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You can’t go from overweight to thin overnight, but there are ways to shrink your waist within a day for special occasions. Although it is ideal to eat healthy and maintain a slim figure through healthy diet and exercise, sometimes you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ve gained a few pounds and suddenly a formal event pops around the corner. Luckily, there are ways you can fit back into your little black dress in time for a dinner, party or wedding.

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Pick the right clothes. Looking slim has a lot to do with the way you dress. If you throw on clothes which are comfortable without keeping your body shape in mind, you may appear to look heavier than you actually are. Make sure your clothes are the right size and are cut well. Some trousers and pants are cut for people with wider hips and will make you look wider than you actually are. For women, make sure you are wearing a well-fitted bra because that also makes a difference. You can ask a sales assistant for help or ask a friend to go shopping with you.

Seamstress adjusting dress
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Use form fitting inner wear. There are items of clothing available which you can wear underneath your clothes to shrink your waist. Elastic suits like Spanx start at the waist and go half-way down the thighs, cinching the waist and shrinking the thighs. These suits are nude-colored and don’t show through your clothes. The idea is to look slimmer without having to suck in your stomach, without anyone finding out your secret weapon.

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Get rid of your water weight. Eating a diet high in salt can cause you to retain water. You can take anti-diuretics to lose that water but this may not be safe in the long run. Instead, drink as much water as you can. This way, your kidneys will naturally dilute your urine, causing you to lose salt along with the excess water.

Clean out your bowels. Sometimes, the cause of bloating is constipation. There are five things which cause a stomach to appear distended - fluid, fetus, flatus (gas), fat and feces. Either eat a lot of high-fiber fruit or take a laxative to clean out your colon.

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Go to a spa for a body wrap treatment, which can help you lose inches in a one hour session. You’ll get massaged with herbal oils and lotions before being wrapped in either a plastic, gauze or seaweed sheet, causing you to sweat out several pounds. This technique can help you lose toxins as well, causing your skin to glow.

Warning

Don’t take laxatives often. When your body gets used to laxatives, your defecation reflex doesn’t stay as strong as before. So over time, your body can become dependent on laxatives, causing you to be constipated without them.

Last minute weight-loss related stress can cause special events to become a source of agony. Once your one-day weight-loss goal is reached, start a long-term diet so you don’t need to resort to get-thin-quick schemes.