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It can be frustrating when your weight loss begins to slow or the results of your workouts stall, but it happens to the best of us. Thankfully, researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom reviewed more than 100 studies on exercise and weight loss and were able to pinpoint some reasons why those pounds sometimes won't drop, despite all your hard work. From those findings, here are four top tips that will put you on the weight-loss fast track once again.

Muscle up
Each pound you lose is about 70 percent fat and 30 percent muscle, which means that the more pounds you shed, the slower your metabolism becomes, since muscles are your body's calorie-burning engines. Counteract these effects by ramping up your strength training.
"Research shows that regular strength training can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 8 percent," says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness researcher in Quincy, Massachusetts, and author of "Get Stronger, Feel Younger."
Switch up some of your exercises as well. Instead of doing moves that use a single muscle, such as a biceps curl, try multi-joint or multi-muscle moves like squats.
If cutting calories is contributing to your weight (and muscle) loss, start eating five small meals a day rather than three large ones. Doing so will help keep your metabolism high and blood sugar levels even.

Keep burnin'
Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that plateaus, or sudden slowing or stopping of weight loss, can happen in as little as three weeks from the start of a weight-loss plan. The reason is that as you drop weight, your body doesn't have to work as hard — so you burn fewer calories during workouts. Focus on your pulse rather than reading or watching TV during workouts, suggests Michele Kettles, M.D., medical director of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. You want to stay between 60 and 80 percent of your maximum heart rate in order to keep up a calorie burn. To figure out that number, subtract your age from 220. Multiply that number by .6 to get the lower end of your target heart rate zone, and by .8 to get the upper end. Invest in a heart rate monitor for easier tracking.

Count the little things
Activities like standing instead of sitting, walking more throughout the day, and even fidgeting add up to about 350 calories burned per day, according to Mayo Clinic studies. The lesson? Don't use regular workouts as an excuse to relax more the rest of the day. Try wearing a pedometer to make sure you're keeping up your activity levels each day.

Halt hunger
Keeping a food diary has been proven to aid in weight loss, but use it before meals for best results. "When my clients record what they're going to eat, it puts their dietary habits on pause long enough to decide if their food choices are really worth it," says Leslie Bonci, R.D., MPH, director of sports medicine nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Schedule your workouts before meals, too. If you eat within 15 to 30 minutes after exercising, you're likely to eat less than if you waited longer.