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.
=================
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.


Hi!
I might give this a shot, modifying it slightly. I was wondering about the exercise though. I row (this week boat training twice and the ergo once). Should I add to that by going to the gym? I usually do, but if I’m eating very little it might not be the best plan. Though rowing is quite intensive on the muscles, you might still consider it cardio. What would be your take on this?
Cheers!
I recommend intense weight training to preserve muscle mass. Feel free to add in a couple extra hundred cals if you row as well. I know how tiring that can be, no big deal, you’ll still lose weight.
I’m 5’9 and recently I’ve put on weight by 5kgs so I wanna lose at least some in 2 weeks or so. Will it work for me?
yes it will work.
I’m 15 and want to lose weight… will this work?
I’ve mentioned this about 100x in the comments. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU’RE 15.
Hi Keith, do I need to include the calories from coffee in the 800cals per day?
Thanks
not if it’s black cofffee.
800 calories would be extremely low, will I still get good results of I’m 1000-1200 calories a day? and if I do that could I stick with that 1000-1200 calories a day for a little more then a week?
1000 would be fine, you’ll still lose plenty of weight on that.
Can I do 500 clories? I want to lose 40 pounds by spring!
I’m only 5 foot and not happy during winter and get “thicker”
lol they always say you must be about 100lbs if you’re around 5 foot
if so then maybe 50lbs I better lose before spring. Ppl guess 120-125.
I WISH! I’m muscular and fat. How is this possible, I use to hit the gym
now I don’t. HELP! haha
No don’t do 500.
What sort of weight exercises would you recommend?
heavy compound exercises like squat, bench, pull ups, vertical presses…with a sprinkle of isolation movements like curls and triceps extensions.
I’m 11 and I want to be a model but I have to lose some weight
God dammit don’t do this if you’re 11. You haven’t even hit puberty.
I’m 150 pounds, and 5’1.. about how much weight do you think I would loose by doing this.. I wanna loose alot.
prob close to 10.
I’m 17, would this be to risky for me?
I wouldn’t do it.
How many times do you recommend to workout in a day
In a day? Once.
Hi,
I’m doing this because I feel like I have a bit more post holiday “sludge” and I work with foster kids I have to keep up with (and I know once this extra goes I’ll feel more like exercisING etc).
How long do I need to do weights? I know nothing about weights and have no clue where to start.
Also my job is naturally aN on my feet run around job. Will that hurt my diet?
No being active will if anything help you more since it’ll assist with burning more calories.
Your workout should consist of heavy compound movements that hit all major body parts if you’re using a full body split.
Im 13 years old and i have a docters appointment in 5 days and i was wondering what i could do to loose 5-10 pounds(in that lace of time).any suggestions?
NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!
Answered this about 57 times in the comments. DO NOT DO THIS DIET IF YOU ARE 13!!!!!!!!
Well I’m 15 and although your hungry during this diet I lost 8 pounds in three days.. Look up the three day military diet
Hi,I was just wondering have you done this diet personally and if so what was your success?
Thanks!
Is walking a good way to lose weight? I would like to the 800 calorie diet for 2 weeks instead of 1 week. Is that still cool to do that?
Yes and no….walking burned very few calories overall but it can support and reinforce other healthy habits.
ANd No that is not cool.