The Busy Woman's How-to Guide for Weight Loss

If you are a 30- or 40-something woman, chances are that you have a love/hate relationship with that little monster on your bathroom or bedroom floor: the scale. Some days it is your friend. More often than not, you would like to throw it against the nearest wall, smashing it into a hundred tiny pieces.

Based on the advertising I see on television and in cyberspace - not to mention the plethora of ads on satellite radio and the like - weight loss is on the hearts and minds of many. And in case you have not noticed, the quicker one can melt those pounds away, the better.

So, forget those supplements and the various establishments out there to which one can pay ten or more dollars a day for meals and exercise tips and accountability. Having been a part of the weight loss game for a good decade or more, here are a few fool-proof ways I have found to rapidly shed some unwanted pounds.

1. Food poisoning

Nothing drops two to three pounds quicker than a few hours or days bowing at the porcelain throne as you offer obeisance to it from both ends of the spectrum.

As to not cause offense to any restaurateurs out there, I will not list specific establishments more likely to assist one in the acquisition of this lovely malady (you are on your own with that one). But for the do-it-yourself-at-home aficionado, one might try undercooked pork or chicken or the ever-popular expired mayo on turkey and rye.

2. A bout with strep throat

The temptation of that slice of cheesecake or pan of brownies is easily circumvented when one-hundred razor blades are scraping at one's throat with each swallow. Not to mention the imagined visual of a pus-filled throat. Ah, yes, this is the joy that is strep throat.

Depending on one's threshold for pain, one might delay the trip to the doctor until the rash appears. I would not go much past this myself - we are talking one's health here, and antibiotics would surely be recommended at this point. However, with several days of a liquid-only diet, a few pounds will easily melt away.

3. Morning sickness