OK, so you just indulged over the Thanksgiving table and now when you look at your reflection, you flash on one of those mirror scare scenes (I'm stuck on "Poltergeist" where the guy looks in a mirror and rips off his face). If you don't like what the naked you looks like and would like to drop some of your extra weight before Christmas and New Year's Eve, we suggest you take a break from these foods[1] . Sure you can try moderation, but if you're looking to drop and drop fast, why not pledge to stop eating these things for just two or three weeks? And for those purists who feel compelled to remind us that for weight loss to be permanent, it requires a change in lifestyle -- yeah, well, we see your lips moving but aren't hearing you at the moment. This is Desperation Season for those who just need to get a dress zipped up by New Year's and we promise to deal with lifestyle changes on Jan. 1. We remind everyone that safe weight loss averages about two pounds a week; and we promise that if you lock your jaws to these foods, you can do this:


1) Bread.

We love bread. We love it hard-crusted, toasted, with rosemary and a million other ways. We love onion bagels and garlic bread sticks. With the exception of tasteless white bread, we love pretty much every glorious chunk of bread that ever passed over our lips and went straight to our hips. The problem is that bread doesn't love us back. Those annoying carbs it carries are just the enemy of weight loss. White bread has minimal nutritional value and turn rapidly into sugar. So you may as well just eat a cupcake (no, don't do that either!) Truth is, there is just no such thing as moderation when it comes to bread, says Heather Bauer, co-author of "Bread is the Devil: Win the Weight Loss Battle by Taking Control of Your Diet Demons." [2] As she told WebMd, "When you're hungry, tired, or stressed, you tend to reach for bread products, not carrot sticks. Problem is, the more you eat bread, the more you want." Cold turkey, my friends, cold turkey.


breads


2) Wine, beer, eggnog and other alcohol drinks.

Yes, we are proposing heresy: Going through all those holiday parties without imbibing a little. Booze has sugar. Booze also has the nasty habit of encouraging us to drop our guard. We munch while we sip because we don't want to get too much of a buzz on and then before we know it, we are munching on stuff that is bad for us and we've lost track of what we have eaten. If you want to be able to zip up your party dress on New Year's Eve, try delaying that champagne until, well, New Year's Eve.


egg nog


3) Cheese.

Now, if you are anything like us, bread, cheese and wine are the three staples you'd most want if stranded on a desert island, so the idea of forgoing them pretty much cuts like a knife -- a cheese knife. Cheese is the one dairy product that just hasn't quite nailed it in the fat-free equivalent category. While fat-free milk may have replaced cream in our coffee, fat-free cheeses just haven't posed a plausible alternative to the real stuff. Cheese? Cheese is a gift from God that perhaps shouldn't be tampered with. That said, it should be dropped from your diet during the next few weeks if you want to see some weight loss.


cheese plate


4) Fried food.

Fried food, loaded with fat and calories and zero nutritional value, should probably be banned from your diet year-round. But guess what gets pushed in front of us at holiday parties? Fried crab cakes, deep-fried asparagus, fried potato latkes, etc. Sure it tastes good and other guests may stare at you for munching on the celery sticks instead, but who needs greasy fingers anyway?


fried foods


5) Sugar.

"Is HuffPost crazy?" you may be asking yourself about now. Go through the holidays without eating all the chocolates and pastry treats brought into offices, served at parties, dished up wherever you go? A tough one, we know. You will thank us for it later. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the epitome of anti-fitness food. Nothing will destroy your weight-loss progress, expand your waist or plummet your energy levels more than sugar.


christmas cookies



Earlier on HuffPost50:




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  • Do Not Eat: Fried Food


    Fried food is loaded with fat and calories while offering zero nutritional value. It's a lose-lose! Sure, fries and chips TASTE good, but healthier items also taste good. Just say no to the deep fried items on your menu. You'll be thinner, healthier and won't have greasy fingers.




  • Try This Instead: Broiled


    If you simply must have a French fry, then make them at home in your oven. Use sweet potatoes, as these are a more complex carbohydrate. Cut into matchsticks, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil along with a dash of salt, then place in your oven on broil. Turn every five minutes until the fries are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.




  • Do Not Eat: White Bread


    White bread products have minimal nutritional value and are quickly converted by your body into sugar. So you may as well eat a cupcake. Even breads that are technically wheat, but are as soft and smooth as white bread, should be avoided. Don't be afraid to discard the bread from your sandwich or to push away that bread basket. Your waist will shrink and you'll lose that bloated feeling that high carbohydrate meals give you.




  • Try This Instead: Sprouted Grain Bread


    If you must have bread, then stick with sprouted. Sprouted grain bread is a lot easier on your digestion and is packed full of nutrients. Two delicious brands are Food For Life's Ezekiel bread, and Manna Organics. Sprouted grain breads are often kept in the freezer section since they don't contain preservatives to prolong shelf life.




  • Do Not Eat: Creamy Salad Dressing


    You were so good to order a salad, but then canceled out the low-cal benefits by drenching the salad in fattening creamy dressing. Just a few tablespoons of creamy dressing contain more than 20 grams of fat and hundreds of calories.




  • Try This Instead: Vinegar Dressing


    Vinegar-based dressings pack amazing flavor in with minimal fat and calories. You can even mix your own dressing at home. Take high quality vinegar, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper, your choice of dried herbs, and a bit of olive oil.




  • Do Not Eat: White Rice


    Just like white bread, white rice has minimal nutritional value, and the glycemic load will quickly prime your body for storing fat.




  • Try This Instead: Brown Rice


    Brown rice has three times the amount of fiber, more B vitamins as well as other nutrients and will keep you feeling fuller for longer. That should be enough to convince you to swap your large pile of white rice out for a small pile of brown rice.




  • Do Not Eat: White Sugar


    Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the epitome of anti-fitness food. Nothing will destroy your progress, expand your waist and plummet your energy levels like sugar. If you only take away one do-not-eat food from this slideshow, please let it be sugar.




  • Try This Instead: Fruit


    Don't turn to artificial sweeteners to get your sweet fix, instead turn to nature's wholesome source of sugar: fruit. Eat organic fruit that is seasonal and locally grown. Stay away from dried fruit and fruit juices, as these are high in simple calories.