I am one of those people who the studies actually do apply to. I have been in maintenance for well over a year now, and I still have to be very vigilant about my diet. I have tested it a few times, and I quickly gain weight back.

I believe that I have a similar problem to others here. The reason why programs that emphasized cutting back on certain foods (but still allowing them), didn't work for me, is because I simply cannot eat those foods. If I eat even a little bit of cake or ice cream, I want more and more and more. There is a trigger turned on inside my head that makes me crazy. If that's not addiction, I don't know what is? So, I have decided to cut them out of my life, yes, forever. People occasionally will say to me "oh come on, you can have just one cookie"! They don't realize how untrue that statement is. It would be like saying to a drug addict, "here you can take just one pill". Of course they can't.

What made things different for me this time, compared to my many other attempts, is that I simply cut those foods out. Basically all sugar is gone from my diet. Maybe it's because I'm older (48) and closer to death , so the sacrifice doesn't seem so monumental , I don't know. But, I do know that seriously, without sugar, I feel free. I don't feel like at any moment I'm going to go nuts and eat everything in sight. I finally have some control over my food choices, for the first time in my adult life.

I became vegan a year ago and it has been the best thing I've ever done in my life as far as my food choices go and in many other ways. People will always tell you, "you can't cut out certain types of foods completely, it will backfire on you". I don't believe this. I believe that it's the types of foods that we allow ourselves to eat that backfire on us.

Congratulations on your weightloss so far! You're doing great. I think it's wonderful that at 19, you're inquiring about maintenance. I never looked past the diet of the week when I was your age. You can do this! Best wishes.

I haven't been maintaining anywhere near the length of the awesome people here, but I can see that this is forever.

Some people need to cut certain foods out entirely. Others can have things in moderation. You'll need to find out which one you are.

Now and throughout my weight loss I was an "everything in moderation" type of person. I can have one serving of something and be done with it, so that's what I do I've learned to savor the taste of food and realize that I don't need a large amount of it to enjoy the taste.

I can't either. When I sit down to eat I usually have to decide how much I'm going to eat beforehand and fight myself to NOT eat all of it. It's easier than when I started, but still difficult sometimes.

I think we sometimes forget that so-called naturally thin people are also vigilant about their diet (or else have very small appetites). For them it's also forever. My mother was a case in point. She had a hearty appetite and an iron will. At 60 she had the body of a young woman. People marvelled at her ability to keep her figure, but it didn't just happen. She always said she could easily eat twice as much as she ate, but chose not to.

F.

I do hope you can still enjoy the process of losing the weight. Hopefully for you, this will be the only time you will need to lose weight, so enjoy it. Because it's awesomely fun!

You are sooo young. You are in a stage of life where you will be having new experiences, trying out new identities, and figuring out what you believe, what you enjoy, and basically how you want to live your life.

So yes, this diet thing is forever. But view it in a positive light. I feel that given my weight issues since childhood, I was able (or forced) to examine my own health at a rather young age. But everyone should figure out a healthy lifestyle that suits them just like they are figuring out a career path. See it as a good thing that you are doing it sooner than many of your friends.

Also know that virtually everything I did when I was 19 years old has been modified to some extent now that I am in my 30s. I mean, compare how I would communicate to friends and family now to how I did in the 90s. I mean, there was no twitter back when "Friends" was the best show on tv.

The same applies to how you eat and move. Certain foods (and beverages!) that I craved back then now I have no need for. And while my formal exercise has been rather consistent (I am a cardio class nut, and I am not afraid to admit it), I find that it is those summer nightly strolls (very leisurely, not at all fastpaced) at my nearby park that have really enhanced my health.

So, while how you are losing weight is working for you now, realize that your health lifestyle will evolve over time. And there is joy in that. Really.

Wow thank you all do much! You're sweet and I understand where this is going, I am enjoying my journey and thanks for helping me along!