Is it possible to lose 15-20 pounds..

Cut off a limb.

No, fat loss really doesn't work up a full head of steam for at least that time line. You can lose some water weight quickly by going low carb but that generally in the 3-6 lb range. Are you trying to fit into a dress or something........kgeyser has the link that you should follow to do it successfully.

An aggressive weight loss in 2 weeks, if you are in an overweight or healthy weight BMI would be 5 pounds. 10 to 15 is just not possible.

I lost that much over about 12 weeks. No. That is an unrealistic and unhealthy goal. You want to lose the weight and keep it off then do it the right way. Count calories and get some exercise.

ok people are being a *bit* harsh, but truth is, no... it isn't possible. Certainly not in any way that is remotely healthy. Here are a few details as to why in case you are interested. It may be helpful to you to demystify weight loss for you a bit if we can...

What you are suggesting is to burn an extra pound of fat *per day* for 2 weeks...(ignoring just shedding some water by being dehydrated - that isn't really losing weight - your body will get the water back in time - what you want is fat loss... and you want to keep as much muscle as you can)...that would get you 14Lbs in 2 weeks. Well... a pound of fat gives your body 3500 calories to use. So you would need to burn 3500 calories more than you take in each day.

So what is the problem? Why can't we burn off 3500 extra calories in a day?? Well... people do vary based on their height, weight, gender, and age, and activity levels but most people burn in the ballpark of 2000 calories a day (Google a TDEE calculator (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) if you want to find an estimate for you based on your characteristics).

Sooooo if you didn't eat *anything at all* you would still have to ramp up energy burn by 1500 calories (this is like running on a treadmill for 3 hours or so - depending on fitness level and muscle mass, and and and...a 1500 cal burn would be a stretch for fit individuals) to burn off 3500 calories in one day.... and obviously that wouldn't be healthy and isn't practical, and certainly isn't possible to do 14 days straight... Any attempt to drag your body through such a ridiculous regime would likely do some serious harm... this is obviously not the way to go.

you can still be successful... and I totally understand the "get a jump on this" approach, but you can do this. There are thousands of people who have been successful on MFP, and have gently shed fat week after week after week and looked back and found a completely different person in their past... and see a further transformed one in their future. Find a few friends here and learn what you need to do and what works for you and be patient with yourself...

Wishing you the best in this....

I would say no. In two months? Yes. Just do what you can in two weeks but be healthy about it! Good luck.

Last year, when I started my weight loss (Jan 1, 2013), I was 219. I didn't start myfitnesspal until about the third week in January. By the time I used myfitnesspal, I had gotten down to 198. So, I lost 21 lb. And, I have been going ever since. It is possible, but not recommended. Probably a lot of mine was water weight, and the drastic change I had made.

Only if you are really obese, and just starting out exercising and things. Then I could imagine you MIGHT lose enough water weight. I've heard of people who start at high weights and lose like 8 pounds the first couple of weeks because of water weight. Since I'm guessing that is not you, no.

Living healthy is a LIFESTYLE, not a race to a destination. I know it may seem tough, but I promise you in the long term you'll be glad if you approach it in a healthy, steady way. You'll be more likely to maintain a healthy weight once you've reached it if you got there by absorbing healthy habits into your lifestyle. And the only way to absorb habits is over TIME. You've got your whole life. Don't rush or do anything unhealthy like eat 200 calories a day. In the end you'll regret it and you'll be right back where you started.

I think you've gotten good answers and I could see WANTING to lose that much weight in such a short period of time - we've all been there but I really think you're setting yourself up for failure if this is your expectation.

Anybody else feel like shows like Biggest Loser is doing more harm than good by setting such unrealistic expectations?

Yep. Course, the people on Biggest Loser are huge, and have a dietician, cook, gym, trainer, and physician at their beck and call.

Not to mention, they start out at the "incredibly fast weight loss" end of the curve. Just like on the ad for diet-du-jour, they say "Stacy lost 11,000 lbs in her first month!" and the tiny text at the bottom says "real people, real weight loss, results not typical".

I can show you a 600 lb guy who lost over a hundred pounds in less than 6 months, doing nothing but DDPYoga.. but that doesn't mean a 290 lb dude is going to do anything close.

The only way I have ever lost anything close to 10-14 pounds in two weeks was a strict Atkins diet. To the letter (the inducition diet portion) its not easy but it works. Most people struggle to keep the weight lost off after though.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

Not possible and not healthy either.

in 2 weeks? I know it's completely insane and would be hard but my question is just is it possible?

And if so, can anyone give me some tips and advice on what I need to do?

It's nothing major like a must do but something I would like to do and I know if I can get a terrible and unhealthy head start I will do much better going forward.

There, fixed it for you.

As did I!

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

Please OP the very idea of this is neither sustainable or healthy and potentially very dangerous.

Also the very concept of this thread breaches mfp guidelines on safe weight-loss techniques.

If you need a loss that big in the period you said I would say do not even bother, because it is unrealistic and if you need an unachievable goal to get started you have just resigned yourself over to failure..

a delorean

More realistic!