Day 3 Meal 5

Every weight-loss plan has a few rules, but we guarantee these are a lot easier to swallow than eating cabbage for a month or overdosing on fatty protein foods. For healthy, sustained weight loss, keep these important principles in mind:

1) Eat foods high in fiber.
Fruit, vegetables and whole-grain breads and cereals are all low in calories but high in bulk, which helps satisfy your appetite. Yes, high-fiber foods are made up of carbohydrate, but these aren't the kind anyone should avoid.

"Everyone's trying to do the no-carb thing, and I try to tell them it isn't going to work because you can't live with it," says 1998 Fitness Olympia champion Monica Brant. "When you stop, you go right back to where you were. Plus, you can't exercise on a no-carb diet, and exercise is half the battle in controlling your weight."

No-carb or other quick-fix diets that may radically restrict calories trigger a downshift in your metabolic rate, the number of calories your body uses at rest. That's why eating dramatically less food can cause weight loss via water and muscle but leave you at a virtual standstill in terms of losing bodyfat.

Female athletes in particular risk a lot on such a diet. Melinda Manore, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition in the department of nutrition at Arizona State University in Tempe, says: "Some of the health consequences of long-term energy restriction in female athletes may include poor energy and nutrient intakes, poor nutritional status, decreased resting metabolic rate and total daily energy expenditure, increased psychological stress, and increased risk for a clinical eating disorder, exercise-induced amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Besides, if you restrict your energy intake too much, you lose lean tissue and can't build new lean tissue even though you're exercising."

2)Drink plenty of water.
Hydration is important not only for good health but also for optimum workouts. "I go through at least a gallon each day," says 2000 Fitness International champion Kelly Ryan. She also warns against confusing thirst for hunger.

Water is nature's perfect no-calorie solution to thirst, and as a fit woman, you need to drink more than the eight recommended 8-ounce glasses a day. According to Janet W. Rankin, PhD, professor of nutrition in the department of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg), "Too little water can worsen performance and health, so consume plenty of fluids throughout the day to efficiently excrete waste products and promote your body's ability to sweat and therefore cool itself on a hot day or during strenuous exercise." She notes that although most athletes don't drink enough fluids, drinking extra water over and above your needs will simply produce more urine, not better performance.

3) Not all fats are the enemy.
Jose Antonio, PhD, author of Diets Drive Me Nuts (Book Partners Inc., 1999), points out that drastically lowering your fat intake isn't good for your body. Eating a diet of less than about 10% calories from fat daily may harm your sports performance and prevent your body from absorbing necessary fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K. Still, saturated fats and trans fatty acids--most commonly found in animal products and processed foods--are unhealthful in excess and should be minimized. Instead, try to get the majority of fat in your diet from mono- or polyunsaturated forms, including olive, canola and fish oils.

4) Don't deprive yourself.
Don't be afraid to splurge on a serving of your favorite food, something you really crave, every 10 days or so. In the grand scheme of things, those extra 400 calories won't hurt as long as you control the portion size and get right back on your healthful eating plan. This kind of "controlled cheating" should give you the relief and motivation to forge ahead without completely blowing your diet.

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