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.


Seriously! If this works, I’ll be so happy! I’m rubbish at dieting and go on holiday in 10 days and was hoping to be around 12 lbs lighter. I’m 39 years old, 5 ft 5″ and weigh 138 lbs. Do you think that I could reach my target weight of 126 lbs in 10 days?? The most I’ve ever lost in one week is 3 lbs. Thanks
Hi my wedding is soon and im trying my dress on in four days i need to loose as much weight as i can how can i?
Well don’t do anything drastic or stupid. You can follow this diet, make sure to get a ton of protein. You’ll probably lose a few pounds (a lot of water) but impossible to say exactly how much.
Can you do both weights and cardio? I know in the article it says those who did just cardio lost muscle and those who used weights didn’t but what happens if you do both?
nothing drastic is going to happen but being on 800 cal is already rough, you’re not going to look dramatically different if you add cardio in.
Great post! I am currently doing 18 hour IF 6 days a week w/1 24 hour fast per week and will be trying this 7/27 – 8/03. I will post my results.
Thank you for this, Keith.
Thanks Mark, glad you liked it.
Woah.. just wanted to post mid-week Extreme Diet results so far.
Started Sunday, July 27. at 272 lbs.
Today Wednesday, July 30 weighed in at 265 lbs.
Basically been doing a 24 hour fast from 12pm to 12pm the next day and eating roughly 600 calories. Around 6pm I take a scoop and a half of weigh protein to round off at 800 cals for the day. I’ve also been having more effective workouts and have stuff to squats, deadlifts, various chest exercises and about 12 minutes of eliptical to keep my legs loose.
Will post full results/report Sunday.
stuck* not stuff and whey* not weigh lol.
Dude, you’re my same size. Do tell if this works out for you!
awesome, can’t wait to see what happens Sunday.
If I do this diet will my breasts get smaller ?
well you’re losing fat all over your body, so I assume so.
I have always been called crazy for this diet method, but I have lost over 50 pounds in two months twice in my life. So yes sometimes I’ve lost control because crash diets tend to be will power and goal based. Meaning one I reached my goals I began unhealthy lifestyle again. I had a demanding job and have an extensive athletic background. I knew extreme conditioning and weight training proven methods like super sets more reps and of course (diets like this one help) the use of caffeine androgynous supplements super hd. Could be strictly placebo effect I dropped 2 lbs a day for a week just under your protection but definitely worked. If you have the will to lose weight and fast I’d recommend this method. The losses are the week of hunger, and eventually a stomach can shrink and makes it easier after. This is very long but I am complimenting your work. I hope it’s ok to name drop products on here also good luck to everyone dieting.
So, how often is it safe for women to do this? Like, would one week a month be okay or should I do it less frequently?
No much less frequently.
Like maybe once every 3-4 months.
Now that I bought two protein powder 2lbs, I am solidly going to try this.
Should fat intake be a concern? I heard that it may be necessary for the body to absorb protein.
I’m doing medi weight loss and I just got through day 1 of hell week! One week, 600-800 calories per day protein only. Today I only ate 400 calories, I’ll add more tomorrow. I Jane done this program before and did well. I had to quit because of a breast cancer DX. I hope to lose 6 lbs at least this week and 4 lbs per week after that. I’ll post results later.
I ate 800 calories for 3 days ,but on the 4th day i ate approximately 1000.so do i have to start again ?
No please don’t. Just relax and keep going.
Thanks .I’m doing the full body exercises but how many reps should i do?
hi if i do this for 1 week and stop will i gain fat or stay the same
you will lose fat.
hey keith, i would like to try this fasting program. but i would like to know when did the fasting begin like specific timing, because i know that breakfast is one of the most important meal of the day. but the problem comes on my workout which i normally go to the gym after work around 6. and ive been hitting the gym all along. so besides the timing of having the meal, i would also like to know if i need to changed my workout or maybe less weight to lift or smth
breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.
Morning KEITH,
So here’s my full report:
I started the EWL week Sunday, 7/27 and ended at today’s weigh in 8/3.
Starting weight: 272
Ending weight: 257.5
Almost exactly what Keith said would happen. A fellow commenter mentioned they had a 1,000 calorie day. I may have had 2 of these during the week and still managed to get the results I got. So don’t worry, you’re still at an extreme caloric deficit at 1,000 calories.
Honestly guys, Keith is absolutely right on the type of workouts you should be doing and staying away from cardio. I was doing maybe 10 to 15 min max of low intensity elliptical and treadmill and that was okay but on my kettlebell training days, it seemed like the weight and fast movement seemed to wear me out pretty fast. Then because of the caloric deficit it was hard to recover the next day too.
This is what I did for exercise
M- chest, arms, dips, light cardio
T- squats, dips, lunges, goblet squats, light cardio
W- deadlifts, barbell 1 arm raises, shrugs w/45plates, good mornings, light cardio
Th- kettlebell HIIT & light cardio **BAD IDEA**
F- repeat of Tuesdays workout but going lower in reps and weight.
Rest the weekend or until today.
*conclusion – this definitely works and honestly during my workouts I felt good. The kettlebell HIIT was a bad idea but I think that was mainly because it was a superset and the intensity was turned up, bringing the cardio element into my training. Definitely stated seeing more definition and clothes was fitting better by 3rd day. If you’ve never done IF(intermittent fasting) I would try doing that first, getting used to not eating for extended periods of time and that will definitely help you complete this challenge.
I would recommend this like Keith said every 3-4 months or if you hit an extended plateau.
Thank you so much Keith. Your programs are both extremely beneficial (pardon the pun 😉 accurate, helpful and hilarious.
Mark
Awesome job Mark, I’m so proud of you. You made my day with this post 🙂
Keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot, Keith! Means a lot man.
Here is my last 11 week progress.
2 years ago I weighed almost 400lbs. I got down to 290 and started giving up again. After taking the picture above on the left, I started to get back to basics and shortly after started IF. I’m now doing IF and do a variation of HIIT, Strongman Training and Crossfit Training.
Thanks again, Keith. I’m now following your “how to get stronger” program and not repping to failure any more. So far it’s working great.
Again thank you for everything!
Mark
Oops picture didn’t load correctly,
Here it is
http://tinypic.com/r/50ii3k/8
Woo! Awesome job Mark that’s some amazing progress. Keep up the good work and keep me updated.
Holy fuck dude. Nice job. I started at 114kg and came down to 105 in 6 weeks, maintaining it for 1 month. I am now inspired to press on.
Then is it fine for me to drink water or whey when im hungry durinng the fasting
of course.
it is only for obese people? i mean if i weigh 165 lbs(183cm) it`s this even work? I know my weigh is more or less right but i want burn some extra fat, so you think it is possible
Depends…you’ll still lose a lot of weight, but it will help you burn off the extra fat faster.
thanks, but i have one more question. Is 800 calories a in some way “magic” number? I know let’s assume that i am 165cm and 160lbs or 190 and 250lbs. In that case is 800 cal, a right amount energy for both of us?
regards
Not “magic”
It’s a number that’s ‘low enough’ for most people to lose significant amounts of weight in a short period of time. Unless you’re like 80 pounds or something.
I want to do this but I think I’m screwed because I work a job that involves a lot of natural cardio every day (UPS guy). Do you think if I bumped the calorie intake to 1,400-ish to supplement what I burn during the day at work, and then did the heavy lifting after work, that I could have similar results after the week?
That’s fine, calm down. Just don’t go out of your way run on the treadmill.
Hey Bryan,
I would split up your day into 2 meals 400-500 cals per meal I did this 3 times during the week
400 cals for lunch
400 cals after lifting weights
Lift 1 day on and 1 day off total 4 times during your EWL Week.
1,400 calories is still a major calorie deficit, so if you feel you can’t stick to 800-1,000 cals, try it this way 😉
U hv said 800 calories per day so wit out at can I also take up de water n de green tea or no!
dude why are you typing like dis?
green tea is fine.