A week. That’s a scant seven days, a roughly a third of which you’ll be spending asleep, not burning many calories.
TL/DR, you can’t lose much weight in a week. But please keep reading, because sometimes the question (in this case, How much weight can you lose in a week?) is more important than the answer.
I totally get why you’re asking: Being thin, or thinner, seems like it’s never not going to be a thing, especially now that GLP-1 agonist medications are (for the first time) making it possible for many people to lose weight and keep it off–trying to do it without these powerful medications has been a losing proposition for most people. A review of the literature on the topic published in 2022 found that just 25% of people can keep the weight off for a year or more through only diet and exercise.
But thinking of weight loss in terms of how much you can lose in such a short time is a bad idea: That framing hints at extreme measures (such as starving yourself) and is not a healthful or useful way to think about weight loss. “We’re not into double workouts, laxatives, counting and aggressively skipping calories, skipping meals or anything that leaves you feeling poorly,” says Lauren Slayton, R.D., founder of Foodtrainers. This is eating disorder territory. “I guess that needs to be said.”
And consider this: You may not actually need to lose any weight at all—several studies
over the years, looking at women of various ages in the U.S. and around the world, have found that between 30 and 50% of “normal weight” women (based on BMI, which has its own issues) believe that they are too heavy. “It’s not necessary that you should not be the same weight you were when you were 20, 30, or when you were 50,” says Margo Maine, Ph.D., a therapist and author of Pursuing Perfection: Eating Disorders. Body Myths, and Women at Midlife and Beyond. “You are supposed to gain weight as you age, to be a little thicker, with the your weight distributed differently.”
Meet Our Experts: Lauren Slayton, R.D., founder of Foodtrainers in New York City; Margo Maine, Ph.D., a therapist and author of Pursuing Perfection: Eating Disorders. Body Myths, and Women at Midlife and Beyond; Caroline Apovian, M.D., the director of the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management at Boston Medical Center
Thanks for the reminder. So how much weight can I lose in a week?
The simple math goes like this: How much fat you lose over the course of a week has to do with how many more calories you burn than you take in. A pound of fat is accumulated when you eat 3,500 calories more than you burn; likewise, if you eat 3,500 calories a week less than you burn—all else being equal—you’ll lose around a pound. If you manage a deficit of 7,000 calories, you’ll lose two. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that one to two pounds in a week is a safe amount to lose if you’re doing it gradually and steadily.
1-2 pounds in a week is a safe amount to lose, per the CDC.
But is it possible to lose more in a week?
Foodtrainers offers a one-week program for clients with an upcoming event for which they may want to squeeze into a slightly tight dress. “A week of pre-event eating can be confidence boosting as long as it isn’t insane, extreme or punitive.”
Slayton says these plans can result in up to 5 pounds lost (less if you’re a small person with not much to lose).
However—and this is a big one—that that number is only according to the scale. “But you’re not losing more than a couple pounds of body fat per week so it’s a little fat a and a little fluid loss,” she says. Clients cook mostly at home as opposed to eating out, and eat lots of vegetables and fish, and cut booze and sugar out entirely. “We don’t advise weeks like this more than once a quarter or season—it’s not how to eat day in and day out.”
That’s because even if you’re not at risk of an eating disorder, being too restrictive has a rebound effect, says Caroline Apovian, M.D., the director of the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management at Boston Medical Center. “People who try to lose weight in a week or a month are going to gain it back,” she says. Plus, gaining and losing weight in succession is rotten for your health.
Besides, you lose muscle mass (in addition to fat) when you go for quick weight loss, and it’s muscle that helps you burn calories; that means your metabolism will slow and it’ll be harder to keep weight off—even if you restrict caloric intake, says Dr. Apovian.
So what should I do if I want to look thinner in a week?
Aside from any weight you might lose, add what Slayton calls “delicious de-bloaters:” avocado, asparagus, dandelion tea, lemons, and parsley. “Are those helping you lose more than water? No. But do they make you feel a little less bloated and puffy? Sure.”
Then go back to your regularly scheduled healthy but not-too-strict eating. Of course, we all know that doing a quick one-off sprint to thinner means you won’t be able to sustain all of it, says Slayton, and that’s OK: You achieved your purpose, and as long as you don’t go nuts making up for food not eaten, you may even be able to keep off some of the weight off, she says.
Bottom line:
Instead of trying to drop pounds in a week, if your doctor says you need to lose weight for health reasons, talk to them about how to do that in a slower, healthier way that you can sustain long term. If you must fit into an outfit that is pulling at the seams, try the de-bloating ideas above. Or maybe consider buying something cute that you can just be yourself in, no short-term effort required.
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