Nutritionists insist on eating whole foods as a health decree, but it's also a sound weight loss tip. Because you're giving your body what it recognizes as the cleanest fuel, it will digest and metabolize it more easily. If Mother Nature didn't make it, don't eat it. This means your carbs include whole grains, fruit, dairy, and starchy vegetables; proteins include beans, meat, cold water fish, poultry, and eggs; and healthy fats include nuts, seeds, and oils like canola, olive, and hemp.

Don't get all "Eww, bitter!" on us just yet. Another healthy way to lose 5 pounds fast is to simply eat one serving of bitter-tasting food, per meal, for three meals a day. These pound-shedders include kale, arugula, olives, almonds, miso, collard greens, mustard greens, radish, dandelion leaves, and radicchio. Mix them into an omelet, soup, sauté, or even a smoothie.

"Taste is one of the five corporeal senses, and bitter is a hardwired catalyst for our bodies," says Stephan Dorlandt, a Los Angeles-based clinical nutritionist. "Bitter food stimulates saliva, gastric juice, and bile secretions. These chemical reactions boost digestion, burn fat, detoxify the liver and gallbladder, prevent constipation, and reduce sugar cravings." He says bitter greens are also among nature's healthiest foods in terms of vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, vitamin K, vitamin B1, calcium, and chlorophyll.

What's more, Dorlandt notes that aperitifs, the fancy drinks traditionally served before elegant dinners, are, yes, bitter. (Heck, one drink is even called "bitters.") The French word "aperitif" is derived from the Latin verb "aperire," which means "to open," since the bitter aperitif opens the digestive system to prepare it for a sumptuous meal. Now, this doesn't mean we suggest you drink your daily bitter consumption. But Dorlandt does say that just like the boozy preface to many French meals, you should eat the bitter part of your meal first.

Though your doc might ask you to inhale and exhale through your chest during a physical exam, this kind of superficial breathing won't do you any good when you're trying to lose weight quickly. According to Pam Grout, breathing coach and author of "Jumpstart Your Metabolism," breathing is the key to sustainable and long-lasting weight loss. Grout, who teaches people how to change their breathing patterns to lose weight, says clients report losing a pound a day.

And yet nine out of 10 of us aren't breathing properly, she says. "Put one hand on your chest, the other on your abdomen. Take a normal breath. If the chest hand goes up rather than out, you're breathing wrong."

If you don't breathe properly, you'll take in a third of the oxygen your body needs. "And when the body doesn't get enough oxygen, it can't burn through fat," says Grout.

What's more, proper breathing can rev your metabolism, lower stress chemicals which cause your body to retain fat, and keep you centered so you're less likely to binge or stress eat. The goal is to take long, deep breaths into your abdomen. To practice this, lay on the floor with a book on your belly. On your inhale, make sure the book rises. On the exhale, the book should come down. "Slow, deep inhales and exhales are best," says Grout.

Once you get the hang of belly breaths, she recommends trying the 1-4-2 breath, which is specifically designed for weight loss. Here, breathe through your nose to whatever count is comfortable. Hold the breath inside your body for four times as long, and then exhale through your mouth for twice as long. So if you breathe in to the count of 4, lock it into your body for 16 (4x4) and exhale for 8 (4x12). "It will get deeper and longer as you can get better at it," she says. "Do 10 of these, twice a day."

When the alarm goes off at 6 a.m., your first instinct may not be to work those abs. Yet five minutes of high intensity core work, first thing in the morning, will trim inches from your waist. "It speeds your metabolism for the rest of the day," says Len Glassman, owner of Personal Best Training Center and creator of FITness FUNdamentals DVD.

Two slimming moves we like: Hold a plank, with your back straight and tummy pulled in, and sustain the position for 15 seconds if you're a beginner, 30 seconds if you're intermediate, and one minute if you're advanced. Another option is to lie on your back, draw your knees into your chest -- keeping your back flat on the floor -- and squeeze your knees and the insides of your feet touching. Now twist your hips back and forth, from side to side, while keeping your knees and feet squeezed together. Beginners can do 10 to 20 reps; intermediates: 25 to 50; advanced: 50-plus. In both, the key is to shorten your contractions and isolate your lower abs as much as possible.

We've all heard that it's good to be as active as you can with everyday activities -- park far away from the grocery store, take the stairs at work -- but what if you went even further and turned those already-helpful everyday activities into interval training? "Intervals keep your heart rate going for maximum burn, and studies show that it's much more effective than steady state cardio for fat burning," says Kristin McGee, celebrity yoga and fitness expert. Two ideas:

1. When brushing your teeth in the morning and before bed, do 50 squats both times, as quickly as you can without dribbling toothpaste all over your bunny slippers. Though brushing and squatting might take some practice, form here is key. "Sit back in an imaginary chair and be sure your knees don't go past your toes," McGee says. "Stand back up squeezing your glutes."

2. When yapping on the phone, do heel raises. Stand with your feet in ballet first position, heels together and toes turned out, and rise to your toes and then lower down. Do this every time you get a call, or even if you find yourself stuck in a bank or grocery line. "Heel raises are discreet, and you can do them throughout the day, all day long." She suggests 20 reps, five times a day.