# Could you lose five pounds in one week for a million $? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853 "2010-08-20T09:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/21 "2010-08-20T12:36:56Z")
Hell yeah, I lost that much in water weight during a single 90-minute vinyasa yoga session. And I paid $8 for the privilege. If I get myself into a state of ketosis (no carbs or complete fast), after the initial 48-hour diuresis of about 3 lbs, I then lose about 1/2 lb a day in fat too. Add c/v exercise to that, and I could probably lose about 7 lbs of fat in one week. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/22 "2010-08-20T13:03:52Z")
Easy! How’s next week for you? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/23 "2010-08-20T13:17:54Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > I figure you’d either need to be a guy, an obese person or a dancer/runner/biker who sweats it off. No way. I could do it easily (if I had proper motivation), and I am none of those things. 20 lbs, that would be difficult. But 5? I once lost 5 lbs just from keeping kosher for Passover. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/24 "2010-08-20T13:20:27Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Easy! How’s next week for you? No shit. With that kind of money on the line, I wouldn’t even be hungry. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/25 "2010-08-20T14:04:25Z")
Simple. You travel to London, go to a currency shop and get the five pounds there. Then you just drop it into the Thames. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/26 "2010-08-20T14:13:00Z")
I’ll try… how much does my appendix weigh again? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/27 "2010-08-20T14:26:39Z")
Ask anyone who was ever on a wrestling team and they’ll tell you 5 in a week is a cake walk. What’s hard is when the coach says “I know you wrestle in the 125 class but we need someone for 115 - in 2 days.” For an adult this probably isn’t horrible but for a 16 YO kid who’s growing and constantly hungry it can be pretty tough. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/28 "2010-08-20T14:47:36Z")
For a million bucks? I’d amputate a limb. Not that losing 5 pounds would necessitate that, I’m sure I could lose more than that in a week through non-surgical means. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/29 "2010-08-20T14:52:26Z")
Hell yes. How would I do it? Starvation & drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/30 "2010-08-20T14:57:59Z")
I lost ten pounds in a week on the Surgeon Fucked up the Clamps on my Gall Bladder Surgery Diet. I think I’d need another gall bladder to pull that one off again, though. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/31 "2010-08-20T15:01:12Z")
I don’t know if that’s physically possible for me to do naturally (5’7", 115 lbs), but for $1 million? Hmm, what organs don’t I absolutely need… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/32 "2010-08-20T15:09:55Z")
Easily. I’d exercise a lot, eat very little, and then on day 6 go in for liposuction. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/33 "2010-08-20T15:25:25Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I don’t know if that’s physically possible for me to do naturally (5’7", 115 lbs), but for $1 million? Hmm, what organs don’t I absolutely need… Spleen, kidney, big chunk of your liver … ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/34 "2010-08-20T15:33:54Z")
I reckon even a pretty thin person could lose that weight by not eating much and drinking nothing for 24 hours prior to the weigh-in. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/35 "2010-08-20T15:37:40Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Mega and Joel: WTF? How on earth? Can’t speak for **Mega** , but I had a similar experience to **Joel** (lost 45 pounds in 12 weeks when I was 19). Young men, typically, are naturally geared to get in good shape with even a modicum of diet control and exercise. Having a high testerone level helps a ton. And for a young man that’s 290 lbs … there’s typically about 50-60 lbs (or more) that has a somewhat tenuous grasp on the body. Shockingly small changes in diet/exercise start chipping away at that extra weight immediately. And if an overweight young man gets really serious and “diets hard” and “exercizes hard” … the weight just falls off. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/36 "2010-08-20T15:48:40Z")
Yeah, I’d go on that cabbage soup diet. I’d weigh a good 10 pounds less at the end of the week, and would probably gain it all back in a day. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/37 "2010-08-20T15:55:04Z")
Probably not. I already get people telling me I’m really thin now. Losing even a tiny bit of weight tends to make people think I’m death camp skinny. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/38 "2010-08-20T16:06:24Z")
I can easily fluctuate 5 pounds in the course of a day or two. I’m pretty sure I could lose 5 pounds of water weight through exercise in 48 hours. I think I could easily lose 5 pounds of “real” weight in week by diet and exercise. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/39 "2010-08-20T16:08:56Z")
Pretty sure I could lose 5 pounds in a day or two. Eat and drink very little, or actively dehydrate yourself, it’s easy to quickly reduce your weight on the scale. People who have to weigh in at a certain number for their jobs (boxers, jockeys) can reduce their weight by up to 10-15 lbs in a short time. It’s normal for my weight to fluctuate by 2-3 lbs every day as it is. And I am underweight. ‘Weight’ isn’t a reliable measure of fat and muscle. My measurements are always the same across a range of up to 5 lbs, except for my abdomen when it’s full of food and drink. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853/40 "2010-08-20T16:23:47Z")
In 2007 I lost 20 pounds in three days thanks to a case of the shingles. If your immune system is against you, you can lose weight in no time. It’s all about the silver lining. As far as weight loss without illness, yeah, it’s still doable. Just eat little and drink little or drink only water and you’re golden. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-lose-five-pounds-in-one-week-for-a-million/550853.md?page=3)