weight over the period. Between the ages of 24 and 34, the mean gain in women was 0.9 kg per year, while in men the corresponding gain was 1.0 kg,” reads the statement from the University of Helsinki. “In addition to dieting and irregular eating habits, women’s risk of gaining weight was increased by giving birth to two or more children, regular consumption of sweetened beverages and poor contentment with life. In men, the additional factor increasing the risk of gaining weight was smoking. Factors protecting from weight gain were physical activity in women, while in men they were a higher level of education and greater weight at the beginning of the study period.”