Burned out, but don't want to have to start over.

The bottom line is you may NEVER be able to eat the way your friends do if you want to keep the weight off. That's why the usual sermon around here is that you're not on a diet - you're changing your lifestyle - FOREVER (unless you want to gain it all back). Once you reach your goal, you'll be able to eat a little more or exercise a little less, but if you want to keep it off, you're going to have to control what you eat for the rest of your life. It's just the way it is and I'm not going to sugar coat it. You'll have to decide which is most important to you.

I found that one of the most valuable lessons in this whole process was that this doesn't end when you reach your goal. So really, it doesn't matter how long it takes (unless you've got serious health issues dependent on dropping the weight fast). It doesn't matter, because it doesn't end. That can be a depressing thought at first, but let it motivate you to find a way of making this work forever.

When you reach your goal, you can't just stop what you're doing now and expect to keep the weight off. You still need to be vigilant. The only difference is, you get a few hundred more calories to play with, and honestly it's not long before you don't even notice that,

So, what about your life now makes you want to give up? Maybe 5 days a week working out isn't sustainable for you. Maybe you could cut it to 4 or 3. Or, maybe 3 days at the intensity you're doing now, and 2 days of something less intense. What about how you're eating? The truth is, you can eat burgers if you want to, you just have to fit them in, and sometimes it takes a little planning. Maybe try not to treat it as a temporary diet where you can only eat certain foods.

Why don't you take the time now to create a lifestyle that you can actually sustain long term? According to your profile, you already lost a significant amount and regained it, so maybe look at ways of doing it differently this time, so you don't feel like you need to stop what you're doing. Bottom line is, there will be some sacrifice somewhere. There has to be. For me, it's the fact that I can't eat unlimited amounts of food any more, and that I have to be conscious of what I'm eating all the time. Those things are hard sometimes, and I do feel a tiny bit bitter sometimes that other people don't have to be as mindful as I do. That's life though, I guess. I have problems that other people don't have, and other people have problems that I don't have. As far as the actual food I'm eating, and the type/amount of exercise I do - I love all that, so I don't feel the need to quit.

Motivation comes and goes, you can't rely on that to keep you slim. You need to create habits that become a way of life.