Important note: Please advise your doctor before following any plan. Don’t follow the advice below if you are under 18.
People always ask: “How much weight can you lose in a week?” Well… to answer your question I have good news, awesome news, and bad news.
First onto the good news: YOU CAN LOSE A TON OF WEIGHT IN ONE WEEK
That’s right, you don’t have to be bound to the conventional wisdom of only losing 1 or 2 pounds a week. Extreme weight loss diets can definitely work, but only for a short period of time.
In fact, you can lose up to 15 pounds in one week if you do it correctly.
Now onto the awesome news: ALL THAT WEIGHT YOU LOSE WILL BE WATER AND FAT, NOT MUSCLE
Yup, you read that correctly, if you follow the methods at the end of this post, all the weight you lose during the week will be pure body fat. The conventional statement that losing more than 2 pounds per week leads to muscle, organ, and hair loss is absolute unicorn shit.
How do I know this? Because some awesome scientists from the American College Of Nutrition back in 1999, conducted a study, which tested 2 groups of people for 12 weeks.
One group only did traditional cardio, while the other group only did weight training. Both groups ate 800 calories a day. At the end of the study, both groups lost large amounts of weight, but the one that only did cardio lost large amounts of lean muscle mass, and the one that only did weight training didn’t lose any muscle mass at all.
So there you go, some hard hitting scientific facts that prove that you will not lose muscle during extreme dieting as long as you lift weights.
Note: And if you don’t have a gym membership or if you don’t have access to any weights, then doing a well-designed bodyweight program like Bodyweight Burn is your next best option.
And lastly, the bad news: YOU HAVE TO EAT VERY VERY LOW CALORIES
So yeah…. you have to eat a ridiculously low amount of calories to lose a lot of weight in a week. I’m talking along the lines of 800 calories a day.
The amount that would make any nutritionist hang themselves.
And now, onto the plan, but first, a picture of steaks:

The 2-step plan to lose the maximum amount of weight in a week
Please note that the following plan can be used by both men and woman.
And don’t do this plan if you’re under 18, you’re way too young to be eating such low calories.
I guarantee that if you follow the plan below, you will lose 10-15 pounds(water and fat) in one week:
1) For one week only, eat 800 calories per day.
2) Workout 2-3 times per week with weights. Make sure the weights are heavy and be sure to hit all body parts.
That’s all.
Some notes/tips about the above 2 steps:
- 800 calories is very little food, for any man, woman, or baby walrus. Because of this, I suggest that you only eat 1 meal per day a la Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat. If you eat one 800 calorie meal per day, then you’ll at least feel somewhat satisfied, but if you split that up into 3 or even worse, 6 meals per day, then you’re not going to fare so well on this one week venture. Yes, this means that you will be fasting 24 hours every day for a whole week. Just remember, you will be burning fat, not muscle.
- Whenever possible, eat higher protein and eat foods with high water content such as fruits and soups. Also, drink lots of coffee and green tea, since they both tend to blunt hunger quite well.
- Stick with heavy compound exercises when in the gym. That means no curling and crunching, and if you even step foot on a treadmill, my dumbass radar will go off and I may have to kill you.
- If you can’t lift weights, then your next best option is to do some sort of bodyweight training. You know…exercises like squats, push-ups, lunges, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc..
- This is a mental game more than anything else. When you’re eating very few calories to lose weight faster, your mind starts playing tricks on you. Your stomach is gonna be grumbling more often. And there are gonna be times where you want nothing more than to self-sabotage yourself. Which is why the next point is so important.
- Above all, keep yourself distracted and out of the kitchen. If you’re constantly prancing around the kitchen and thinking about food, you’re going to fail. So keep yourself busy. Read a book, play some video games, take a nap, work on your tan, or shave your pubes. I don’t care. Just do something that doesn’t involve food.
- [EDIT 10/6/2014] I should also add that your protein intake needs to be HIGH. Like really high. In fact, the majority of your calories should probably come from protein, fruits, and veggies if you want this diet to be effective. The protein will help keep you full but more importantly also help maintain muscle.
Remember, this is only for one week
I just wanted remind you all, that this sort of extreme weight loss plan is only a temporary plan.
The results don’t have to be temporary, but the plan is. Please do not try and do this weight loss plan for more than a week.
Doing so is really going to mess with your head and you’ll most likely binge back to your original weight.
After one week, transition to a more moderate weight loss plan for the long haul.
I hope you guys now know how much weight you could lose in a week if went balls to the walls.
Want even better results? Take it to the next level with Fat Loss Boost
Many people have been asking me, “Can I do this for more than 7 days?”
Uh…
Yes and no.
Technically, you could eat 800 cals per day for a sustained period of time.
But sooner or later it’s gonna backfire on you.
If you want a more sustainable rapid fat loss plan…
Then I highly recommend checking out Fat Loss Boost.
This is a more long-term approach than the strategy I outlined in this blog post.
It’s a strategic rapid fat loss diet that works in 14 day cycles.
So you go hard on the diet for 14 days, lose a crap ton of weight, take a break, and repeat.
And the results from Fat Loss Boost are even better:
““I have been able to lose 10 pounds using this program. Starting weight 186. Weight this morning was 176.”
“I lost 12 lbs for my first attempt. Started at 201.7 and ended at 189.9. I am amazed!!! Thanks to everywhere for all the support and great hacks.”
“Ok people I’m done 😀. I hit 171.8 today, my goal was to break 172 on this round which was what I weighed almost ten years ago (lowest as an adult). That’s 30.2 lbs in just under 3 months.“
Pretty crazy, right?
Definitely give it a look if you want a realistic, yet challenging plan that burns fat faster than anything. you ever tried before.
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Questions? Like steak? Let me know down below.
I respond to (almost) every comment, which is pretty crazy considering there’s been over 3000 comments. Sigh…I need a hobby.
Would you count yoga as more of a body weight training type exercise than cardio?
that’s more cardio 🙂
Hi,
Still reading in 2022! Does swimming count as a “weight” type of workout? Or is that too much cardio?
that’s more cardio.
Is running on a treadmill too much cardio?
i wouldnt make that your only workout.
Hi. Can military diet for three days plus three days work in loosing 5 kgs a week.
I need to loose 5 kilos in one week
Then go on 15000 calories for a week
Then start back on!
How does this sound ?
You’re thinking too short term and looking for magic bullet fix.
Sorry i meant -1500 calories not 15000
Hallelujah. Some free, science-backed, encouraging, real advice. Thank you! Most experts assume society can’t handle the truth. I appreciate you dishing out this realistic and entertaining article.
Thanks 🙂
I agree!!!
Funny and uplifting…
Hi, if I’m a swimmer, and swim everyday, will I lose lean mass as well, if I also weight train (like squats). I want to do this and I’m curious if I will lose fat because swim is a form of cardio
If you do that in combination with this plan, you most likely will. THe calorie burn from a lot of swimming plus a super low cal diet results in muscle loss.
What about alcohol? Is it still ok if you factor the calories in with everything else?
I wouldn’t drink on this plan.
I’m 19 and about to be 20 in July I workout Monday-Friday and every other Sunday with every Saturday is a rest day, My starting weight was 180 and now I’m down to 177 in less than a week and I’m trying to drop to 145-150 but I also want to build muscle so I don’t know if what I’m doing is good, I just started last Friday so I’m almost about a week in and I run a mile every work out, I have 2 arm days a week 2 leg days and 1 day that’s strictly cardio and on every other Sunday is a cardio day as well, I try not to go over 1500 calories and make sure to stay under 2000 calories and I eat healthy, my eating schedule is 11 am to 7pm I don’t eat after 7 or before 11, I eat salad or bowl of honey bunches of oats cereal with almond milk and then I’ll eat some yogurt with some grapes or a nature valley protein bar and then I’ll eat some chicken for supper with some rice or veggies I don’t eat junk food or drink pop but I do drink Arizona green tea/lemonade Tea and v8 juices and fruit juice like grape juice and oj and I try to drink at least a bottle or 2 of water a day, but I’m not sure if what I’m doing is good for gaining muscle I know I’m in the right path for dropping weight I might reach my goal in June or maybe sooner if I keep going but I don’t want to be skinny I want muscle but I also don’t wanna eat 2,500 Cals a day and just gain muscle slowly and get in shape in 6 months from now although that may be better but I’m thinking dropping to 145-150 then upping my calories to 2500 a day and make lifting more of my focus when I get down to that weight, I’d appreciate your insight on what I’m doing and your recommendations fir what I should be doing or how to do it right
you’re overcomplicating it. If you want to lose weight consistently just eat about 2100 calories per day for the next 3 months. Lift weights and you’ll prob build some muscle at the same time. High protein all the time.
Will this negatively affect hormones and/or one’s metabolism?
not if you just do it for a week
Could I do 1000 cals consisting of high protein low carb if i am doing 30 min cardio and then like 1 hour weight training and still lose body fat?
I know u wrote only like 2 weeks max but if took in 1000 cals instead of 800 with the exercise would it be sustainable? And still get good results in 4 weeks time? What do u think?
No EVERYONE keeps trying to overcomplicate this. I just say do this for a week. After that, stop. Stop looking for a magic bullet.
Do you recommend an amount grams of carbs per day for weight loss in general?
Basically I’m asking if you believe in keto for weight loss.
Hey Keith,
I’m going to do the 1 week, 800 calorie (protein/weight lifting) diet here in a couple of days. I need to lose about about 30 pounds in the next 44 days to fit in my old service uniform for an important event. I know that’s probably not healthy but it’d be worth it. How long after the 1 week diet would you wait to do another 1 week cycle?
Appreciate your knowledge.
i can’t help you man, that’s too much weight.
Thank you for this article Keith and I love the way you write hah your a funny guy 🙂 ill report back in 1 week!
Keep me posted!
Hi
If I stick to the 800 calories and walk about 19 miles a day, due to my job will I be likely to see results in a week?
yes but you can honestly eat more than 800 calories then and still see fast results. 19 miles is an insane amount.