Need to drop a few pounds fast?

The French woman knows how to eat in a sustainable way to manage her weight without diets and deprivation – all that’s covered in my book, Creating the French Metabolism: Eat, Drink, and Be Beautiful. But even a French girl needs to drop a quick couple of pounds every now and then.

We all have those times, like a holiday, a wedding, or when your “special occasion” outfit doesn’t fit quite the same as when you bought it, when you just need to drop a quick pound or five.

Here are some tips for dropping a few pounds fast, without starving or feeling like crap.

Increase your water intake – a lot

You should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every single day, just as a routine habit. For example, a 140 pound woman should be drinking about 70 ounces of water, spread out through the course of a day. But the average American woman is probably drinking nowhere near that.

When you increase your water intake (close to a gallon a day), miraculous things happen. In addition to hydrating your skin (which will thank you by glowing), you clean out your “insides” and you start to move off of that “stuck” point.

Don’t go all crazy on me here and drink gallons and gallons – just get in at least your minimum plus more. There is such a thing as water intoxication, and it can be fatal. I’m reminded of a case in Los Angeles a few years back where a young woman competed in a radio contest, “Hold your wee for a Wii,” to win a Wii for her kids. She drank nearly two gallons of water in just over 3 hours without going to the bathroom. She won the contest, but the outcome was, well, not good. So use common sense.

It’s fine to drink other beverages too, but don’t include them in your “quota” of water intake. And don’t hold your wee.

This is one of the easiest things you can do to get your weight moving in the right direction – just trust me and give it a try. It’s relatively painless and virtually free.

Eat minimally

If you’ve read my book, you already know how to enjoy delicious food without any desire for over-eating. When you want to drop a quick few pounds, it’s especially important to follow the guidelines in the book and keep your healthy meals just adequate in volume to satisfy your hunger.

Is breakfast is the most important meal of the day? I’m not a doctor or a scientist, I’m just a woman who likes to stay slender. But my answer to that, unless you’re someone who does hard physical work like construction, is no. You haven’t been working hard in your sleep, and there should be no need for a large meal at breakfast.

Fun fact, breakfast wasn’t really a “thing” until around the 17^th century, and was taken mostly by the wealthy. Then around the 19^th century with the Industrial Revolution, work hours began to be regulated. All classes of people began eating a morning meal to sustain them for a long morning of physical work, then another meal break mid-day to keep them going, and finally an evening meal with the family.

Your most substantial meal (I won’t say biggest, because you don’t need big meals, unless you are the aforementioned construction worker) should be mid-day, at lunch time. A serving of protein with an ample salad or vegetables is a satisfying lunch that should last you the remainder of the active part of your day. Have maybe a few nuts or a little plain yogurt and some fruit if you need a little something extra during the day.

Dinner should be light – soup or a salad is perfect. And after dinner, no more eating. Clean up the kitchen, hang up the “Closed for Business” sign, and go to bed early to take your mind off food. And get enough sleep to keep the hunger hormones at bay (which you’ll understand if you’ve read my book).

Move it!

If you’ve been exercising, it’s time to be super diligent and not miss a day between now and your big occasion.

If you haven’t been exercising, it’s time to just put a stick in the fan and start from wherever you’re at right now. Start gently, you don’t want to injure yourself the first day and be unable to exercise for the next week.

Walking is a great way to get the metabolism going. If you can get in 45 minutes to an hour of walking, as near to every day as possible, you’ll see the pounds start to melt away.

I recently bought a ProForm bike, which has been a game changer for managing to squeeze in a decent workout regardless of what else is going on. Here’s what I love about it – it’s quiet, it’s compact, and it’s sturdy enough to feel like professional gym equipment, but it’s not priced like professional gym equipment. No matter what else is going on, I can always find 20 or 30 minutes somewhere in the day to hop on. (Click here to check it out!)

This is my affiliate link – you won’t pay more and you’re helping me get ready for the holidays. Thank you!

Eating out

This is a sprint, not a marathon, and probably isn’t the best time to plan a visit to your favorite restaurant.

If you do have a social demand to eat out, check out the menu in advance and decide what you will have, and then resolve to stick to your choice. Don’t be tempted by the daily special, just steal a bite of somebody else’s if you must.

Eye on the prize

This isn’t hard, and you’re not going to starve. None of this is terribly different from the way you’re eating anyway, if you’re eating like a French woman; it’s just a bit more stringent and requires more dedication. Like I said, this is a sprint; it’s a short-term commitment to drop a quick few pounds, if that’s what you want to do.

Stay focused on how you’re going to look at that wedding/party/event, and remember to admire yourself and your progress every day.

You got this!