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.
Eat your meal after your workout. Given that at that time you will be hungriest because your body will be craving for you to replenish it.
Just did this last week, I have lost 5.6 lbs in a week and it is definitely mostly fat and water loss (my strength and performance is not impacted and composition scale confirms the same too. I also see visible fat loss around my waist). But I haven’t been able to lose anywhere near 15 lbs like the article mentions (I guess it depends on many factors, I am overweight but not obese and my body fat is around the 33% mark). Still it was useful, thanks Keith, I definitely have less body fat. How long do I have to wait until I can do another week like this? Planning to do this once more sometime.
I’d wait another 8 weeks
What exercises do you recommend?
If you’re under 18, and want to do this how many calories should you eat? Like if you’re 16
I actually have been going to a non surgical weight loss doctor for almost a year. He put me on a 800 calorie a day diet along with burning 500 calories a week in the gym ( first two weeks) . Then 800 calories continued with 500 calorie burn in the gym DAILY. Yes it sounds extreme – but the point was to put my body in a state of Ketosis . I did elliptical and treadmill every day for about 3-4 months . I went from 231lbs to 204lbs along with cardio classes. I did not loose muscle mass either .
Now things have changed – after getting hurt at work I could not go to the gym for over a month . I did keep the weight loss off ; however over the past 5 months I have been fluctuating between 204 and 211lbs. I have also changed my workout- I do High Intensity Interval Training classes 3-4 times a week ( boxing, kick boxing, MATRX and fight fit. So now I have to tailor and take in more protein and lean meats. I still manage to stay in between 800 and 1000 cal daily.
But not really loosing . So I do think I need to incorporate some elliptical again..
Yes it’s hard but so worth it
I’m starting at 140 lbs, around 21.3 BMI. Would I lose the same amount of weight or would the results be less for me?
Would a diet plan like this be ok for a woman? I get mixed responses when it comes to women and IF. I’ve done 16hr fast four non consecutive days per week and I lost 30lbs. (I need to lose 25 more to be at a normal BMI). But my weight or inches hasn’t budged in six months. Would this help the scale move and is it safe for females? Thanks for your time 🙂
if the weight hasn’t budged in 6 months then you’re likely not in calorie deficit anymore. Or if you did an extreme deficit those 6 months, then you might need to take a diet break
I really need to lose a lot of weight in a the fastest way.
I m trying water fasting, i am on my second day.
How much weight I can lose in a week ?
don’t do that. People who try to lose weight the “fastest” always fail.
Keith ~
Hello… I’m a 54-year-old woman and I’m 5’7” and weigh 170 pounds. Obviously I need to cut calories and lose some weight. I have dropped 10 pounds in wo weeks but I’m stuck there. (Was 180 lb)
However, due to small disability it’s really hard for me to gather all this reading and this information and put it all into one package… My mind just doesn’t work that way anymore due to an injury. Believe it or not I have (had?) 120 IQ, but I can’t gather and put into proper order, information after reading it anymore.
Can you give me a daily work out based on :
calories and the link you provided that talked about Cardio flow, metabolic, and after burn ?
I would just like to know which ones, in what order, how long and how many times a day?
Thsnk you in advance for doing this for me. If it’s written down by someone who knows it’s right, then I will be able to do it. Unfortunately I’ve been laughed at before, because I didn’t take the information the way it was meant to be taken, so I’m asking this time . You’re really funny, too…the way you talk/write.
~ Dee
Hi,
Could I up the gym workouts to 5-7 a week weights or would that stop weight loss?
it wouldn’t stop it, but i dont recommend it.
First, thanks for this article. Second, how long before it’s effective to do this again?
I did this 2 wks ago and lost 8 Ibs. Mostly fat, but a bit of muscle which I soon got back.
Couldn’t do one meal a day but here’s what I did:
Diet:
10.30am: two slices dark rye with marmite;one boiled egg; calcium pill
1.30pm: salmon/cod/chicken + kale/spinach + two veg
4.30pm: one fruit + protein powder; cod liver oil
Workout 1
Squat
RDL
Bench
Pull Ups
Workout 2
Deadlift
Front Squat
Incline Bench
BB row
Workout 3
OHP
Chins
Lunge
Good Mornings
Generally 6-8 reps, 3 sets
So you’re telling me, I can’t do this for 4 months????
yes
So what should the plan be after the 1st week?
Would you recommend running and weight lifting? Or just weight lifing? (I love running ) And why not over 1 week?
please read previous comments. I’ve answered many times.
I’m 19 years old and I’m about 275lbs. I’m 5’10, and I do sports and stuff but I would like to shed a decent amount of weight because i’m technically morbidly obese.
I was thinking, if I did this diet for more than 7 days, let’s say a month or two, would it be safe? I would think it is because I’m 275lbs and I have lots of fat stored anyway.
No just do this for a week then focus on fixing your daily habits. The weight will come off once you overhaul your habits and lifestyle.