Q: I’ve been exercising and eating less, but in the last two weeks my weight loss has really slowed down. I want to stick with it, but am quickly losing motivation. Help!

A: What you describe is known as a plateau, a frustrating problem that can happen no matter what level of fitness or exercise experience you have.

When things are going well and pounds are being shed, we naturally credit whatever exercise or diet we are using. It seems only logical that if we continue the same program, we will continue to make progress.

The missing piece is that the body must be given something new to adapt to in order to continue to change. This could be a continuation of a decrease in calories from diet, or it could be upping the calories burned by increasing the intensity, duration or frequency of your physical activity.

Generally speaking, a combination of a slight calorie decrease from diet and a gradual increase in exercise intensity is the most manageable way to enjoy consistent results. What I am not in favor of is an all-out attempt to reach a goal by jumping into a routine your body isn’t used to, which leads to early burnout and can be extremely harmful to the joints. Give yourself time to adjust to each new challenge, and remember to focus on the successes, not the failures.

With diet, keeping it simple is a good way to go. Toss the processed food and make the majority of food choices healthy ones, which automatically limits calorie, sugar and sodium intake, while increasing fiber. Eating healthy foods such as vegetables, whole grains, lentils/legumes and high quality protein such as fish, seeds, eggs and nuts, allows you to eat more and stay fuller longer. Other ways to decrease calories are to leave a few extra bites of food on your plate at each meal, replace caloric beverages with water, and keep a closer eye on portion sizes.

Before changing diet or increasing exercise intensity, think about what’s healthy and safe for your body.

With exercise, instead of “no pain, no gain,” let your philosophy be “no fatigue, no gain.” If lifting weights for example, the resistance used should leave the muscles fatigued by the end of the set, but not be so heavy that your form suffers or you feel pain.

With aerobic activity, intensity should be at least enough so that you are somewhat winded, and you feel fatigued yet not exhausted, when the session is completed. At the right level of effort, you will find that you feel better than you did before the start of the session, excited about your progress and looking forward to the next workout.

If you feel pain, lightheadedness, nausea, joint problems or other negative symptoms during a workout, stop immediately and seek medical attention.