question..

Take some water pills! lol OR have your doctor get you Phentermine.....of course once you get off of it you will gain everything back and more.

A lot of weight is water weight so you may want to take a diuretic to lose water weight - but make sure you still drink a lot of water so you do not become overly dehydrated. I have heard that this does help though. Amino acid supplements can help break down carbs faster if you are a high carb eater. You may also want to try eating more fiber or using the fiber supplements so you feel fuller and don't need to eat as much, and eat lottttss of fruit and veggies and ice cold water with lemon (although I am sure you probably are doing that if you are on the raw/vegan diet) - that should help you out a lot just making that change, I know I lost a lot of weight immediately by doing that. I want to go back to the raw food diet again! Id like to lose 20lbs as fast as possible haha but thats not healthy of course.

the cardiac diet....3 days..up to 10 pound weight loss.!

there is just a trace amount of sodium in diet soda. What causes weight gain in diet soda is 2 things; one is the aspartame in it, and 2, it is thought that diet soda causes a person to crave sweets. I would not recommend doing anything crazy, like taking diuretics. This board promotes healthy weight loss.

Errrr..... this is a bad idea. Losing weight that fast is unhealthy and dangerous. Diuretics etc to lose water? How is that beneficial? I'm disappointed that so many are condoning this idea.

If you want to lose maximum weight quickly then up your exercise to large amounts of cardio and toning, but still eat correctly. You want to lose weight fast then you'll have to work for it, not take a cheats way out. True - you may not lose it. But then if you knew you wanted to look good for a particular day then you should have thought about doing something before now!

Errrr..... this is a bad idea. Losing weight that fast is unhealthy and dangerous. Diuretics etc to lose water? How is that beneficial? I'm disappointed that so many are condoning this idea.

If you want to lose maximum weight quickly then up your exercise to large amounts of cardio and toning, but still eat correctly. You want to lose weight fast then you'll have to work for it, not take a cheats way out. True - you may not lose it. But then if you knew you wanted to look good for a particular day then you should have thought about doing something before now!

Cosign! After losing 70lbs, my last 10lbs, I took some so called "cheats". Let's just say I gained those 10lbs back rather quickly & another 5 (hence why I'm here). Stick to eating healthy, working out, & drinking WATER.

Interesting... I've started searching the web, but can't find any medical sources that confirm an aspartame-weight gain link...

I've read some interesting stuff on this (but am obviously no expert!)...

When you eat artificial sugars like those in diet drinks, your brain registers the 'fake' sugar as real sugar. So, your body uses any sugar you DO have in your bloodstream, which can cause a drop in your blood sugar. The drop might make you crave more sugar/eat more, which will make you gain weight. Makes sense to me )

Hmm... but that seems counter-intuitive to me. Here's what I mean: the study I've found tested an artificial sweetener (Acesulfame K -- see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2887500?dopt=Abstract) and its ability to stimulate insulin production when it is *injected into the blood stream*. When we consume artificial sweeteners, though, they don't hit the bloodstream -- aspartame, after all, is indigestible. So, any aspartame you eat *never* makes its way to the bloodstream (and therefore, never triggers insulin production). The study, then, isn't about ingesting artificial sweeteners, but rather, finding ways to stimulate insulin production *without* inserting glucose into the system.

Anyway, what you're saying is that the claim isn't that aspartame *causes* weight gain -- instead, it creates *cravings*, which, if not controlled properly, lead to extra eating, which themselves cause weight gain. To make the claim that "aspartame causes weight gain" is the same as saying "the ice cream truck's jingle causes weight gain", no?

Interesting... I've started searching the web, but can't find any medical sources that confirm an aspartame-weight gain link...

I've read some interesting stuff on this (but am obviously no expert!)...

When you eat artificial sugars like those in diet drinks, your brain registers the 'fake' sugar as real sugar. So, your body uses any sugar you DO have in your bloodstream, which can cause a drop in your blood sugar. The drop might make you crave more sugar/eat more, which will make you gain weight. Makes sense to me )

Hmm... but that seems counter-intuitive to me. Here's what I mean: the study I've found tested an artificial sweetener (Acesulfame K -- see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2887500?dopt=Abstract) and its ability to stimulate insulin production when it is *injected into the blood stream*. When we consume artificial sweeteners, though, they don't hit the bloodstream -- aspartame, after all, is indigestible. So, any aspartame you eat *never* makes its way to the bloodstream (and therefore, never triggers insulin production). The study, then, isn't about ingesting artificial sweeteners, but rather, finding ways to stimulate insulin production *without* inserting glucose into the system.

Anyway, what you're saying is that the claim isn't that aspartame *causes* weight gain -- instead, it creates *cravings*, which, if not controlled properly, lead to extra eating, which themselves cause weight gain. To make the claim that "aspartame causes weight gain" is the same as saying "the ice cream truck's jingle causes weight gain", no?

According to various things I have read, it i the sweet taste of the artificial sweetener that triggers the insulin response. That leaves you with insulin in the blood and no sugar to pick up. That makes the body confused, triggering cravings, jitteriness, and other symptoms. This also hinders the burning of fat and can lead to insulin resistance.

Obviously, how an individual responds to those symptoms varies from person to person and some people will be able to use sweeteners without having a significant impact on weight loss. However, there are still studies in process that are trying to determine whether the sweeteners have a more direct relation to weight gain; we'll just have to wait and see.

That being said, I do drink my occasional diet soda and sometimes use splenda in my coffee. I think there is a big difference between drinking one diet soda a day and drinking 5 or 6, or more. Still, it is my goal to eventually eliminate sweeteners from my diet.

http://www.wellsphere.com/exercise-article/artificial-sweeteners-and-incidence-of-diabetes/734232