What I mean to say, was that once you find your maintenance points, then getting them to where you exactly need to be is probably within a very small point range.
For Example: I maintain at about 1700-1800 calories per day. That is about 34 points. If I were to add more than 100 calories a day to that (2 more points), then a change (albiet a slow one) would occur in my weight. Currently I am eating 24 points a day to lose weight.
Here is the math:
A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 calories of stored energy. In order to gain a pound of fat, you have to consume 3500 more calories than you use. So for example, if you ate an extra 500 calories (5 points) each day over the course of a week you would gain 1 lb. This is exactly why some people show better losses by cutting out their extra points.
Now take that further. If you only had an extra 100 calories per day (2 points) above what you needed to maintain, it would take you 35 days (about 1 month) for those 2 extra points to catch up with you and result in a weight gain. So although the changes would show up slowly, they would still show up.
In reading 'thin for life' most of the people who had kept weight off for many years were less inclined to follow a stringent diet, than they were to just keep track of their weight. Most had an upper limit (some a weight limit and some their pants getting to tight). If they reached that upper limit, they started dieting more stringently again.
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How do I maintain my goal weight?
