Okay guys...you all knew this was coming, right?
It IS possible to lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks....but-here is the catch. It's not gonna be fat. It is going to be some water weight and some of your muscle mass that you want to keep. If you go on an extremely low calorie fad diet-you'll lose some water, some muscle mass-and you'll most likely gain the weight back. Is it really worth it? When you do gain the weight back-it will most likely be fat-so you will end up maybe weighing what you do now, but you will end up with less muscle and more fat mass-so you could very possibly end up looking worse in a few months than you do right now.
You COULD however lose 3-5 pounds in 3 weeks in a more healthy manner...that doesn't involve going below 1200 calories a day, or cancelling out entire food groups. With a sensible plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life-that contains the proper nutrients and enough protein-along with exercise-you can lose some weight slow and steadily-and actually keep it off past the holiday season. I don't know about everyone else-but if I work hard to lose weight-I don't want it back in 6 months.
I cannot stress enough eating a balanced diet of between 1200-2000 calories per day (and 1200 is REALLY low-most women can lose just fine eating 1500-1600 a day) that contains healthy portions of clean, healthy food-lean protein, fruits, veggies, skim dairy, and whole grain starch like whole wheat bread and pasta, oatmeal, etc.-no junky carbs like regular bread, white pasta, and processed sweets.) Exercise along with this for 20-60 minutes per day to burn fat and increase muscle-and this is a way of life that is healthy, and a way to lose excess weight that will help you keep the weight off...not just lose it.
I have been living this way for over two years now-and I am over 45 pounds thinner-and it's not coming back. I am losing slowly-but steadily-and I feel 200% better. Two years ago my holiday party dress was a 16/18W...last year it was a 14/16W...and this year it is a 13/14 Misses. Next year I am hoping to walk in that party in a 11/12 gown...maybe even a 9/10. Who knows?
The weight loss is slower than a fad diet-but I have muscle mass and firm shape in my body now, and I am not gaining any weight back. I have changed the lifestyle that was making me fat-not starving myself for a couple weeks for a special occasion and then gaining the weight back.
Fad diets are harmful to the body-and are not helping you get any fitter or firmer. Only a balanced diet and exercise can do that.