modert

There are lots of factors that can cause this... don't take the pills!!! First of all, how long have you been losing weight and how much have you lost? How many calories do you eat?

One of the most common mistakes is that people eat the same amount of calories as the weight comes off. Your caloric needs change as you lose - when you have a smaller body, you need fewer calories. Its possible that you are now eating a maintenance number of calories for your new lower weight, and if you drop that by about 10-20% you will continue losing. Also your body does not burn as many calories during excercise when it gets smaller - so you may need to increase your excercise a bit.

Another cause could be that you are not eating enough calories. When the body detects it isn't getting enough food, it goes into a reserve mode (sometimes called starvation mode) and stops burning calories. So even though you may be eating less, you may have stopped burning the calories. Strange as it may seem, if this is the case, incrteasing the calories (slightly) and increasing excercise will help you break through the plateau.

If you are female, monthly menstrual cycle can cause this too. If you have been stuck at this weight for over a month, this is likely not the problem, but if you have been stuck only for a week or two, this could be the cause.

It can also help to shift your routine a bit. For example if you usually eat a lite breakfast, medium lunch, large dinner, and excercise in the evening, try changing this around. Instead exercise first thing in the morning, eat a larger breakfast, and have a smaller lighter dinner. You could also try to eat smaller meals more often.

Good luck!