You’re searching high and low for the fastest way to lose weight this week. You’re stressing. You’re kicking yourself for eating pizza over the weekend and missing your Sunday morning hot yoga class because you were hungover.

Whether it’s for a date with the hot new guy at the office (our lips are sealed), that tropical vacation you’ve been waiting on for months, or as a jumpstart to your weight loss plan, you need to drop a few pounds stat.

We’ve all been there.

If you want to look amazing in your LBD but the zipper is way tight and you can’t quite sit down in your favorite jeans at the moment, read on for the fastest way to lose weight in a jiffy.

And no, starving yourself is not the answer.

The Fastest Way to Lose Weight This Week

1. Eat Empowered

Eat real food. Often.  Stop worrying about what extreme diet you need to start. Stop counting calories and start thinking about the real food you’re going to eat.

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner—and at least one snack a day (no skipping meals!)—consisting of whole, real foods. I’m talking loads of veggies, lean protein such as grass-fed steak, chicken, fish and eggs, and healthy fats as in cashews, pecans, olives, avocado and coconut. Ditch the packaged and processed foods—especially anything that includes added sugar.

If you need an exact plan, I’ve got you covered here.

Begin your day with breakfast and eat every few hours or when you feel slightly hungry and stop when you feel slightly satisfied. Not sure what that feels like? Check out this hack . Eating real food combined with listening to your body is your new winning combo.

Fact: Eating real food makes you feel better and that alone can make you look better. If you’re skimping on nutrients or need a way to boost your protein, check out our Nutritious Life-developed Life’s Abundance Greens Blend and Life’s Abundance Vanilla Plant Protein. It’s the fastest way to up your nutrition game.

RELATED: Sugar Cravings: 4 Reasons They Happen and How to Stop Them

2. Sweat Often

Get 45 minutes of movement in—every day this week. I’m a fan of mixing up exercise. This might mean getting in HIIT workouts one day, long bouts of cardio or a hike on another, and pilates and yoga on other days. But, most of all, I’m a fan of being consistent with exercising and moving, in whatever way, shape or form makes you feel your best.

The fastest way to lose weight means sticking with whatever movement makes you feel good. When you feel good, you’re more likely to be consistent. Also, when you feel you good, you eat well and you sleep well which, guess what … helps you eat well again. This intertwined cycle is what a Nutritious Life is all about.

This week, I want you to focus on being consistent with your exercise and doing it daily. You don’t even need to hit a gym to get it in. Here’s a quickie workout I do just about anywhere.

Five-mile run sound good? Do it. Spin class right up your alley? Get that in. Hike in the hills all you want to do? Go for it.

Fact: Yes, you’ll shed pounds by burning calories when you exercise, but exercising also increases blood flow. This helps with circulation and gives your skin a healthy glow. Exercise can also help reduce stress, which will help you sleep better. Both exercise and sleep are needed to calm your nerves.

RELATED: Quick 5-Minute Full-Body Workout You Can Do Anywhere

3. Sleep Deep

Aim for 8 hours of sleep a night, settle for no less than 7.  For some reason, sleep is still one of those things that we give up in order to fit everything else into our busy schedules. Many of us still feel like we should get a gold star when we triumphantly go without sleep to log more hours at a bar chatting it up with friends or burning the midnight oil at our desk. Unfortunately, no medals awarded here.

Sleep should be a top priority. It’s right up there with what we put into our bodies, especially when we want to be looking and feeling our best.

This week, practice good sleep hygiene by picking a bedtime and sticking to it. Allow yourself 15 minutes of winding down time before your head hits the pillow.

Fact: They don’t call it “beauty sleep” for nothing. While we sleep, our body’s natural antioxidant and sleep hormone, melatonin, fights off free radical invaders. If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, you’re reducing the amount of time that melatonin gets to fight off wrinkles, and those bags under your eyes will only get worse. By getting enough sleep at night, you not only look and feel well-rested, but your immune system will be strengthened.

RELATED: Sleep Procrastination: What It Is and How to Stop Doing It, Pronto!

4. Drink Up

Drink eight glasses of water and two cups of green tea a day. For two days before your special occasion, drink one cup of dandelion root tea as well. Trust me, this one is important. Being properly hydrated is linked to metabolism, energy and skin health.

Fact: It might sound counterintuitive, but drinking water throughout the day, helps you to reduce bloating, flush out toxins, hydrate your skin to achieve a healthy glow, and keep your digestive organs in good working order. On top of that, green tea has been shown to boost metabolism and dandelion tea will help flush you out, further reducing toxins and any bloating.

RELATED: Do I Really Need to Be Drinking Water to Lose Weight?

5. Nurture Yourself

No time or money to book that expensive facial? Have no fear, your DIY cleansers are here.

Give these easy homemade facial cleanser and mask a try. You’ll almost be able to feel the antioxidants and nutrients seep into your skin making it soft, smooth and younger-looking. Don’t forget to moisturize twice daily.

Pink Dairy Cleanser: Each day this week, use this quick and easy cleanser on your face by mixing 2 teaspoons milk, 2 teaspoons pink grapefruit juice with pulp, and 2 teaspoons Greek plain yogurt or sour cream until smooth.

Soothing Green and White Mask: Seven days and four days before the big day, puree a quarter can of white beans and five cucumber slices in a food processor until smooth. Gently massage the mask onto your face and let it sit for 15 minutes before rinsing off.

Fact: The yogurt in the Punk Dairy Cleanser will gently exfoliate and stimulate collagen, to help firm your skin.  The pink grapefruit will protect your skin from sun damage and the formation of free radicals.  The Soothing Green and White Mask will refresh your skin while soothing any redness and inflammation. Both will leave your skin feeling serene.

RELATED: Why You Want to Eat These Beauty-Boosting, Collagen-Rich Foods, Starting Today!

About Nutritious Life Editors

The Nutritious Life Editors are a team of healthy lifestyle enthusiasts who not only subscribe to — and live! — the 8 Pillars of a Nutritious Life, but also have access to some of the savviest thought leaders in the health and wellness space — including our founder and resident dietitian, Keri Glassman. From the hottest trends in wellness to the latest medical science, we stay on top of it all in order to deliver the info YOU need to live your most nutritious life.

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