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.
Keith is a legend, all I have to say.
wouldnt go that far, but thanks.
How much water should I drink a day?
as much as you want
bitch this promotes eating disorder-like eating! it is not healthy to maintain a diet under 1200 calories a day so stfu up about things u think u know about.
hi fuck u, did you not read the article?
Stay strong Keith this thing is very real and highly effective. The more haters you have, the more successful you’ve become.
Dear Keith thank you for the article.
I’m really clueless about weights. Can you please give me some clear ideas of what weights to do.
I have just joined the gym.
PS some funny comments and responses on here lol.
Thanks Keith
like dumbbells,barbells, cable machines. Focus on exercises like bench press, pullups, lunges, squats and not so much bicep curls and crunches only which is what a lot of people do.
I’m currently eating 300 to 5oo calories Ounce a day not eating for 20hrs and I burn 800 too 1000 calories a day by walking 4 miles a day.I weigh about 280lb. How many pounds will I loose in one week?
I use to eat 2000 too over 3000 calories a day with no exercise.
it’s fine to do for a week, but i would bump back to a more reasonable calorie level after a week. You can def lose over 10 lbs on that.
Would you recommend this as a way to kick off a weight loss program, or as a means to break a plateau? Thanks for taking the time to write the article and answer comments:)
kick off.
I know that works because I was not eating much and always walking or running and I lost 15lb in 1 week
It was great…… I did it all and I lost over 13 pounds.
Now I am wondering how many calories should I have after this diet? I mean in order to not gain weight again.
After I have done with week of 800 intake, Whe can I do it again (safe)?
what’s your current weight?
238 pounds
I would be very cautious about doing it again. You can do 2000 calories long term and be fine. But to keep doing 800…im not fan of. People who do this want that quick fix when we all know deep down weight loss isn’t a quick fix magic bullet thing.
Thanks a lot
Hey, I weigh 170lbs and if I stick to this diet for a week, and work out intensely could I drop to 150lbs, and after this diet, when can I start again?
prob not. Dont try to start again, just try to view this as a “jump start” to your weight loss not as a regular thing you can do every few weeks.
Hi Keith I’m 18 and looking to drop 10lbs before Prom, I can’t go to the gym, so I searched up compound exercises and jump rope came up, is it okay if I do a combination of jump roping and jump squats?
i would do some upper body exercises to make it well more well-rounded
Okey so I’m a little confused, it it not okey to be on the treadmill during this week? Should I just be using dumbbells? No cardio ?
no cardio, stick with resistance training. Doesnt have to be dumbbells.
Alright, middle-aged female here…I tend to lean up for the summer months, then fat slowly creeps on throughout the fall and winter. I have did this for years. I had an unexpected beach trip pop-up at the end of the month. I want to drop 20 lbs by then and tone up. This can be done guys, however I usually allow myself more time. I’m 142 and need to be 125. Anyhow, eating super clean, modest portions, lifting 4 times (heavy) a week, and I run just around 1-3 miles 4 times a week. I used to run long distances so I feel the need to at least do something. Anyhow, I came across this article because I know I am going to have to do something more extreme this time around instead of my usual 3 month lean out. Ideas? I can drop the yams, quinoa, fruits, greek yogurt. I am thinking a boiled egg breakfast, tuna lunch, then a super lean meat for dinner with spinach. Any other ideas?
do I need to list weights, can I just do the diet ?
will it be as effective ?
it’ll help build/preserve muscle mass, so ya, i do recommend it.
Wow thank you I didn’t expect you to actually answer, thank you so much
Hey there,
I started my weight loss journey on the 7th of January 2019 weighing at 231lbs. When my eight week program had ended I lost 10 lbs. I continued exercising til this day and I now weighe 210 lbs thanks to this article that I followed. My question is though can I continue fasting but eating more than the 800 calories and would fasting make my body hold on to fat? Thanks in advance
800 isnt magic number. If you eat 805 calories it’s not like you gain fat. It’s just a calorie range i recommend hitting.
Thanks for replying but does fasting make your body hold on to food? And can I fast for one month or more?
no
Morning Sir Keith,
I’m 14 years of age and I’m 5’4 and I weight 49 kg. I really want to lose weight and I want to get to 42 kg or 40 kg. But the thing is, every time I attempt such a diet I fail at it. I get really hungry and I eat. I sometimes do basketball about 3 times a week, but I don’t see any results. my body isn’t changing and I really want to get skinnier.
1) What do you think I should Sir ?
2) How can I stop feeling hungry ?
3) Do I have to workout and lift weights?
1. I guarantee you’re not actually overweight at your height and weight.
2. being 40kg would make you extremely underweight and put your health at risk.
3. Do not diet.
4. You’re only 14. Talk to an adult about your situation, someone you trust. You shouldn’t be dieting like this right now because you dont need to.