I was just sitting here think...wow this is my hmm 3rd? 4th? 5th? time I have lost this same 30 pounds. For me the losing did not seem as hard as keeping it off.

If you have any tips, secrets, ideas etc I would love to hear them so far I am only down 7 pounds but I can see myself back down another 30 and am scared to death when I get there that like the past it will creep back up on me and next thing I know I will be back to square one

Maintaining is totally harder...you don't get that "oooh, another pound" reward to keep you on track and there is a big sense of "I have to do this forever" that can be discouraging over time.

Luckily, 3FC has a great maintainers forum for supporting those in the maintenance phase, and it REALLY helps to have others to share with. When you get to that point (or now!), head on over and check it out!

I haven't hit my real, long-term maintenance yet, but I did take a break from losing and "practice" maintaining in my 170s earlier this year.

I totally think maintenance is harder. Not only do you not get the "ooh another pound lost" or "ooh I'm down a pants size" boost every so often, I think it's much easier to slack off a bit and gain back 5 or 10 lb before you even know what you're doing.

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I would guess maintaining would be pretty hard. But I can't wait until I get to "maintain" haha.

I believe maintaining is harder, but not impossible. I have maintained for 8 months by following the advice of those who have lost and maintained for a period of time.

Great question. Thanks for thinking of asking it.
I've been really worried about keeping the motivation going once I get to maintenance too. I still have a way to go (especially at the snails pace I'm losing at right now ) but I've started making some notes - I figured making notes and devising a plan worked pretty well for the losing part so ought to be part of maintenance too. I think one of the things that's going to be important for me is to still have goals of some sort that are going to give me the same little twinge of pleasure as the scale moving soooo, at this point I'm planning on making them exercise goals - like how many push-ups I can do. Big one is going to be to get to the point that I can do "real" push-ups instead of the *women's* version.

I know what it was like to maintain my weight at 300! So, does that qualify me for determining how I will do it at 180? LOL....

It's like proving you wouldn't be one of those spoiled by winning the lottery -- "If I just had the chance right this moment to prove I can maintain, I'd do it!"

Luckily, it is a long way off for me to imagine what it would be like to be in a position to maintain, but I would think that I would just figure that what I'm doing now to lose weight is what I would be doing at the goal weight to maintain the loss. Therefore, "lifestyle change". Have to keep eating sugar free jello and lots of vegetables and fruits and lean meats and whole grains and keep exercising like crazy!

I guess just accepting that the rest of my life is going to be ... no pizza buffets... no cheesecake desserts..... no lying around on the weekend watching cop shows.... no pizza buffets....

Hahah! That's a great analogy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), I stand a better chance of proving my ability to maintain than I do of proving my ability to not become a rich jerk if I win the lottery.

Be nice to have both, though!

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Gosh, I feel like this might be a trick question . I've been up and down so many times over the years. I guess since I'm ---->up right now, it must be harder for me to maintain. But, as I get older it's defintly getting harder to loose the weight......??????

Losing is such a short journey, maintenance is forever! Maintenance is a great place to be though and I am holding my own....

This is wonderful LOL Now I am not sure I will look forward to the maintenance part. But there are some great ideas on here, joining the maintenance forum, and having a plan with goals seem to be the most logical. You all are right about the 'ooh I lost another pound or pants size' that keeps me going now. Finding what will give me the 'ooh look at me now' thrill will take more effort

OK off to the drawing board and start my planing

I love the "Oooohh, the clothes from last fall still fit" part! MUCH better than the old feeling of- "oh, well, and I liked that sweater, too" that I experienced during my Expanding Years. See, there are still plenty of positive milestones after you reach your goal weight!

I would agree that maintaining is harder. I've been down to 148 but it was completely impossible to maintain my insane ritual of running for an hour a day and eating only a lean cuisine at 10 am and a salad around 4. I'm now back slightly over where I was and starting all over again. I've done this so many times in the last 4 years of college that you'd think I actually enjoy dieting to the point where I gain the weight back just for the joy of losing it again! My problem is I get comfortable with my body and over-do it until my fat jeans are tight. I'm about to graduate and can no longer do this roller coaster weight-loss program I've come accustomed to. I just joined this forum and I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to lose once again AND maintain this time!

I would agree that maintaining is harder, there have been many times in my life that I have gained back large amounts of weight (plus, more weight). Losing weight is short term, maintenance is the rest of your life. Although I have a lot of healthy habits to help, sometimes the endlessness of it can wear down my spirits. Luckily, my cute size 6 clothes perk me back up again!

In all seriousness, I am so much happier maintaining my weight loss (food journaling, calorie counting, eating good foods) than I ever was as a heavy person. Eating whatever I wanted didn't make me happy.