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.
So I shouldn’t do any curling at all or can I do what I normally do in my weekly workouts
you can, just dont base your whole workout around iso movements.
Is it possible to loose 32lbs in 3 months?
depends on how much weight you have to lose, overall.
My current weight is 192lbs.
then no
Actually yes…it is possible. My husband has lost 46lb in 3 months following ketogenic diet
No…it depends how much weight you have to lose overall. Someone who has 100+ pounds to lose, yes it might be possible. But someone who only has 30 pounds to lose, no it is not possible. Context is everything.
You actually can lose that much if you body is in a constant ketosis state within that time, but it can also take up to 2 weeks or longer just for your body to go into ketosis depending on what you are eating.
no, again, context is everything.
Yes it is!! I lost 57 pounds in 3 months by eating 1500 calories per day and exercising for 45 minutes 4 days a week. Water pills are also good to help with weight loss. Oh, and drinking a gallon of water per day. I did all of this under the supervision of my doctor, so yes this is completely safe.
Ok guys, let me make this clear – the more weight you have to lose, the faster you can initially lose it.
If you have 30-40 pounds TOTAL to lose, you will NOT lose it all in 3 months, I guarantee it.
If you have 100+ pounds to lose, you can lose 30 pounds in the first 3 months but only because you have so much overall weight to lose. Context is everything in this space, and not everyone can do the same thing.
I am a female who started at 162 lbs and lost 20 lbs in a month, so for a man to lose 30 starting at 192 is very doable.
my current weight is 198, I want to lose to 160 or 170 with the xtreme weight loss plan. is it possible
How much water would you suggest us to drink per day?
as much as you want.
Okay and is it better to eat before or after you work out?
most ppl do after but dont matter
Finally, something I can work with! The only problem is that I have just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my neck, both shoulders & my lower spine (below L5) so I’m a little concerned about the lifting weights part! I’ll give it a go though. You don’t know till you try!
Keith thanks so very much for the information I’m on it
So after that week how many calories can I intake to keep losing weight?
10-12x your bodyweight in lbs
How many pounds can you lose by just water FASTING for a week straight?
i dont recommend that
Water fasting is very healthy. I would totally recommend it but you can’t just go into a dead into a 1 week water fast. You have to work your way to it. Do your body weight times 10 and eat that but make sure you are eating clean for like a week or 2. Then do a 24 hour water fast then drop your calories by 500 for another week or 2 and then do a 3 day water fast then drop them by another 500. And do a 5 day fast, then go back to eating your normal calories and do a 1 week fast. Weight is easier to lose than most people think. When I cut I do my body weight x10 and then minus 500 off the calories but I only drink water/black coffee and I only eat eggs, white skinless chicken, any green vegetables, avacodos, bananas, tuna, halibut, just the basic things that are high in protein, fibers, sodium, and potassium
the type of ppl who do this are looking for magic bullets and shortcuts and THEY KNOW IT. Not saying it can’t work, I’m just willing to bet my left nut that these people will regain all their weight within the next 6 months.
My weight is 149 lbs
How many days it would take me to lose 9 lbs?
realistically, a month if you want it to stick.
Will i gain it back? if so how long and can i do this for multiple weeks in a row?
Can I use protein shakes to add extra protein within my diet?
yes
I wouldn’t, most protein shakes have sugars in them which messes with your insulin and makes your body use what your eating for energy instead of burning fat for energy.
Can I lose 30lbs in a month… I am 284lbs… also NO TREADMILL AT ALL???
it’s possible, but i would focus more on losing weight and becoming better with your habits than having a hard set number in mind and becoming disappointed if you dont hit it.
What about 1600 calories every other day on an alternate-day-fasting-type-schedule?
That sounds much more appealing, if it would work! 1 massive meal every 48 hours.
technically it could work but a lot of ppl would have trouble going 24 hours with zero food.
Could I do weights and run on the same day? I enjoy running but I understand I need to use the weights to keep on lean muscle.
you can but i would then rec more than 800 cals
Hey wanted to know if I’m 225 lbs an I’m eatting 800 cal a day but I’m total burning 2700 cal a day with 5 miles of walking….wouldn’t that only tally me out to 6 or 7 pounds a week of lose
how do you know you’re burning 2700 cals per day?
Based on my weight should be burning 2200ish calories daily an walking 5 miles should add the extra 500 to make 2700….so how would I burn 10-15 lbs in a week when that would tally to only 6 or u pounds loss
Do short sprints instead of just walking, try to do a 10 second sprint then walk for 30 seconds and just keep repeating, you burn more calories when doing sprints than you do running long distances or walking. You can also take a 2 minute freezing cold shower and you will burn 400+ calories per a shower because you body will go into survival mode and start burning calories to keep you warm. Just because you eat 800 calories a day doesn’t mean you will lose weight though. It’s all about what you are eating in you meal/meals.