LOL, this probably isn't what anyone wants to hear, but I'm a realist, not an optimist.
I've also made the same mistakes over and over again, but luckily I've learned from them.
I've come to the realization that I'm a carb and sugar addict. It wasn't until I accepted this that I was able to move on and regard LC as my WOL. I no longer have longings for carbs or feel deprived. It's been 80 days since I last had anything illegal and the longer I do that, the easier it gets. If you are thinking about this 1 month into your diet, I'd ask myself if I've added enough variety into my eating. This WOE is very decadent and satisfying when applied properly. There are a number of other reasons why you could be feeling deprived too.
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Did you continue the LC lifestyle or move to a regular healthy diet?
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LC is a regular healthy diet.
I'm one example of someone who had to start LCing to reclaim her rapidly declining health.
If you are wondering about maintenance, you'll find that people differ. Some can maintain at 125 grams of carbs/day if they are very active. Atkins states that most maintain at 60 grams/day (or 420/week). Some can eat little portions of forbidden food while others can't. The idea is that when you maintain, you'll have to accept some level of responsibility in what you can do. Are you addicted to carbs? Can you stop yourself and get back on track? What got you into trouble in the first place? (for me, eating whole grain pasta would be the better than eating sugar). Your personality will be the determining factor in how you plan to maintain. And believe me, maintaining takes work.
I don't think that the odd cheat is a horrible thing. There's a lot of talk about "planned cheats" to convince your body that you aren't starving. But there's also an inherent danger to doing something like this. I supposed as long as you accept the consequences, there really are no rules.
In the very end, losing weight is easier than maintaining weight. Your body will fight you tooth and nail as you diet b/c it thinks it's starving.
This isn't speculation, but hormonal fact. The bad news is you'll need to accept this and prepare for it if you want to maintain your weight successfully in the future.
Wanda