You want to lose excess weight, well help is at hand. Just turn to the Web. A new study suggests that the right Web site can actually help you lose weight by guiding you.

An average of nine pounds of their original 19-pound weight loss was maintained by people who checked in to the Web site at least once a month to record their weight or food consumption over a two-and-a-half year period.

There were others who checked in for about 14 months on a regular basis could however maintain five pounds of their weight loss.

The weight loss decreased as number of checking the Web site decreased.

Study's lead author, Kristine Funk, a research associate at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore, said, "The bottom line is that we think the Internet is a helpful tool for weight loss maintenance. People who used the study-designed interactive Web site had better results than people who used it less often."

About 348 participants were assessed for a study and at the time when the study started had a body mass index of 25 or higher and they also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

About 65 per cent of these people who logged in regularly for about 28 months, lost weight more than those who logged in less and those who completely lost the track.