How I lost 5 pounds in 7 days to revive my fitness journey

Towards the end of April last year I felt mired in the unhealthy lifestyle choices I made during lockdowns. In my twenties I practiced mixed martial arts and parkour while studying nutrition and testing different dietary regimens. At 5'11" and 160 pounds, I felt like I’d be in great shape forever.

But at age 30 I started my work-from-home business. I stayed fairly active and continued eating healthy, but I definitely didn’t maintain a high level of athleticism while working 60–80 hour weeks. By the time I turned 33 I had enough experience to reduce my work hours, but at that point the lockdowns were in full force.

I could have continued going for long walks, cooking healthy meals, and creating my own home workouts like I always used to. But instead I settled for sitting around all day consuming entertainment and takeout food. Weight gain was inevitable, and I ignored it until I was carrying eighty pounds of extra fat.

My fitness journey begins again

In May of last year (2023), during the weeks leading up to my birthday I decided I had to start fighting my way back to fitness. I had all the technical knowledge to get healthy and fit, but I struggled with motivation, and my discipline had abandoned me.

At the time I weighed 240 lbs. That’s 80 pounds heavier than I ever weighed before in my life. No wonder I had joint pain, felt exhausted all the time, and couldn’t sleep comfortably. I didn’t feel like I could stick to a plan, so I started making a vague effort to move more, eat less, and eat healthier every day.

From May to August of 2023 I lost 20 pounds, which is less impressive than it sounds. I didn’t improve my overall fitness much in that time, but I did build up a little more physical endurance. Sadly, I wasn’t able to commit to a strong enough strategy at that point, and from August to November I gained back 4 pounds.

In November I made another push towards wellness. In addition to mild dietary improvements, I booked a session with a personal trainer. I had never gone to a personal trainer before because I’ve always been able to manage my own fitness. But I wanted help with two things: A simple home workout I could do 3–4 times a week, and a fitness test.

How I lost 5lbs in a week

I’m writing this on May 5th 2024, and I visited the personal trainer again last week to redo the fitness test. I improved my fitness in every metric, including losing 6 pounds since November. What the trainer didn’t realize is that 5 of those pounds came off in the past 7 days.

Is there a safe, healthy way to lose 5 pounds in 1 week?

The only reason I was able to lose 5 pounds in 1 week safely is that I’m an above-average sized man and my diet was previously pretty bad. When I (or someone my size) eat a diet including lots of sugars and starchy carbs, it can cause several pounds of excess water retention. Retaining unnecessary water can lead to feeling bloated, and it causes me to carry more weight than necessary with every step.

On day 1 of my new fitness plan, I eliminated all sugar and gluten from my diet, and began limiting other high-calorie foods. I restricted my caloric intake to 600 calories on day 1 to make my digestive system adapt to less food, and then averaged a 500 calorie per day deficit ongoing. By day 7, I had lost a little more than five pounds.

I estimate the five pounds would break down into one pound less food in my digestive system (due to eating less), three pounds less water weight, and one pound of fat loss. There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, and that is (not accidentally) the amount I reduced in my diet over the 7 days.

As long as I maintain a 500 calorie deficit per day on average and continue exercising, I should be able to lose about 1.2 pounds a week for the next few months, possibly even the rest of year. That’s my plan.

How I kickstarted my weight loss and fitness journey

There are lots of different effective fitness and weight loss plans. Mine is based on nutritional and exercise fundamentals rather than specific meal plans or workouts. Losing weight in a safe, healthy way is paramount, but I also want to get fit as fast as reasonably possible while limiting the chances that I’ll lose my discipline and stop making progress. Here’s everything I’ve done so far:

Assessed my current health and fitness

One of my top priorities is to ensure I don’t injure myself as I’m trying to get back in shape. Between atrophied muscles that get tired easily and the extra 60 pounds of fat I’m still carrying, an injury could easily happen and sabotage my ability to advance for months to come.

To start, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor. My doctor checked my blood pressure and referred me for some x-rays and blood tests to check my joints and screen for common issues. When the tests came back okay, I felt ready to move to the next step and increase my level of effort.

Visited a personal trainer for a fitness test and home workout plan

One of the main reasons I chose to see a personal trainer was for the fitness test. I wanted to get an accurate assessment of my current fitness level so I can measure my ongoing progress.

I could have done some aspects of the test on my own, but I don’t have the equipment for things like testing grip strength and cardiovascular recovery. It was also really helpful just to have someone else recording the results so I could focus 100% on the exercises.

Now that I’ve gained some momentum I don’t feel the need for a lot of help with workout planning, but I plan to see the trainer every few months to test my progress and adjust my strategy.

Eliminated sugar and gluten entirely

By removing sugar and gluten from my meals, I made it much easier to comfortably eat 500+ calories below my maintenance intake. For me personally, sugar and gluten are fairly addictive. I always want more after I have some. I avoid things like white bread and most snacks and desserts, and keep dairy to a minimum but still enjoy high quality cheese and yogurt with some meals.

Another great thing about eliminating sugar in particular is that it affects the way taste buds process flavor. When I haven’t eaten sugar for a couple weeks foods like meat, vegetables, and coffee taste 10x as flavorful. While it’s always tempting to enjoy a sugary treat, once I remember how good EVERYTHING tastes in a sugar-free diet, it’s easier to stick to my plan.

Being more conscious about what I eat also makes me want to keep a food journal, and I find I enjoy tracking what I eat and calculating ingredients, which goes hand-in-hand with cooking and baking and creating my own recipes.

22 hour fast followed by one small meal

I jump started my weight loss with a 22-hour fast followed by a basic 500-calorie meal. In addition to causing me to drop some food and water weight, this allowed my stomach to constrict slightly. The next day when I consumed 1500 calories (500+ less than my base metabolic rate) it felt like a lot of food compared to the day with only 500 calories.

Being mindful of exactly what I eat and how much I eat makes it easier for me to reduce my calorie intake without succumbing to hunger or low energy through the day. I also find that most physical activity is more enjoyable on an empty stomach.

Intermittent fasting and caloric restriction

Intermittent fasting combined with caloric restriction is key for me when it comes to weight loss. I have found that eating fewer calories becomes easier when I also eat fewer meals. By incorporating 18–20 hour daily fasts into my routine, I achieved a level of discipline over my eating habits that I hadn’t reached in almost four years.

One of the key benefits of this approach is that I can go to bed feeling satiated and content, as I opt for one or two large meals in the evening instead of spreading my calories over three or more smaller meals throughout the day. I don’t avoid snacks as a rule, but I rarely eat them unless there’s a specific reason.

I know some people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but breakfast doesn’t need to be in the morning — it’s just the first meal that breaks a fast. I find not eating in the morning and early afternoon makes it easier to restrict calories and avoid the desire to indulge in snacks.

Having a significant source of animal protein (meat, poultry, eggs, fish) with every meal is important for me, and I try to have at least one serving of leafy greens and one serving of calorie-dense carbohydrates (like potatoes or rice) every day as a source of energy.

When I follow this dietary strategy I find it fairly easy to reduce my calorie intake by 500+ daily without feeling a lot of hunger, sleep disruptions, or other health issues related to dieting. The choice to eat healthy gets easier every day that I make it, and actually makes everything I eat more enjoyable.

Strength and interval training

Strength and interval training are my two weapons of choice for daily workouts, enabling me to make measurable gains to my strength while burning more calories and improving my cardio. Strength training builds more muscle tissue, which results in a higher base metabolic rate over time and reduces likelihood of injury.

(High Intensity) Interval Training (HIIT) is a great way to push my muscular and cardiovascular endurance without working any particular muscle group too hard. No matter how fit I am (or am not), HIIT gets my heart rate elevated within a few minutes or less.

For example, a great way to improve cardio and lower body strength is to sprint up a hill and then jog down repeatedly, often called “running hills”. However, this particular activity primarily works my legs, which means they’re more likely to reach exhaustion and require a day or two to recover.

But if I do a circuit that includes running hills, burpees, medicine ball sit-ups, and other exercises, the impact of the workout is distributed more evenly and my body recovers quickly.

I typically do a strength training workout every third or fourth day, with the days in between being interval training, skill training, or (on occasion) rest days, during which I usually go for a 30 minute walk and do some extra yoga.

A lot of my strength and endurance training involves bodyweight calisthenics, but I also try to get to a fitness studio to use the weights at least once or twice a week. While body weight exercise is amazing, it can’t stimulate as much muscle growth as weight training past a certain point.

Always be walking

I don’t remember all of the medical benefits of relaxed-pace walking, but there are many. On a personal level I find it calming, and it’s the perfect time to either sort through my thoughts or listen to an audio book. I try to do at least 15 minutes of relaxed walking every day, and at least 30 minutes on rest days.

And of course, any time spent walking creates a temporary increase in calorie burn. It’s not a big difference, but a 15 minute walk every day can burn up almost a pound of fat in a month. Coupled with the right diet, relaxed walking is a powerful fat burning tool.

The next steps in my fitness and weight loss plan

Fitness and wellbeing are not a finished product, they’re a journey I choose to enjoy. I hope you’ll join me in this particular phase of my journey.

For me, the plan is to continue to push myself and evolve as efficiently as possible. This means more hard workouts, more caloric restriction, and finding more ways to love the experience.

I’ll take a day off here and there, but I have a hard weight loss goal of getting down to 180 pounds by the end of 2024 that will require a high level of consistency. Once I reach that I’ll focus on weight management and improving my athletic abilities and skills.

I’m writing this on May 9th, and at noon today I weighed in at 215 lbs. On April 29th I weighed 222 lbs, which means I lost 7 pounds in 11 days. Definitely a personal record.

At this point I’ve gone from losing 0.5–1 pounds a day to about a fifth of a pound per day, which is plenty. As long as I lose 5 pounds per month on average I’ll hit my goal before the end of December.