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 A little anxious about that company pool party, family reunion, or first date coming up? How about THE big one: your wedding!? Wouldn’t it be nice to look as absolutely perfect as you can on that day?  I’m going to outline what you can do for the entire week prior to an event that will ensure you to lose an extra pound or two, avoid any abdominal bloating, and make your skin is as tight as it can be.

 First you have to understand that your body has a “normal” state of water balance and stored carbohydrate (glycogen) levels regardless what percentage of body fat you are. This article won’t deal with the losing of body fat for the long-haul, but will help you zero in on your special event. Given the fact that you will probably have been losing some body fat leading up to the week prior, you will have already put yourself in a caloric deficit and will be operating on fewer carbohydrates than would be ideal in a non-dieting situation. There is a finite amount of carbohydrates that our bodies store in our muscle tissue, our liver, and in our blood stream. Every gram of glucose retains about three times its weight in water. As you enter a state of calorie deficit and/or carbohydrate depletion, you use up that intermediate energy source from your liver and muscle and there’s less to hold water in your body.  You’ve undoubtedly heard how the first big loss you enjoy on a diet is “water loss?”  This is the cause. You can lose 5 to 10 pounds of water, stored carbohydrates, and a little body fat in one week if you’re aggressive. Most people blame sodium for water retention, but it’s usually the carbs that the sodium rides into our body that causes the water retention, such as tortilla chips, salty snacks, etc.  Once you’ve successfully depleted your body of excess stored glycogen (carbs) and then refill with a carb binge or even with just a bigger day of healthy carbs, you retain all of that water again and feel soft, squishy, and even bloated.  I know you know what I’m talking about! This isn’t the way you want to look and feel on your big day!

In general, then, you want to be decreasing the amount of carbohydrates you’re consuming as your event approaches, but there are other factors and a way to cycle these variables to make it all work together for the perfect “peak.”  First, you have to establish what your food volume will be in all three macronutrient areas: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. A woman who is relatively active and exercises, I would suggest approximately .75 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  If you were 130 pounds, for example, this would be 98 to 130 grams of protein per day. Fat intake should be low to moderate just to keep calories at a level to allow a deficit but still make room for the more important protein and carbohydrates.  Shoot for 15 to 20% of your overall calories coming from fat. For most dieting women, this would mean 20 to 30 grams per day. Protein and fat are the variables that stay rather consistent through this final week of preparing your body to be its tightest. Keep it simple and have some flexibility with protein and fat, but do be fairly consistent; you don’t want any wild swings at all this last week.  Carbohydrates are the big variable that you will need to be very specific with. Remember, this is what dictates water retention in your body. Just to create a cycle where your body will be shedding excess water at the time you need, we need to start with a slightly higher baseline. Let’s say you’ve been dieting on 100 grams of carbs per day and have been successful at losing body fat. Then we know that level of food is creating a carb/calorie deficit. Seven days out from your big day, you need to be at that baseline number. Then, plan your carbohydrates to slowly start decreasing as a final countdown. If you were going to follow a full week of final preparation, I would set your first three days at that stable, baseline level of dieting, and then start the carb-lowering march. The fourth, fifth, and sixth days, you may go down to 75 grams, and the day before, a cut to 50 grams will ensure your body is not retaining any unwanted water. Each day, incidentally, includes all carbs: fiber, starch, sugar, and “non-impact” carbs such as sugar alcohol. Go with total carbohydrates if you’re following my example (just as a matter of semantics, we have to be on the same page). This level of food intake may be too low for some who are already fairly lean and have fast metabolic rates. You may be starting higher, but the pattern is still the same. You have to have a gradual decrease in carbs to really flush excess water out of your body and to make your body look “crisp” and tight.  You’ll gradually start feeling and looking tighter as you progress into the week and you’ll see the weight on the scale drop, reflecting the shedding of subcutaneous water.

If you get too carb depleted, you may feel excessively lethargic, your legs will feel heavy, you’ll get very grouchy (just ask your friends), and you’ll have mind-blowing cravings and the potential to binge eat. Don’t let yourself go that far. Make sure your protein is up where it needs to be, you may need to back off the planned decrease of carbs slightly, or you may need to even increase fat a little. One thing not to worry about is sodium. This has such little impact that it’s a non-factor.  As a matter of fact, you need a certain amount of sodium to keep water in your muscles and not have muscle cramps. The last variable, nutritionally speaking, is water. DO NOT stop drinking water. You should be consuming half to three quarters of a gallon daily. Try to greatly reduce or eliminate other liquids like diet soft drinks that can cause dietary reactions, water retention, and skin swelling. Try not to introduce anything that your body isn’t used to.

If I went with the scenario I’ve been building upon; a 130 pound woman who is as lean as she wants to be but wants to look her best on Saturday, here’s how the final week may look:

BASELINE DIET – CONTINUE ON DAYS 7, 6, AND 5 PRIOR TO EVENT

BREAKFAST:
                                                            PROTEIN             CARBS            FAT
1/3 cup (dry measured) oatmeal                   2                    18                     1
½ cup skim milk                                             4                      7                     0
1/8 cup almonds                                            4                      4                     8
Cinnamon and Stevia or Splenda                  0                      0                     0

SNACK:
Ready to drink protein shake                       20                      2                     1

LUNCH:    
3 oz. Chicken breast                                    21                      0                    3
Low fat/low calorie dressing                           0                      2                    2
Salad - no bacon cheese, or croutons            0                    10                    0

SNACK:
Fat-free, no sugar added yogurt                     5                     15                   0

DINNER:
4 oz. Chicken breast or fish                         28                      0                    4
Low-starch steamed veggie or salad             0                    10                    0
½ cup baked potato or rice                            2                     22                   0

SNACK:
Rice cake with 1 tsp. Peanut butter                3                   10                    4

TOTAL:                                                         89                    100                 23


DAYS 4, 3, AND 2:
    To make another move toward the final day, cut about 25 grams of carbs for the next 3 days.  Simply dropping the half-cup of starchy carbohydrate at dinner will nail this step.  

FINAL DAY PRIOR TO EVENT:
This last day will be your toughest as you drop carbs another 25 all the way down to approximately 50 total grams.  You could replace the yogurt with another protein shake, drop the rice cake, and maybe replace the oatmeal breakfast with an egg white omelet.  You’ll invariably, and should, increase protein a little as the carbs come down.  This will stave off hunger and still keep you on pace.  Your day doesn’t have to look just like this sample, but at least you have a framework to guide you.  

EVENT DAY:
Plan the event day to exactly mimic the day before.  Your event may include a meal or social eating of some sort.  Certainly enjoy yourself; this is what you’ve worked for.  You’ll be as tight and lean as you possibly can at this level of body fat.  I know your big day is very important to you; now you can have the confidence that you will look your best!

Dr. Joe is the founder of The Diet Doc and has written in the fitness industry for over a decade.  His newest book (www.thedietdocs.com) is taking aim at permanent weight loss while he continues to work with clients every day via his unique online programs (www.thedietdoc.com) and fitness, figure, and bodybuilding competitors of all levels (www.perfectpeaking.com).