My friend and I started SB in Sept. She started dieting ahead of me in July and is down 35 pounds. She has been stuck hovering around 175 for over a month and is getting frustrated. She is exercising and seems to be fairly on plan. Does anyone have thoughts on how to shake off this plateau?

She may be losing inches. This happened to me, i lost pounds and then it stopped for a while. On advise of others I started to check my measurements and noticed that i was losing inches...which was fine by me. Then after about 5 weeks the weight started dropping again. Sometimes your body just needs time to shift and rearrange itself Also changing up workout routines helps so your body doesnt get in a rut.

Also, what does fairly on plan mean? Cheating can catch up to one and makes a difference between maintaining and continually losing. Eating 3 servings of cheese a day or more than a certain number of fruits or grains, or larger servings of protein can also make a big difference. She may just have to tweak her portion sizes. Have her journal her food choices for a few days to see what she is really eating.

Change up the exercise, that broke my plateau.

Sometimes our bodies adapt and it helps to mix up not only the exercise but also what we are eating. I have found success in the past by varying my intake over the course of a week and having lighter days and then a heavier (but still on plan) day then lighter, etc. I learned this from Weight Watchers years ago.

The main reason (IMO) people plateau is one (or both) of two things:

1. As you lose weight, you need fewer calories to maintain your weight so the calories that would have once caused you to lose X amount weight now no longer do that. Also, your metabolism slows so you burn fewer calories. Solution: Eat fewer calories.

2. After being on a weight loss plan for awhile it is easy to lose intensity and not be as strict at following the plan. It is easy to eat a little more, eat foods you wouldn't have eaten before, etc. It is easy not to watch portions as carefully and to just overall be sloppy. This tends to be a huge reason for plateaus. Solution: Follow the plan like you did at the beginning (adjusting for fewer calories as noted above).

Thanks, everyone! I shared your ideas with my friend. She read up on calorie cycling and adding weights, too. We've been focusing more on cardio, like Zumba, elliptical and walking/running.