The best thing to do to help with a plateau and even possible push through is to keep your body guessing. Not sure what program you are on, but if you cant switch up your food or calories, at least you can switch up your exercise routine. My exercise routine is never consistant for more than 2 weeks at a time and Ive been exercising since March, just a suggestions.

This is a great question! I have yet to really hit the dreaded plateau so if it is avoidable, I'd love to know how before it comes

I totally agree that you should keep your body guessing. Try creating an exercise routine where you do a variety of things from week to week (walking, jogging, areobics, weight lifting, kick boxing, swimming, outdoor sports, etc.). I own over 50 different workout DVD's, and lots of resistance bands, weights, balls, etc. I created a "exercise schedule" where I never repeat a workout until 11 weeks are up, then I start over again. Some workouts may work the same muscle groups, but in different ways. Variety is key. I also go play tennis once a week.

With eating, try eating higher calories on days you exercise, and lower calories on days you don't exercise.

I used this same scheme to successfully lose 50 pounds with no plateau.

Please remember that you are not necessarily destine to have a plateau. Many people never experience one. In a total of 187 pounds lost, I never had a plateau. Lucky? Maybe.

Edited to add: I didn't do anything magic or extraordinary to keep from having one. I just kept plugging away, stayed on plan 99.9% of the time and increased my activity level as I was able to tolerate more.

I've honestly never had a plateau. I whinged... said I was on a plateau... but I wasn't. I've had some stalls (of a couple of weeks) but never one a true plateau in 153 pounds.

I do have to agree about the exercise. I was doing watp 5 Mile advance this morning and leslie said the best way to break thew a plateau is to bump the your work outs cause your body will get used to doing a level of exercise on a daily bases. So I do agree to always keep your Body doing different levels of activity.

Believe me that 5 miles this morning kicked my butt. It was 71 minutes .

I've noticed my weight loss starting to stall a few times but haven't had a plateau so far and I'm sure it's because I'm keeping my body guessing. It hasn't been delibrate but sometimes I've done exercise in mornings then changed it to evenings, sometimes calories a little on the low side, soemtimes for one reason or another getting less time to exercise, going on holiday and eating more(but not overinduldging), decreasing exercise for a while, increasing walking, etc. all random things that alterered from fitting my plan around a family. Feel like I'm making it up as I go along but it's working for me so far.

I read somewhere else that you can expect to plateau after losing 10% of your body weight and at this stage maintaining is good then your body thinks the next 10% is a new 10%. It's to do with the body protecting itself from losing too much weight in a famine. I don't intend to maintain if I do get a plateau though - will just change something again

Another one here who never, ever experienced a plateau. Like the others, all I did was stay faithfully on my plan the entire time I was losing and had a loss all but 2 weeks and those 2 weeks I simply stayed the same. That's not the way everyone chooses to go at it. But it was what I chose.

I "feel" like I'm plateauing now, but I think it's mostly psychological. I have a pattern where I drop quickly for a week or two then only lose a little for a week or two... each time I'm in a slow period, I try to practice a lot of positive self-talk.

It's hard though-- right now, I'm away from home, so away from both normal eating habits and scale....I'm doing my best, but I prefer the security of stepping on the scale every day just to be sure.