Over the next few weeks and several posts, Marty answers 10 of the most commonly asked health and fitness questions—questions that you may have even asked before.

Question #2: I feel as though I’ve hit a plateau in my weight loss. What should I do?

Answer: Believe me; I understand how frustrating this can be. When I used to struggle with my weight I would often hit plateaus, but I always got past it, and you can too. 

It’s important to realize that our bodies adapt quickly to whatever we are presently doing. So when you’re not seeing progress, you have to make changes. There are several things you can do to push past the plateau.

First of all, make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water. If you’re not drinking enough water, it will affect your body’s ability to lose fat.

Next, make sure your workouts are progressive so that you are increasing your fitness level and burning more calories.

Then consider readjusting your diet—that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eat less. As a matter of fact, the reason you’ve hit a plateau might be because you’re not eating enough. Keep your caloric intake to no less than 1200 calories a day for a woman, and 1500 calories for a man. Less than that could slow your metabolism and hinder weight loss.

There are several ways you can readjust your eating habits to get past the plateau. For example, if you are presently eating three meals a day, try eating smaller meals and adding a mid-morning and mid-afternoon healthy, low-calorie snack. Eating more frequently will help speed up your metabolism so you will burn more calories.

And if you are in the habit of eating a snack every evening, try eating it earlier in the day so you will burn more of the calories before bedtime.

Another thing that will help you push past a plateau is not eating anything an hour before or after your workout so that you will burn stored fat and carbohydrates and not simply the food that you are eating.

Be patient—keep making adjustments until you begin seeing changes in your body. You will get there!

Question #3: Is walking or jogging better for me?

Answer: That totally depends on which activity you like to do better and the condition of your body. Walking is actually the most popular form of aerobic activity today and people tend to stick with it. And walking is a low-impact activity, while jogging is a high-impact form of exercise.

Personally, I like jogging better than walking—because jogging burns more calories in less time. I can burn 300 calories in about half the time by jogging instead of walking.

According to Dr. Kenneth Cooper, you can jog three times a week for 30 minutes and get the same benefits as walking four times a week for 40 minutes.