Drop a dress size in two weeks

Corinne, a vivacious 23-year-old from Delhi is getting formally engaged in two weeks, with her marriage following in another two months. But what happened today has left her sweating bullets!

She was trying on her engagement outfit, when she got the fright of her life. The buttons on her blouse were peeping open and worse yet, the bottom one had popped out when she bent over.

Lately, she has been careless with her eating, and has not been working out as often as she would like to; but hey, she's young and active. Where the heck did these inches come from?

Two weeks will be here in a flash and two quick months later the wedding will soon follow. Corinne calls up her best friend Sonali, who tells her to go on an extreme diet of fruit one day and vegetables the next, for two weeks straight. Her sister Jasmine tells her to take the same fat-busting pills she regularly takes to lose weight before special events. She can shed nearly 10 kgs in two weeks -- perfect for the engagement party!

Corinne knows stress, overeating and lack of exercise and sleep have done her in. How on earth will she look slim, radiant, and glowing if she goes on an extreme diet or takes those awful diet pills? But then again, her engagement is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Do you find yourself sailing in Corinne's boat, on the wrong side of unexpected weight gain?

Irrespective of whether you're a man or a woman, here are a few healthy quick-fix suggestions -- the first three are compulsory and the others you need to embrace wholeheartedly. They will not only help you lose weight in two weeks, but can be uses as a jumpstart effort to look great from this day onwards, for better or worse, till death do you part.

Watch and cut back on portion sizes -- Eat 5-6 small, low-calorie meals a day, but ensure they are balanced nutritionally. Never take second helpings, and drink plenty of water. 

Exercise 45-60 minutes every day -- Dance, skip, take the stairs, just keep moving.

Eat a good and light breakfast every day and never skip a meal -- Carry a fruit and 6-8 nuts with freshly-cut veggies to chomp on. No cold coffees, fruit milk shakes and juices.

Lunches must include small salads with no oil -- Have lemon juice dressings, low-fat yoghurt, dal and chapati or grilled meats at every meal. No spicy curries, heavy biryanis, restaurant soups, breads and definitely no desserts.

Keep only healthy snacks at home -- Good examples are fruit and sliced vegetables such as carrots and cucumber. Try bean salads, bhuna chana, raisins with a couple of almonds, lentil sprouts, a small cup of skimmed milk or fat-free yoghurt. No namkeens, cream biscuits, pakoras, samosas, kebabs etc.

Ask your partner to help -- Eat in rather than eating out. The chances of overeating or eating unhealthy, fatty foods are higher when you eat out. Go dancing after dinner and let those calories burn off, sweat out the fat and feel aglow with the flowing endorphins.

Avoid all alcohol, it's where those calories creep in -- A rum and cola here and a 'lite' beer there add up fast, so drink water instead. It hydrates you without the additional calories. Alcohol adds an easy 100-150 calories per serving. Ditto for sodas, juices and cocktails. Add a slice of lemon to water if you crave some flavour.

Skip prepared desserts -- Instead, enjoy ripe fruit dripping with juices, they make for a luscious dessert that you can share with your partner.

Get a good night's rest -- Your body rejuvenates itself when you sleep like a baby. Lack of sleep increases stress and decreases your ability to discriminate -- perfect scenarios for emotional overeating. Get adequate rest and if you find yourself in an emotional and stressful situation with your family or work (which you and I both know happen from time to time), get onto a phone and talk it over with friends, instead of turning to food for comfort.

Remind yourself, you are worth every calorie and every inch dropped.

Dropping a dress size means different things to different people. Some may need to drop 2-4 kgs, while others may need to lose 6-7 kgs before they see a difference. But usually, inches decrease before weight does.

Eating 500 fewer calories a day and exercising to burn another 350-400 calories a day should sensibly work out to not only losing 2.5 kgs in two weeks but also losing some unnecessary flab and bulk.

(http://us.rediff.com/getahead/2009/jan/12drop-a-dress-size-in-two-weeks.htm)