The hardest part for me has varied over time. When I look back at the challenges from my first year of maintenance, I wish I had those back. It has gotten progressively harder (sorry to have to say that!).
Right now my major challenge is dealing with big changes in my old routines. I have a new home, I am living with my BF, I have no kitchen (renovating the house; haven't had a kitchen since June 26), work is stressful, I am on a new medication that has had an effect on my weight, and my BF is a huge foodie who loves to eat and drink and convinces me over and over again to forego my good intentions in the pursuit of short-term happiness.
That is all very, very hard! I have yet to make new routines that work for me. I started by joining a new gym and training for a half marathon (ran 10 miles yesterday!). That only goes so far, though - what I MUST do is eat less. And it is darn hard when all you want to do at the end of a long, difficult, exhausting day is have something gratifying, like a good meal and a bottle of wine.
I did not have these challenges during Years 1-5 of maintenance. I was a single gal who did my own thing, owned my own house, had my own schedule, ate dinner with friends in great restaurants when I felt like it, but by and large, during the week, I kept my diet within strict bounds.
Year 6 may be the hardest yet.
I keep telling myself I have still kept off 110 pounds and I can still run 10 miles without hurting myself. Something is still going right.
Any variation from my routine. Vacation, houseguests, holidays, evening plans, you name it.
I've found that coming up with a strategy helps to keep my eating on track, and planning exercise keeps that going too. And minimizing alcohol consumption (or making sure it's after dinner) because once I start drinking, the eating increases and goes down in quality.
I also lose exercise motivation when winter rolls around or I haven't been active in a while, and I just feel blah. The intertia feeds on itself, and invites overeating. I've signed up for a yoga class at the office and left a mat there too so I can't get out of it!
All in all, I've been having an easy time of it. My life is basically the same from week to week. I'm 45 pounds down from my all-time high, and almost 2 years into maintenance. I eat my fruits and veggies, track everything in fitday, and my hunger levels seem to match my maintenance calories (self-adjusting after big days, etc.) Two hour-long yoga sessions and 3 or 4 half hour walks a week seem to keep me on an even keel. I'm just dreading winter, if I still haven't joined a gym by then...
For me the hardest part, and this took four years to realize, is that my body needs way less food then "normal" folks. That was a huge thing to learn! The associated constant hunger can be difficult to deal with though.
Now, it's the need to eat at all that's a bit of a chore. I just focus on mostly eating the same things every day, with minor variations ie. turkey vs. chicken on a big dinner salad. Yawn... I really wish that I could just take some sort of magic pill and be done with eating entirely.
Exercise is no problem at all, I love to work out most of the time. Only occasionally I still have those moments of sitting in the car in the gym parking lot wondering how on earth I'm going to get my carcass in there for a workout. Then I usually heave a great *sigh* and shuffle in. Once I'm there it's all good. : )
The hardest part for me is facing disapproval from family and friends when they see me still measure out my food and ask for the nutritional information at restaurants (if I have not already researched it on the web.)
People who have never struggled with weight or who have chosen to remain larger just don't understand that counting calories is going to be part of my life for as long as I live.
The hardest part of maintaining to me is whenever I am around free food (parties, work events etc.). I can resist my favorites when I have to buy them but when my favorite dessert etc. is right in front of me, it is hard to resist/just have a little. (I struggle with binge eating).
As you can see from my signature, I am not yet at my goal weight...but I have been many times. I finally realized I have to understand and practice maintenance and permanent healthy life changes to stop yo-yo-ing.
Knowing that I will always have to be careful. Up until a year ago I always ate whatever I wanted and only exercised if there was some form that I really wanted to do. It wasn't until about 3 years ago that it started catching up with me. Being thin (too thin according to some people) for virtually all of my life with no effort makes it hard to accept that I really have to work to be average now. I remember getting a traffic ticket where the officer had to estimate my weight on the ticket. He put it as 120 and I thought, "Do I really look that fat?" On the other hand, I eat better, get my exercise in (except recently ) and I'm probably healthier now than when I thought 110 was too much to weigh...
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Yes, if I was a hermit who lived alone and never had to go out or work or mix with the human race ... I could be totally in control and probably stay at 122 lbs. But the world revolves and I'm in it so ... I need to get a grip and be in it.
The bottom line for me is that I have to eat less than my body wants and exercise a whole lot to keep the weight off. Do I have faulty brain wiring or hunger cues? Or is this a normal physiological reaction to eating low calories coupled with an hour or two of exercise? I dunno.
Wow - if I had THAT struggle, I don't think I'd stay on the plan. I haven't been consistently hungry - or daily hungry - since I started Fat Flush. I'm wondering, Meg, if you are missing some basic levels of vitamins/minerals that keeps your body asking for more. Do you take a high quality daily multivitamin?
My biggest struggle in maintenance-land (been here nearly 3 years. Wahoooooooo! ) is remembering to eat enough carbs. In Fat Flush, the carbs are restricted in the early phases and in Phase 3/maintenance, you can eat up to 4 servings per day (of an accepted list). If I eat THAT many, I gain weight. If I eat TOO FEW I gain weight (the ol' starvation thang).
(I LOVE that I don't have to count calories/points 'cause I'm math-impaired.)
So every few days I have to do the mental review thing to make sure I'm getting enough daily carbs. Mind you, when I'm doing extra-heavy exercising (long distance bicycle rides) I have to eat MORE protein and MORE carbs than usual.
It's a continual adjustment thing. I don't mind it because complacency is deadly.
I can relate to everything you all say! I think that's why I'm not only so grateful to my hubby, who doesn't mind my not cooking for him, but he also likes to hike, which is one of my needs on weekends, which means loonng drives to special hiking grounds. It's getting tough to go it on exercycles and treadmills all the time and I try to go to bootcamps and other outside activities instead of indoor stuff - it can get as tedious as the rigid eating journals (ugh)! But as lovestorun says, I never want to go back to where I was and that's the main factor for the vigilance. A couple of years ago, I moved up towards the 160# mark and was incredibly unhappy. All the negative self-images and sad emotions that accompanied the weight gain conspired to keep that tape going until I found this site and lost that fat again. I still struggle with it and am not sure that I'll ever find maintenance a natural fit! But I like the fit of my clothes! So I'll keep doing it like all of you! Thanks for starting this thread.
Monday (my birthday)
Day at Sea World including pizza for lunch
5 course tasting menu at fabulous seaside restaurant (including dessert, so good)
Thursday
friend made cupcakes for my birthday, I had one
team brought in birthday cake, I had 1/3 of a piece
I was also tempted by a chocolate covered macadamia nut
Friday
parents in town, we are going to Salty's in Seattle, a fancy place for dinner. I'm sure there will be wine and dessert and good things
Saturday
going with my parents to a banquet
Please please please let this week be over soon and I swear I will eat nothing but oatmeal and salmon and broccoli for a week in penance.
The hardest part for me (although it's getting better now I am learning to relax) is being flexible so that when things do change in my daily life then I am not thrown totally out of whack and fall to pieces with my eating or feel guilty about not being able to get in as much of a work out as i'd like.
That and letting go of control in the kitchen - I have a new boyfriend whose as much into health and fitness as I am (oh my gosh...the body) and so I know that when he cooks the food is all good stuff - he's even aware that I really don't need to eat as much as he does (as most males tend to assume we do when serving their "man sized portions" on those dinner dates) so that has helped a lot. My ex used to eat nothing but MASSIVE servings of pasta and sneered down his arrogant nose at anything resembling a "salad" - no matter how delicious it was! So you can see why letting someone else cook for me brough on palpatations lol.
) and I'm probably healthier now than when I thought 110 was too much to weigh...
Wow - if I had THAT struggle, I don't think I'd stay on the plan. 
) is remembering to eat enough carbs. In Fat Flush, the carbs are restricted in the early phases and in Phase 3/maintenance, you can eat up to 4 servings per day (of an accepted list). If I eat THAT many, I gain weight. If I eat TOO FEW I gain weight (the ol' starvation thang).
