Losing the weight versus maintaining?

I think maintaining can be a bit more challenging because when I was in active weight loss mode, I had the motivation of my success. Week after week, I'd weigh in, post a loss, and get cheered on. That really helped! Plus, I was seeing myself shrink, had the thrill of being able to wear smaller sizes, etc. Then when you hit maintenance, you still have to keep motivated and it is easier to slack a little bit from time to time. I think the hard physical work comes in weight loss, the hard mental work comes in maintenance. At least for me, anyway, but I have only been in maintenance for about 6 months.