You can lose those last five stubborn pounds—if you've got the will. Turn to this diet when all others have failed

By the M&F Staff | Freelance writer Beth Saltz, MPH, contributed to this article | Photos by Ian Logan

Your wedding? Class reunion? Romantic island vacation?

Whatever your looming event is, one thing's for sure: You've got to show up looking and feeling out of this world in just a few short weeks. The good news is that if you've got the will, we've got the way. The following nine simple rules, along with the "Emergency Diet" sample below, will help you strip away all the excess—excess calories, excess foods and, most important, excess pounds. It's drastic, and you probably can't (and ultimately shouldn't) stick to it for long periods. But for the next few weeks, this plan may be just what you need to shift your fat loss into overdrive.

Limit your sugar intake
Sugar is an obvious no-no if your goal is fat loss. That means you should stay away from all candy, nondiet soft drinks, sweetened cereals, pastries, cake—you get the point.

Drop the salt
You don't need to count grams of sodium, but you do need to avoid products that are high in this mineral. This includes most frozen entrees, canned soups, processed and packaged foods such as boxed pasta or rice mixes, snack foods such as pretzels and chips, microwave popcorn and so on.

Avoid anything with "wheat" in its ingredient list
This includes crackers, chips, pretzels, breads, most snack foods, pasta and most cereals. The exception to this rule is your postworkout meal, which comes within 45 minutes after training. At this time, you want fast-digesting carbs such as two slices of white bread or a 20-ounce sports drink along with about 20 grams of whey protein.

Avoid most "fat-free" products
"No fat" doesn't mean "no calories." This includes crackers, salad dressing and sour cream. The only exceptions are fat-free milk, yogurt and cottage cheese.

Eat more green vegetables
You should eat a green vegetable at least twice per day. The best thing about green veggies is you can eat a lot of them without blowing your diet, as they're high in nutrients yet often extremely low in calories. Choose from dark leafy salad greens, asparagus, spinach, broccoli and more.