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 liked the steak! thanks! 😀
Can I ask something?
i’m fasting because of my religiously look. And my fasting is like one month. I eat only once (some times 2ce) in a day, and its dinner time. but i wanna ask you if i wiil be eat 800 calories per a day in month, am i gonna lose weight or not, or after a week its all gonna stop?
I hope im not sounding so dumb.
Thanks for your blog! Its really great job!
the 800 cal diet is ONLY for 1 week.
That’s not what they asked. They asked if they’re gonna stop losing weight after the week is over. And no if you’re consuming that little calories you won’t stop losing weight after only a week.
I’ve read the article and I see that it says up to 15 lbs – but just out of interest, if anyone’s done this, how much did you personally actually lose? Or how much would you guess a 147 lb female would lose?
In May of 2013 I reached the heaviest I’d ever been- 200 pounds. At 5’8, as a 23 year old female, 200 pounds is overweight, but not quite obese. Regardless, I was unhappy with the way I looked and felt. I went to my primary care physician and asked him what the quickest way was to get down to the weight I was before I had my son- 150 pounds. He said to drop down to 700 calories per day and to exercise at least 30 minutes per day. He said to keep my energy levels up, I could exercise more than that. He did not give me a meal plan or a time limit. I began eating only 700 calories per day and I’ll admit- I rarely ever exercised. I began dropping almost two pounds overnight. Within the first month, I’d lost a good 25 pounds. I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted but I tried to keep it as healthy as possible. I’m a vegetarian so I wasn’t consuming high calorie steaks or anything. By 1 and a half months, I’d lost close to 40 pounds. The only downside was that by that 1 and a half month mark, I began shedding a lot of hair. I went to the doctor and hair and skin specialists. They all ran my bloodwork and said I was completely healthy. They said that when you reduce your daily calories by that much, your body compensates by getting rid of the most unessential parts of your body- your hair and nails. They recommended that I take biotin and a multi vitamin every day. The shedding eventually stopped after a couple of weeks. Yes, my hair was a bit thinner. But had I been taking supplements during the 700 calorie per day diet I truly don’t think my hair would have ever shed. I got down to 160 and stayed there for almost a year, with minor fluctuations. Then I began eating fast food again because of stress from college and I allowed myself to get back up to about 180. I’m starting the 700 calories per day again to help me finally get back down to my goal weight. Once I reach my goal weight, I will increase my calories to maintain that weight and will of course incorporate far more exercise in my life. The point is, if you have at least 30 pounds to lose, this plan works amazingly. No matter how much weight you have to lose, in fact, can be achieved by this plan. You get used to eating this little by the end of the first week. I was not tired at all when I ate that few calories. In fact, I had more energy than ever! It cleanses your system in a way and personally, seeing the scale go down by 1-2 pounds each day made me have so much enthusiasm and energy in life. I suggest trying this plan but make sure to take a multi-vitamin each day with food, as well as biotin and perhaps iron. Get your blood checked for nutrient levels after 2 weeks of following the plan and continue each 2 weeks. I don’t suggest following this for longer than 2 and a half to 3 months. It is not meant for long term weight loss.
5’9″ and 181 lbs. need to lose a lot in 25 days…have an important event.
Hey, pretty awesome artical def going to give this a shot- on that note 800 Cal a day diet for 7 days- what are some meal examples? You gave a list of some, but to be more clear give an example of a day consisting of 800 Cals.
I like really big salads filled with veggies and lean protein like chicken breast.
Just finished day 3 and have lost 6lbs. 800 calories actually allows me to eat a sizeable dinner. Only downside is…bladder working overtime. Will definately complete 7 days and then step up the calories to 1000 per day.
fucking LOVE steak
Does this actually work?! I’ve decide to try this and I’m on day 2. I started off @ 152 lbs and recently just had a baby so I’m VERY desparate for this to work. I weighed myself today and it said 149. Getting anxious, if I keep at this for the next 5 days can I reach my pre-goal weight?
i can’t tell you how much you will lose exactly, but yes it does work.
Well if I follow the 800cal a day for a week along with exercise I should be gurenteed 10-15lbs like it says right?
All this talk about sex. Buhaha. I bet you’d be cleaned out after this weEk. Stay hydrated!
At least they’re having sex.
What happens if I do this for more then a week? I need to loose about 30lbs fast
not gonna happen.
Im 17 years old 5’7 and 115 lbs i have 20 days before spring break i gotta get back down to 105… so i want to do this but maybe a modified version for 20 days… help
don’t do this if you’re only 17.
I want to try this, but my question is, after this week, will I gain all the weight back if I eat normal (1800kcal)?
just a little water weight.
I don’t understand why doing some extra cardio on the treadmill (just some walking) can hurt? Would be in addition to some weights, wouldn’t the cardio just help weight loss?
because you’re already in a such an extreme deficit extra cardio isn’t necessary and will only burn you out.
Can you use pre packaged foods (ie frozen weight watchers/nutri-system) or other similar foods that have the calories spelled out for you. Or will it only work w/fresh whole, good old natural food that we all know is best for us. (Only asking since i have some pre packaged foods in & am debating to try again or toss???
yes but you need to focus on high protein foods.
If I maintain consuming 800 calories a week and use a two mile walk as my exercise will I see results. I walk two miles about three times a week already but never pay attention to my calorie intake, and also which meal of the day do u recommend to eat?
read the article and all the comments.
Hi! I’m just wondering if it’s okay to go under 800? Like if I stay in the range of 400 – 800? I have a lotttt of weight to lose; these aren’t vanity pounds I’m trying to shed. For 2 weeks I busted my ass at the gym twice a day (total of 2 hours on the elliptical) and ate 1,600 cals a day and actually GAINED 3 pounds instead. I’m desperate now.
no do not do that.