Shed Five to Ten Pounds…FAST Part I

Lose 5 to 10 FAST!

1. Throw away your scale.  Let your favorite "little" jeans be your gauge.  And the multiple compliments like "WOW you look GREAT!" will work too.  You know the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing, well, it's true.  Scales are evil and depressing and will only haunt you while you sleep.  Throw it away!

2.  Don't follow these tips for more than a week or two.  If you follow a healthy maintenance plan (Part II), you won't continue to lose dramatically but you WON'T put back the fat either.

3.  This is intended for people who are close, but not quite at their target "weight."  If you have a lot of weight to lose, try this!  You'll be so motivated by how great you look and feel you might be inspired to continue on.  As with anything related to nutrition and exercise, consult with your physician before making any dramatic changes to your diet or routine. 

The Naughty List

This is very straight forward, leaving nothing to count, calculate or question:

White carbs: nothing made with bleached enriched flour (white bread, cereals, white pasta, don't confuse "whole grain" with "whole wheat"), no potatoes.

Saturated fat

Sugar: no refined sugar.  Fruit is okay in the morning (half of a grapefruit, strawberries or dark berries such as blueberries or blackberries)  Carrot sticks, ketchup, bar-b-q sauce and teriyaki sauce are loaded with sugar so be careful.  Try to stay under 8 grams per serving.   

*REMEMBER: this is very temporary, only a week maybe two, and then you move to the maintenance program which is much more inclusive (part II)

Get Grillin'

Hunger and time are huge barriers to success.  If you wait until you're hungry you run the risk of eating whatever you can get your hands on.  Preparing meals can also be time consuming and unrealistic for those who work long days.  Grilling is a perfect solution.  Plan ahead and stock your fridge with fresh fish, chicken breast or lean steak, and fresh veggies to grill.  Meals are complete in minutes and there's no prep or clean up. 

All in a Day

"So what do I eat?" Lean protein, nuts, and vegetables.  Click here for an example of a meal plan for the day.

Ahhhh, the Cheat Day

Of course you can cheat...a little.  Rules for cheating (an oxymoron, I know)

1.  Plan ahead for your cheat day.  Social gatherings like birthday parties, weddings or romantic dates a perfect excuses to cheat.  There's too much temptation and NO one this that strong all of the time.  Look at your calendar and pick your day.

2.  Cheat day doesn't mean that you get to cheat all day.  I means that you can cheat once within the day.

3.  Pick your poison.  Acceptable cheats can contain refined sugar OR saturated fat OR white carbs but not in combination with each other.  Pasta with marinara sauce, OK, pasta with cream sauce, no go.  Bacon and eggs, ok, bacon and eggs with cheese, no go.  Get it?  Remember the donut.  Donuts are the trifecta; fat, sugar, and white flour.  That's why they're so evil and delicious and basically unacceptable after 30.