15/21 Quickstart: lose up to 15 pounds in 21 days with this crash-course eating program - really! - Cover Story

Men's Fitness, Oct, 2002 by Philip L. Goglia, Michael Berg

Commit this nutritional proverb to memory: It's all about taking up less room in the room. Ultimately, your goal is to weigh as much as you can per square inch, and for there to be fewer square inches of you. Think of it this way and your new mantra makes absolute sense. You might consider repeating it periodically to keep you on track.

Other factors beyond the scale deserve your attention. Monitor your energy levels and your overall strength, as well as how you feel and how you look in and out of your clothes. If you aren't losing any weight, yet you sense a difference in the fit of your clothes and you're demonstrating more power in your gym workouts, it's because you're gaining muscle tissue and your body composition is changing.

Though a healthy program, 15/21 Quickstart is still very restrictive--once you've completed your three weeks, you probably won't want to follow it ever again. Instead, begin a long-term program, one that's tailored for your level of activity and energy needs. As your physique improves, it's a safe bet that you've become metabolically efficient, and you should learn as much as possible about keeping it that way.

Now it's time to get started. Waikiki is calling, and trust us: Wearing an Aloha shirt at the beach doesn't fool anybody.