Home Stretch: Bikini Ready

When your deadline's a few days away, use these four tricks to look even svelter in your teeny bikini.

3 days before: Cut the carbs (except fruits and nonstarchy veggies).

You'll shed any extra water you may have been holding onto, which can knock the scale down a notch or two. Skip excess salt too (it has the same water-retaining effect). Limit your daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams.

2 days before: Hit snooze.

The amount of sleep you get affects the function of ghrelin and leptin -- hormones that regulate your appetite and metabolism. Skimping on shut-eye can cause the hormone levels to fluctuate, which makes you hungry (especially for sugary, carb-heavy foods) and less able to tell when you're full. Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep a night and you won't be as likely to give in to that hot-dog hankering.

Pass on the gas.

Steer clear of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts -- they're high in fiber and hard to digest, which means they make you bloated and, well, flatulent. They also contain sulfur, so when you let one rip, it's stinkier than a port-o-potty at Lollapalooza.

1 day before: Say sayonara to soda.

When you drink carbonated beverages, you consume extra air, which makes your paunch puff up right after you've finished that Diet Dr.Coke. So ditch the soda and seltzer and down water instead.

Months 2 And 3: Mix It up

Your perfect weight: get there and stay there.

You've made it a month!

If you have 2 more to go before your deadline, it'll be a piece of cake. Stick to the basic plan for weeks 2 to 4. Then, if you get sick of strawberries in your cereal, top your cereal with a sliced banana instead. Or skip the salmon and sauté some scallops.

Download a list of food swaps

Gut-Busting Workout: MONTHS 2 AND 3
For the next 2 months, repeat the exercise plan from month 1, but substitute the workouts from the first week with these.

DAY 1
Core Workout #6

Core Workout #7

DAY 2
Upper-Body Workout #1

Upper-Body Workout #2

DAY 3
Lower-Body Workout #1

Lower-Body Workout #2

DAY 4: 30-45 minutes of cardio at moderate-maximum intensity

DAY 5
Upper-Body Workout #5

Lower-Body Workout #9

Core Workout #8

DAY 6: 30-45 minutes of cardio at moderate-maximum intensity

DAY 7: REST