Glamour on a budget - Mattie Roberts

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How can I lose 5 lbs in 5 Days?
June 7, 2006

I actually get that question, or some derivative, quite often. It goes against the grain of everything I was taught with regard to good nutrition, but there are ways you can drop water weight (a.k.a. false fat or bloat) pretty quickly and safely if you absolutely MUST fit onto a certain dress by next week.

The following hints have been gleaned from models and socialites for whom a fluffy gut is a sure road to anonimity and/or ridicule. I am only including the healthy tips because cocaine -- though effective -- is unhealthy in the extreme and makes you look like a hag.

If you will commit the following caveat to mind, I will let you in on the secret.

You can only lose about a pound of actual fat a week if you expect it to stay off...any more than that is water weight and can very easily boomerang right back on.

(you hear me, Janet Jackson?)

With that said, there are some things you can do to give the appearance of a sleeker physique...

Do 45 minutes of sweaty, aerobic activity every day. Do not, however, go sit in a sauna and broil yourself thinking you can sweat the pounds off...it doesn't work that way. The benefits of exercise go beyond what you sweat off...which is just going to be replenished as soon as you drink a bottle of water.

Speaking of water, drink two liters a day. Contrary to what you might think, drinking lots of water will flush out the bloat. Add some lemon and see even quicker results.

Cut out all salt...pretty obvious, but there's lots of salt in processed and packaged food.

Eat protein with every meal. Eggs or turkey sausage with breakfast, a can of tuna on salad for lunch and some broiled chicken for dinner.

For many people dairy products are very bloating. Cut all these out for a week and see if you don't see a difference. Make sure you take a good calcium supplement, though.

No sugar, no white flour, nothing processed...this should be part of your routine anyway just for basic good health.

No alcohol. You won't believe how much weigh you can drop just by cutting these empty calories...and for me it seems to come right off my tummy!

Salads and veggies should make up 3/4 of each meal. The other 1/4 should be protein: lean beef, skinless chicken or fish.

You may notice that there are no grains on the 'emergency de-bloat' program. However, if you are filling up on colorful veggies, you should be covered nutritionally -- and by that I mean vities, minerals and fiber.

Diet drugs and fasting are strictly off limits. You will be either A) cranky as hell or B) you'll faint. Neither one is a good look on you.