A sluggish metabolism can mean slow weight loss. Speeding up your metabolism is one way to burn those waist-expanding calories faster. Although genetics plays a part in determining your metabolism, you can give yours a kick-start by changing the way you eat. If you're usually a “three meals a day” kind of person, try Boris' recommendation of eating four to five small meals and/or snacks per day instead.

"Eating regularly keeps your metabolism fired up and helps to stabilize your blood sugar throughout the day," says Boris.

Keeping your blood sugar levels stable also means that you're less likely to suffer those diet-wrecking sugar cravings! And keeping on track with your healthy eating is good news for beating your plateau!

Of course, four to five meals per day doesn't mean eating four or five times the amount of food. You still need to stick within the same calorie limits, but replace those super-sized, snooze-inducing main meals with a series of smaller dishes.

If hunger pangs are constantly gnawing at your insides, it can be very hard to stick to your planned healthy meals. And if you're not making good food choices, a plateau can be hard to overcome.

Letting yourself get hungry is like dangling a piece of raw meat in front of a grizzly - downright dangerous! Hunger can make your willpower and resolve disappear faster than you can stuff three iced doughnuts into your mouth, making a plateau difficult to beat.

Boris suggests combating hunger by including a larger serving of protein in your meals, such as lean meat, skinless chicken, fish, legumes or tofu. Protein works wonders to fill you up - and keeps you feeling full for longer. By making sure that each of your meals contains some protein, you just might find that you really don't need that doughnut after all.

Including protein in your snacks is also wise. For a filling snack, try low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese or cottage cheese, a small can of tuna (water-packed), or a fruit smoothie made with low-fat milk and your choice of fresh fruit.

Don't forget to balance out your meals with whole-grain carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Boring? If you do the same exercise day-in, day-out, it's easy to get bored. Disinterest in exercise can easily cause your weight to plateau. On the other hand, mixing up your exercise activities can really get your weight moving again.

Changing your exercise routine can be as simple as trying something new. How about working out with the help of a personal trainer for a month? Or swap one of your usual walking sessions for a yoga class.

You can also boost your exercise by picking up your pace, exercising longer, or by doing more exercise sessions each week.

The idea is to surprise your body by varying your routine regularly. Trying new things will also give you something to look forward to and help you break through your plateau.