Plateau Solution

Not necessarily. With my calorie counting I try to change it every day, rather than sit at 1200 every single day. Technically, the calorie count goes by the week, so if you are on a 1200 calorie per day diet you would need to consume 8400 calories in a week. I split my calories into the 7 days using different amounts most of the time. For example:

Sunday:1000
Monday:1500
Tuesday:1100
Wednesday:1000
Thursday:1500
Friday:1100
Saturday:1200

This way my body doesn't get used to eating the same amount every day. Plus I can eat a little more on days I'm super hungry and less on days I'm not. You can also try adding more onto your exercises to try and kick start your metabolism again. This should help eliminate, or at least shorten, the plateau. Hope this helps!

Our bodies and muscles get use to things we do every day. Ever notice when you do a new exercise, the next day muscles you didn't know you had hurt. That's because your working new muscle groups. The best thing to do is switch up the exercises...cause "muscle confusion". If you walk all the time, try biking. Same with the elliptical, it's the same motion as running or walking. If go to a gym, try a class, or get a dvd and try that workout. Also, are you weight training? If not, that's a great way to change it up. Muscle burns more than fat, so by strength training 2 to 3 times a week, you're building lean muscle and burning fat, which in turn will cause you to burn more fat more effectively. The key to breaking free from that darn plateau is variety...change it up, confuse your body and watch what happens.

Good luck!

I find a day off from my diet shakes things up and gets me losing again. I weigh in the morning of my free day, enjoy myself for the day (I pick a holiday/birthday/special occasion day whenever possible) and weigh in 7 days later. The scale ALWAYS moves.

This isn't right for everyone (a lot of people have a hard time stopping at one day), but it works for me.

Charmagne