Was doing great yesterday until I had one of my usual issues - snacking after dinner. I think I ended up only 300 over goal and goal is a deficit so not terrible. Lots of estimation on consumption and burn. I feel pretty sure I will still be in maintenance range when I weigh back at home on Tuesday.

I agree about the long term habits. Don't cut things you plan to eat again once you hit goal; just be careful about portions and having things too often. The only thing that has worked for me is tracking as accurately as possible. If you eat less calories than you burn, you lose weight. If you eat more calories than you burn you gain weight. All strategies end up adjusting calories whether you count them or not. No diet counteracts physics. No diet lowers or increases metabolism enough to make a significant difference. Knowing the score works better for me - total calories in the right range, making sure I get enough protein and a few veggies in there.

After losing over 65 pounds, I have now maintained a BMI below 25 for over 7 months. It has been around 35 years since I was last at a healthy weight and in good shape for more than a brief period at the end of a crash diet and even then it wasn't really a true healthy weight.

How I eat is the major determining factor for what I weigh. How much exercise and what kind is the major determining factor for how fit I am. Trying to exercise away pounds usually fails. "Eating healthy" (which has about a million meanings depending on what you believe) will not improve your fitness.

A word of warning to those working on loss - maintenance has been almost as hard as losing, maybe harder. If you crash diet to lose, then maintenance is harder still because you don't know how. I just slowly allowed larger portions of some things and other things more often. I didn't have to change what I eat. But it's a commitment for life. I know I can get away with splurges and make up for them, but it could easily get out of hand; I used to binge. I don't get much positive feedback anymore. People were cheering me on and encouraging me when I was losing and congratulating me when I hit goal. Now this size and fitness level is the norm and almost no one else realizes how hard it is to maintain. Don't get me wrong - I love the new me. I enjoy a lot more things and have better odds of living a long and healthy life. It is completely worth the effort, but there is a lot of effort.