Eli5: How much can a person transform their body like some work out programs claim such as “6 week body transformation”?

Question

Is it even possible (excluding the fact if someone does nothing but work out or work out for hours every day)?

In: Biology

Answer 1

It’s much easier to transform by losing fat than it is to transform by gaining muscle. Someone can reasonably, without crash dieting, lose 2 lbs of fat a week. It takes weeks and weeks for even beginners to gain 2 lbs of muscle. 

So if you’re overweight, yes you could potentially transform yourself with a modified fasting diet and lose 2-6 lbs of fat a week, depending on your starting point.