Most people eat what they want all year round, prefer TV over exercising and dream about how next week (or month/year) they are going to start a healthy lifestyle. Suddenly one day they realize that it is just 2 weeks left before they have to go to a Christmas party or that summer is coming up and they want to look good in the new bikini. Usually around this time I get hundreds of emails - all of them pretty much the same "I have this event coming up in two weeks. I need to lose about 10-15 pounds. What is the fastest way to do it?"

Of course TV and Internet is full of commercials that promise you to lose 20 pounds in two weeks. They even show you tons of pictures of fit, smiling people with perfect bodies. Just pop a magic pill 3 times a day and you will turn into a supermodel right away. Sounds good, right?

I hate to disappoint you but this is just another scam created to get your money. There is no such thing as fast weight loss. I'm sure I'll get some infuriated replies like "That can't be true! My friend Maggie lost 16 pounds in two weeks doing Low carb diet!" Well you are in for another disappointment. Your friend didn't lose any fat. She lost water and muscle. Human body is a well coordinated working mechanism. It has no idea that you've decided to fit in a size 8 dress and doing some new fad diet. It thinks you are starving. It's too concerned about survival to allow us losing weight fast. Instead your metabolism slows down to conserve the energy. As soon as you'll start eating normal food you'll gain all of your weight back and some extra pounds in addition to that.

To make it simple fast weight loss is always followed by fast weight gain. No exceptions. In addition to that when you lose weight too fast, your skin does not have enough time to shrink, it will become loose.

The right amount of weight that the average person can lose in one week by eating correctly and doing exercises is around 2-3 pounds. That is a healthy, safe, effective amount to lose. Only that way you can get long lasting results. I know it is not as fast as many people would like to lose weight, but think about it how long did it take you to gain weight? I bet you $1000 dollars you didn't gain 20 pounds in two weeks. It is only logical, that your body will not allow you to lose 20 pounds in two weeks. Sorry!

I'm trying to save your money here, so repeat after me "There is no machine, no special diet, no special workout program, no special pill or special patch that will help me to lose weight fast and healthy at the same time". Repeat it to yourself every time you have an urge to buy some "quick fix" no matter how appealing it sounds.

Remember people who have created these commercials are professionals who know what you would like to hear. Don't let them fool you. Just try to eat right and work out. Be consistent. Make one little step at a time and you'll be surprised how far you can actually go.