Everyone who is in a weight loss program has hit a plateau at least once in their decent to a healthy weight. When you first start a new exercise and diet program, you often lose a lot of weight quickly as you burn many more calories than you consume and shed water weight.

As you lose weight however, you need fewer calories to maintain your body, and you no longer have the relatively easy pounds of water weight to shed. On top of this, your body learns the new routine and learns how to do the exercises they are used to as efficiently as possible—meaning fewer calories are being burned.

All this can lead to you no longer losing weight, or even gaining a little bit back even though you are still sweating it out every day. While restricting your diet even more and exercising even harder is an option, you may be able to break the plateau by changing your routine.

 Mixing it up

If you're a runner, you may be steadily increasing on time and distance. You may be able to break out of your plateau by choosing to do sprint exercises or if you're a weight lifter, switching to maximum volume instead of maximum weight. These changes are approaching the same goals, but in a different way that may help you see improvements.

Take a break

Overtraining can actually lead to poorer performance. If you are working hard and never taking breaks, your body won't be able to change. Your body needs rest in order to rebuild the muscles you broke down during exercise, so if you never give your body the chance to rest, you won't see the results you are working for.

Check your calories

If you are counting calories carefully, it may be worthwhile to recheck how many calories you need in order to have a deficit at your current weight. If you have lost a significant amount of weight already but are still using your starting calculations, you may no longer be in deficit.

If you aren't counting calories, now may be a good time to start a food diary. If you aren't aware of how much you are eating, or just how many calories are in your favorite foods, you may be over eating without realizing it.

Challenge yourself

It may also be that you are simply not doing enough any more. As you grow, it gets easier for your body to meet the demands of a normal workout. You can help break out of that by developing a new skill. Maybe you've only ever hit the treadmill and want to try weights instead. Maybe you've never done a push up, or have focused exclusively on weights and want to try cardio. What ever it is that challenges you, give it a try. It may be the break you need.

If you're in a plateau, there could be a lot of reasons why this is happening. Try using these tips to break out of it, and get back on the path to better fitness.