How can you tell if you have hit a "plateau" or just what yo

If you haven't gained or lost in a year? I think that's the definition of plateau.

Ok, so did you recalculate how many calories to eat when you lost weight?

You can also change up your exercise or maybe (I know I sound like a broken record) add a hundred or so calories since you've been eating in a deficit for so long.

How many calories are you eating? Are you eating exercise calories?

Those are all I've got. Others will come in with the science and more suggestions and links to other threads, I'm sure.

I think you sumed it up in one word. "usually". to lose weight, you have to Always eat less than you need per day. Yes, there can be days you go over, but those should be rare exceptions.

I feel for you and been there my self.

Your diary isnt open, how many cals do you eat, do you eat your exercise cals?

it depends, a plateau can be if you havent lost in more then a month even though you are dieting and exercising. or it can be longer.

you might need to up the exercise or lower the calories consumed. and just because you're lowering your calories it doesnt mean less food, it can just mean different foods, if you're super hungry eating less then what you're doing now.

Maintaining for a year seems like a very long time without progress, but weight is only one aspect to consider.

Has your body shape changed during the past year? Has your body fat percentage dropped? If those have remained stable, then it's possible that you just need to shake things up.

Bodies are very good at adapting to the conditions they are placed under. A body wants to maintain a neutral growth cycle. Settling into a routine gives your body the chance to balance lower calories and higher exercise into a neutral pattern. For instance, your metabolism will adjust to make the absolute most of a low-cal diet. Your bodily systems will work a little slower and burn less calories then normal to adjust. This reduces the effect of your dieting efforts. Muscles will also adapt to regular workouts and the weight loss effectiveness of the exercises will decrease with time.

If this is the cause of your "plateau", you just need to shake things up a bit. You need to unbalance the boat to get things moving again. For diet, try a zig-zag method that alternates caloric intake so that your metabolism does not have time to adjust. Mixing high and low calorie days keeps your metabolism working faster and harder by preventing your body from adjusting to one specific level.

The simplest methods to zig-zag are keeping your same portion size, but having double servings every other day. Or, you can just indulge in something that is high(er) in calories, sugars, and fats every 3 or 4 days. Adding in "bad" foods shocks your system and helps it to work harder. If you want to be more accurate, there are tons of sites that give great advice on how to best maximize this type of diet. Just search for "zig-zag diet" and compare the suggestions to find something that works for you.

Doing the same thing for exercise is also important. I believe the P90x system is based on an exercise zig-zag method of constantly changing your activities and workout levels. Do three or four different types of workouts. Type workouts that are a little more advances. Purchase a heart-rate monitor and alternate your exercise days so that you spend one day in the "fat-burning" zone of 65-75% of your max heart rate, and the next day in the "aerobic" zone at 70-80%.

Making changes like this should get you back onto track and help you drop the last little bit to your target! And thankfully you've found out that once you reach your goal, you will be able to maintain and balance! Congratulations! And kudos on making it as far as you have!