I am on the FitDay/weight-loss forums/family&friends support program. As in, I record my eating and exercise so I know whether I am doing things right physiologically, and then I talk about my problems and issues and look for ways to fix things psychologically. It turns the "viscious weight gain" circle into the "effective weight loss" circle. and it is a hell of a lot easier to maintain for longer periods of time, for example: the rest of my life.
Its a very broad range spectrum program, more along the lines of what steve has said prior, and allows me to change things as i need to so that I can succeed over time, rather than force myself through something I despise or am unable to adapt to and end up failing yet again.
A few years back, I did this all in an insanely strict method and kept to it like a champ. I did some pretty awesome things to my body, but after about 5 months I started slipping up, and before I knew it I was worse than when I started. You see, I had targetted the effect incredibly well, but never gave any attention to the cause. and so, the cause came back to haunt me and destroy me, because it had not been dealt with appropriately. This time around, I am dealing with the causes of my situation, and that has a natural tendency to reverse the effects... and on a much more permanent basis.