Health psychologists continue to have difficulty identifying prognostic indicators of weight loss success. Psychological, social, and demographic factors have been examined, but correlations with weight loss are disappointing. Actual behaviors or quantifications of specific actions and historical measures were examined for their validity in identifying reliable predictors of weight loss success. Couples (N=23) participating in a 1-year correspondence weight reduction program in which one person in each couple enrolled to lose weight and the other agreed to act as helper completed questionnaires about body weight history and specific prior attempts at weight loss. At the end of 1 year responses were correlated with loss of absolute weight and percent body fat. Results indicated that there was little correlation between weight history and measures of body change and that the most successful reducers were those who reported the fewest past attempts and the fewest unsuccessful past attempts at weight loss. The findings suggest that actual behaviors and historical measures may be worthy of additional testing by other obesity researchers. (PAS)