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.


I get the no cardio reasoning, but can you briefly explain why no bicep curls? Isn’t building any muscle mass a good thing?
Best,
J
trust me, you will not be building muscle on 800 cals per day. And it’s just for 1 week. I cut out all the unnecessary exercises, you won’t kill yourself by doing curls but it’s not a necessity.
Thanks for the swift response. I’ve been actually doing this for about a week already (800 cal/day) and was looking up the “safety” of it when I came across your site. The only variance in my regiment is I’m doing heavy weights 3 days a week and cardio for 3. I’ve lost 6.5#s and do not feel hungry at all or, like I’m starving myself.. My BMR caloric intake is supposed to be 1,850ish. What is the long term danger of this if I’m not hungry and losing weight? I’d assume as my body fat decreases, I’d have to up my caloric intake to provide the necessary fuel, but I’m 6′, and started at 223lbs and of this morning I’m 217lbs. I feel stronger and muscular, but certainly have a long way to go for physical appearance, but I’m happy with the weight loss.
Hey, how long should your work out be?
45-60 min.
What happens if you do this longer than a week?
it will wreck your metabolism.
Yesterday was my last day on this plan and upon weighing myself this morning I saw that I actually didn’t lose but, rather gained 0.2lbs. I was pretty dissapointed but I know I must have done something wrong. I started at 223.6and ended at 223.8. I’m 5’11. I lifted heavy for an hour for 5 of the 7 days and did no cardio other than two days with only 15 min of interval walking on the treadmill (light). My intake was mostly protein, however I do think it was high in salt (my mistake?) as I would eat my 800 calories of mostly chicken breast from el pollo loco and on a few days had a small salad with chopped chicken and quite a bit of salsa. My lifting is fantastic though- even on the deficit I was strong and had a great pump. Just dissapointed in the results on the scale. Is it worth trying again but only consuming chicken I cook at home and reduce the sodium by a lot? Thanks for the info! Was a good experience anyway.
Something is clearly off then. If you’re a girl and you’re on your period, that could be an explanation. Other than that I really don’t know, there no way you would gain weight unless your metabolism is messed up.
did you measure your fat %? does your clothes fit better?
I dont mind not losing any weight as long as it doesn’t increase and bodyfat drops. as ill still be slimmer & stronger.
This is what 5 pounds of fat versus muscle looks like. 5 pounds looks bloody massive
http://www.glorysurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/muscle-and-fat.jpg
i reckon my double chin/ face must have at least a pound of fat 🙁
my stomach 5 pounds
my manboobs another couple of pounds
my back 1 pound and my legs 3 pounds
Hi, haven’t started this diet yet, but can you still do it while on your period? And also if you don’t eat foods high in protein will you still lose weight as in fats and muscle? Or will there not be an effect?
i would wait.
Ok, can you still lose weight if you don’t eat foods high in protein?
I don’t recommend that, you will lose a ton of muscle.
I am 5’6 and 140lbs (lots of the excess weight is carried on my stomach area). I am going to start today (it’s 5:30am)!
I was wondering when you would suggest consuming the large meal? I will train mainly in the mornings and will have to work in the afternoon until 9pm (a retail job so on my feet)
Thank you! I’m excited to see what will come of this
Hey Keith, the plan worked great for me. I was only able to follow it for 6 days cause I had a game coming up but I dropped 10 pounds and a newfound love for strength training, thanks a lot.
Great website, keep it up man!
awesome job
Keith,
What are we looking at for the other nutrients like carbs fats etc or does it matter? As long as your under 800 calories? Also you suggest one meal for the day? What if you do 3 meals and keep it under 800? Some kind of stomach filler like green beans or some kind of veggie that is low calories? Thanks for the feedback!
Also should I be taking a multivitamin through this process?
800 is already extremem don’t go lower than that. A multivitamin and veggies are good to counter any nutrition deficiencies. Carbs and fat are going to be pretty low overall since protein is so high.
Well I meant keeping it at your goal of 800 not going below it sorry. I was planning to eat chicken and lots of veggies to get the goal of 800: since green beans are very low in calories I thought it would help to eat lots to keep the hunger down.
Also forgot to ask I’m active at work meaning I would walk 4-5 miles in a day should I still keep it at 800?
Thanks for your comments and time
honestly, 800-1000 should be fine.
yes low volume foods like green beans are great.
Thanks man I started today apperciate the help!
So I don’t understand what do you do after one week then you go back to normal eating healthy.Or do you do one week one one week off?
yes go back to normal eating to the point where you’re only about losing 1 pound a week.
sorry I said that wrong one week on one week off?
more like one week on, a couple months off.
Wish me luck I am going to start when the holidays are over. Because that would be sating me up for failer because i can’t say no to stuffing
Came across this tonight and going to start 2morow will keep posted.
Cool man, let me know how it goes.
O if im just starting after not working out for a yr, can I do light weights? Cause ill be cramping up if I hit 25lbs squats
then stretch 🙂
Is this safe? Its just, isn’t it a bit unhealthy for your heart? Or is it too short a diet for it to do any permant effect?
yes it’s only a week.
Hello,
Im looking to start this diet today as i need to lose 10lbs + this week for a dance show coming up, however i am a vegetarian. What foods would you recommend, could i split up the 800 cals over 3 meals?
Any suggestions or tips would be greatful as I have to lose alot in a short time x
if split over 3 meals each meal is less than 300 calories which is VERY little and I don’t recommend it. I would take a vegetarian protein powder to get enough protein.
So would you say eating 800 calories per day and walking on the treadmill for 45mins 6 days a week too extreme?
yes