Where is the motivation to keep it off?!

I've been a yo yo dieter in the past but in recent years have been successful at keeping it off. At my heaviest I was 267 lbs, but lost to 149 and have kept most off for about 18 months (I gained a few back right after I hit goal but then leveled off to about 155lbs where I am now...I would like to get back under 150 again so thats my New Years project).

The key to keeping it off is to realize that when you hit goal weight, the process isn't over. Not even half over! That was just phase 1.... phase 2 is continuing to live and eat in a way that maintains your new body. You can't just go back to same old ways and expect to get anything other than the same old result which is the weight you had before. So, begin with the end in mind, where "the end" is NOT the hitting of goal weight but is a year or two after that when you have comfortably settled into your new normal post loss life. What do you want that to look like? Dream about it and then set about learning the skills to live that way while you are still losing. It won't happen on day 1, these are skills you develop over time through trial and error. Start learning good habits NOW so that all that will change when you hit maintaining phase is that you get a few more calories to work with.

For example, people often eat weird diets or plain boring starvation rations during weight loss, then get sick of it and go back to high calorie and unhealthy eating patterns after the loss. They never learn anything except two different kinds of excess. What helped me not "revert" was realizing I need to learn a new way to eat that I could tolerate for life. I'm not anti structured diet plans--Nutrisystem was how I got started and it was incredibly helpful in my case, as was/is MFP--but you need to use these things as learning tools that help you get closer to the ultimate goal which is a sustainable-for-life eating pattern. I had to learn portion control. I had to learn what a balanced diet looks like. I had to learn to think about food like a thin person. I had to learn strategies to enjoy the "bad/forbidden/cheat" foods as a moderate part of an overall diet that was healthy and not as something to go wild with in moments of rebellion. Had to learn to cook formerly-enjoyed meals in new ways so that they were a little healthier or lower calorie without sacrificing good flavor. Incorporating new foods and recipes that I liked as part of my regular rotation. Changing the way I shopped so that I didn't keep as much "junk food" around but instead had healthy snacks that I liked (not just "diet food" I would eat because I was on a diet, but actual healthy snacks/meals that I thought were tasty and should be part of my everyday eating plan). I took cooking classes and bought new cookbooks and started going to the farmers market to try new things and had a lot of fun with this part!

Social eating was a big weakness for me (overdoing it at parties or holidays for example) so I had to figure out how to enjoy these moments without going to either extreme (starving and having no fun vs. eating half the table). Emotional eating due to stress was an issue, so I've had to learn how to manage stress in better ways other than binge eating. Again, this is a lifelong learning process but I am so much better now than before.

I stopping worrying about which workout worked the best for losing weight and changed my focus. Really, any activity (or none at all) "works" as long as you are in a calorie deficit. I see exercise as a fun hobby, a way to relieve stress and elevate my mood, a social event, a way to protect my health, a way to strengthen my body, a way to set goals to work for and accomplish, a way to enjoy life more due to having the stamina to do more things, and a way to burn a few more calories so I can enjoy more food and still stay in my calorie budget. Notice which I put last in the list....when exercise is all about weight loss and running your body into the ground trying to burn burn burn then that can be an unhealthy thing. So I try to enjoy the healthful and fun aspect of exercise first and the extra calories I have to live on is a nice bonus that makes maintaining easier. So.....to implement this mindset I started identifying ways I could live my everyday life in a more active way, moving forward. Not fighting in traffic for the closest parking space to my office at work (I work at a university) but intentionally going to the one on the perimeter of campus and enjoying the stress free parking process and a little morning/evening walk. Having walking meetings with people at work rather than sitting. Stuff like that. In terms of formal exercise, I started dreaming about what I wanted to do with my new body in the next few years and started training for that. Both the everyday stuff (I want to be able to get up quickly after sitting on the ground...lift heavy boxes...not get exhausted and tired on vacations but instead be able to walk the beach or explore the city I'm in) and the fun stuff (I wanna take long hikes in nature.... enjoy the hills/mountains of my state and see scenic views that you can't drive to ...wanna compete in community events that involve running and walking). That was my list and it has continued to evolve. The Richard Simmons workout might be fun for you now, so definitely start there, but is this going to still be fun to do over and over a year from now? Five years? Dream about sports or active hobbies or vacations you might enjoy if you were in shape to do them and then start making progress toward making them a reality. Think about a direction for your growth.

I guess weight gain doesn't look like a real threat once you have lost some weight, especially when losing it took a while. It's a bit mind blowing how quickly it can be gained back.

I also guess the key is, similarly to how Docbanana wrote, to not make it all about weight loss, but about looking great, feeling great, and being able to do things. Weight loss is only the beginning. Often developing a physique you are really proud of takes long and requires constant effort and patience. There is not really a point where you are done and can lean back and start slacking again, since your body will either develop towards one or the other direction and not stagnate in the middle forever.

Not sure about your life, but during my past...almost 10 years, I kept going up and down between 2 key weights (my lowest and highest), and I can tell you: It is not fun!
It is not fun to have to lose the weight over and over and over again. It is not fun to get fit over and over and over again. It is not fun to start at 0 over and over and over again, when meanwhile you could have developed in the better direction instead. These resets suck, they keep you from making progress, and you will walk down the road you already know over and over and over, and every time you will despise it more.

But maybe that's the issue - it's a very well known road, which makes it familiar and even a bit safe.

I can only speak for myself, but I can't even imagine myself being very lean and very fit. I just can't. It's like I have a block in my head that prevents me from being able to believe it. Maybe you have those blocks as well and need to figure out how to deal with them.

Also you don't need to be extreme. I always tended to eat 100% well or 100% *kitten*. Now I count macros but strive for a balance. When I eat enough protein and eat my calories, I am full and satisfied the whole day. Sometimes I still have treats, and I do eat out, and there I don't count calories, I just make sure to leave some space for these events. Eating well is not such a chore as I thought it has to be. Some people can't lose weight or keep it down because they think their life will from now on be terribly deprived of everything fun and they can only eat 1 salad leaf for dinner. If you think in a similar way, you gotta teach yourself that it doesn't have to be this way.