Mike - I continued here instead so you'll possibly get a notification. Tell Wa'il the next time you 'see' him that the PM space isn't big enough for me to pontificate in.
I recommend the book LC for Dummies - sounds stupid, but it's ALL about a maintenance plan. There is no staged loss, induction, detox stuff in it. It's just plain, sensible low carb eating. Gets you away from carb counting and looking at numbers of carb, protein, fat portions per day. I have found it an easier plan, especially for maintainers. Atkins never wrote enough about maintenance, because, quite frankly, that's not where the $$$ is.
The LC for Dummies 'plan' says "Go ahead and eat the danish - just count that as your carb allotment" It also gets you thinking more about calories. Another thing I recommend. Carb counting gets a person eating more protein and fats as a way to feel full, and stay the course. But once you get into calorie counting AT GOAL it's no longer about losing and you tend to have a different mind set. Besides, it gives you new things to learn and keeps the mind busy.
If you are that close to your goal, then you have already discovered exercise. One thing about low carbing, is that it is the "diet for the couch potato", and that's the truth. This is why everybody has a hard time with that 'last 10 pounds' - ya gotta sweat it off. Exercise helps keep it off, but I don't go crazy. I was (near the end) on the treadmill, running 6 km on the roads, doing weights, etc etc. Now I seek moderation in everything - food, exercise, etc etc.
I eat whatever I want (pretty much) now, even sweets. But I watch my portion sizes like a hawk. If I indulge today, I stay the course for the next few days, etc etc. If I go through a period of extra hunger, I start taking CLA - about 4.5 g a day (4,500 mg) and it helps stay the appetite.
When I travel, I eat at least one meal a day at SUBWAY for the salads and sometimes the Atkins wrap. This keeps me under control when I'm on the road, which is my most dangerous time. I travel on my stomach
I don't plan my cheat days - I plan my "behave" days. I also make it a habit of, every day, at the end of the day, visualizing what I ate all day - all layed out on a table in my mind. I review it and think about it. Before dinner sometimes, I do the same visualization and that helps me decide how much of what I'll eat at dinner. Once I leave the table (on my behave days) after dinner, I tell myself that's all the food for today.
To get in the habit of all this - Weekends, I used to get up on Sat and Sun and prepare ALL my food for the day and put it in containers and look at it all. Ok, I'd say to myself, this is it for the day. I am never really hungry, more than the average person, anyway.
Don't be scared. You probably remember the same fear when you would start a diet back when you were fat. It's just another phase of life. Once you get past the post-loss depression (if you suffer it) you'll come out at a better place and feel comfortable with what you are doing.
There are enough people on the board who come back and say "I lost it all 3 years ago and put it back and now it's so HARD" - this is another truth. I swore that I would only walk this road once, the scenery doesn't get any better walking it more than that.
Good luck and hang in there.
Victoria