Special K Diet: Cereal for Weight Loss?
Over the last few months there has been a lot of cereal promotion going on. Kelloggs' Special K brand have been promoting their very own Special K Diet Challenge (for a number of years now). Not to be outdone, Kraft have "lose 10 pounds" emblazoned on virtually the entire line of "Post" brand cereals (called Eat 2 Lose 10)
Both cereal "diets" are bold and upfront with their claims: "Lose up to 6 pounds in 2 weeks!" shouts Special K. Is this for real? Is it valid?
The Special K Diet
• Eat a serving of Kellogg's® Special K®, Special K® Red Berries, Special K® Vanilla Almond, Special K® Fruit & Yogurt or Special K® Low Carb Lifestyle Protein Plus cereal with 2/3 cup skim milk and fruit for two meals a day.
• Eat your third meal as you normally do.
• For snacks, choose from fresh fruits and vegetables or a Special K® Bar.
• Consume beverages as you normally do.
Special K claim that the diet is "based on valid research conducted at leading universities". In typical hard-sell fashion, they fail to provide the reference or provide a link to the "valid research". After some digging, I found the aforementioned study.
Yes - People Lost Weight
It made interesting reading, and effectively backed up some of the claims from Special K. According to my reading, the mean weight loss was less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds) in the 2 week period.
A basic low fat diet
So what's the magic? There is no magic. The women in the study ate less than they normally did. According to the study, the women in the Special K group were eating about 2200 kcals per day. When they started substituting the cereal meals they dropped daily intake by about 640 kcals per day. Furthermore, a lot of those calories were from fat (~39 grams or 351 kcals).
Good or What?
Personally I think incorporating some cereals into your diet can be good - but there are some caveats here:
Satiety - From experience, I've noticed that wolfing down a bowl of cereal doesn't always curb the hunger pangs. However having a bit more protein in the mix does keep the pangs at bay.
Nutrition - The simple truth is - Special K is better than what most people eat, but it still contains such gems as High Fructose Corn Syrup. Serving for serving, it has less potassium and fiber than oats, and more sugar. Compare here and here.
The Claim
"Lose 6 Pounds in 2 Weeks"
The Interpretation
"If you currently have a poor diet, but substitute it with our cereal - you may lose 4.4 pounds over the first two weeks. You will be probably feel very hungry while restricting your calories, and will may find eating cereal for dinner or lunch to be untenable after a while. Boredom could well set in. History shows that a low-fat, higher-carb diet can work, but in the long run it may backfire".
That said - you could do a lot worse than eating cereal, skim milk, and fruit - it's a lot healthier than the average American meal...
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The thing about diets like this is that yes it can help you lose weight but you have to mold it to fit your plans....A girlfriend of mine lost 29 lbs so far using the Special K diet. She started out with the two week thing and after it worked she kept going with it. After doing two cycles of the two week program (a month total), she started to feel better and threw in 3 small workouts at home a week and alternated the days that she ate both bowls of cereal...I've seen her and she has went down two sizes(that is after three months)...I couldnt believe this when I saw her..that's why I'm searching today so that I can see some feedback before I start....
ReplyI am going to try the special K diet today, i have always been petite but I just had a baby 5 months ago and I want to lose 10 pounds, then I will be back to my normal weight. Thankyou everyone who has made a comment you are why I am for sure trying it today, wish me luck!
Replyi whould relly like to try it. i wonder if it relly works.
ReplyIM on the diet its day 5 2day and i have lost 4 pounds so far.. i do exercise and eat fruit instead of choclate (my weakns) lol
Replybut i dont fl hungry all the tym i feel good..
:D
SO I HEAR THAT THE SPECIAL K CHALLENGE IS REALLY GOOD..IM PLANNING ON TRYING IT TO SEE IF I CAN LOOSE SOME WEIGHT IM LOOKING FOR ABOUT 20 DO YOU THINK THATS POSSIBLE?? OH AND IS IT OK TO BE TAKING DIEN PILLS WHILE UR ON THIS DIET????
ReplyIve tried this diet before and it works but it is kinda expensive. I just started it again to loose a few pounds extra gained during the holidays!!
ReplyI just started the special k diet today and I was wondering what's a good normal third meal? Should it be something healthy and a small size portion, or could I eat whatever I want?
ReplyWell i've decided the special K diet isn't quite what I was looking for, I would get soo sick of it. But heres what i've been doing for 2 weeks now...I eat a bowl of special K cereal every morning for breakfast (usually around 7 AM ) and keep in mind it is the correct serving size. Then I eat a small healthy snack about 2-3 hours later usually at like 930 AM *(yogurt or an apple a protien bar anything small and healthy special k bars also do the trick) about 2-3 hours later from that about 1230 I eat my lunch, no rember make breakfast or lunch your largest meal so you have longer to digest it usually I do it with lunch cause I don't change my breakfast around its always special k. So a ham sandwitch on some wheat bread with a little lettace a slice of cheese and some vinigerete *sorry for spelling there* dressing and maybe a small salid, along side with some water or propell or somthing. Then again about 2 or 3 hours later I have another small healthy snack. After that I usually eat about 5 PM my dinner, but you can eat dinner whenever as long as it is at least 2 or 3 hours after your last snack and you should be completly done with dinner at least 3 hours befor you fall asleep.
Your sleeping witch means your burning fat, so you should be fasting during them hours because you want all your food to be digested in order to be able to burn fat during your rest instead of carbs, that also goes for exercising don't eat or drink anything oter then whater during or befor you work out...usually to do this properlly with this diet skip one of your snacks work out and then eat your next main meal. Again you want to be working off fat not carbs that won't give you much progress.
Don't eat anything after your dinner or you may just as well give up the whole day. =D
i've been doing this for 2 weeks about, and my bellys going down and it's a great feeling I don't know exactly how much weight i've lost because I dont have a scale lol but I can tell my pants are fitting better and I feel so much better.
One thing to keep in mind is don't eat untill your full, eat untill your not healthy.
I got most of my information from the beach body diet plan...some previous knowldge mixed with that and a little motivation goes along way. =D
ReplyGoodluck everyone tell me if this helps ya
For years I wasn't really paying attention to the type of food I was eating. I was overweight(still am) but I really didn't care. I just ate what I liked, and a lot of it was high in fat and calories.
ReplyThe reality didn't strike me at how overweight I was becoming untill someone made a comment that really hurt my feelings, so I decided to replace just about every high fat thing I ate with a much healthier choice. I will eat a bowl of special K for only one meal a day. (after reading the fact that it has high fructose corn syrup I am considering switching to cheerios). I snack of fruits and veggies preztels and low fat crackers and I eat healthy dinners instead of Mcdonalds cheeseburgers. I do not know how much weight I lost but I lost a pant size. I have only been doing this for two weeks now. I thought of taking it up a notch by going on this special K diet, but I think I am just going to keep eating it for breakfast only. I could so see myself getting extremely hungry and bindging if I did something like that.
hey,
ReplyI'm not overweight, so will this work for me too? I heard its harder for people who aren't overweight to lose weight. But I really wanted to try it and lose at least 10-15 vanity pounds...so I was just wondering if I should do this or not..
ive been on this diet for 3 weeks and it makes u feel great. I walk 25-30 minutes 5 days straight. u have to be reasonable at dinner time and this plan will work.
ReplyJade, it says its for people with a BMI of 25 or more, mine isnt 25 (and was not when i started the diet) and i have lost weight :D
ReplyI just want to say that I am starting this diet. I beleive that with exercise and good eating habits you will lose the weight I am currenty 169 pounds and am going to do this diet. I have tried many others and have failed.I do not believe that taking diet aides such as hydroxy cut will work. I did do the regular and lost but after a short time of being off the pills I gained all the weight back
ReplyGOOD Luck to all of you and myself for trying this diet
I started the diet 2 days ago. This is my third day. I eat the special k diet with skimmed milk in the morning, also int he afternoon. Then in the evening i eat 2 egg whites, with 1 white fish part(kinda like chicken breast) and some vegetables. I also do cardio for like 45 mins. Is that okay ?
ReplyHey yall i have been on the special k diet sence Monday January 28 and have been eating the original cereal for breakfast and the snack bars and then a meal bar for lunch. Then at dinner i will eat a regular dinner. BUT i do eat like pizza some times and chicken but i eat a reasonable protion of it. I dont eat like 4 slices or anything like that and i have lost 5 pounds. Do u think that i will loose 25-30 pounds before March 20 because that is when my prom is and i want to be down to 130-140 pounds.??????
Replyhi Sandrine,
ReplyMy names lizzy i took the Special K challenge i started about a year ago and have lost 20 lbs thats all I wanted to loose ,I lost 2 lbs a week until i reached my goal ,I stay on this plan because it works I keep my self in check and eating right ,exercising,
I enjoy the fact if i feel like ive slipped a bit i just go back to my plan and get the results back ..i took all kind of pills, programs, hoodia blah blah ,, it started with just regrouping and eating good food and wanting to look as good as i can at 47 ,,which i do and i have no problems with hunger urges sugar fixes because in between meals i eat Special K protien bars drink SK protien water which taste great and the snacks i use to eat like bag of chips ,chocolate,junk,I drink a slim fast.
so I can comfortably say that SK has walked their talk its worked for me my son my best friend and i would never do another,pill,program.or starve myself again..
Sincerely,
lizzy
Okay, so I am an 18 year old girl who is trying to lose weight for my prom. At present I way 196 pounds, I am also 5'10" and have been dancing since I was 3, so a lot of it is muscle. BUT most of it isn't I decided to start this Special K (TM) Diet today. I honestly hope I get something out of it. Along with the diet I am now walking a mile every morning and night and doing about an hour of abs spread out over the week. I will keep everyone up on how I go, and tell you if it has worked for me.
JOJO
ReplyOH, and Brittany I believe you can do it. If I lose at least 6 pounds every two weeks i will have lost 36, and my prom is two weeks after yours, and i started a week after you so yes I believe you can do it. GOOD LUCK!!!
ReplyYou girls are really scaring me. Dealing with a weight issue should be about making a lifestyle change, not about losing weight as fast as you can for one event, like a prom. For all of you who are losing more than 2 or 3 pounds a week, you need to stop it. You are going to damage your health. And you are going to gain that weight back and more when you stop your diet, trust me. That's the inevitable result of starvation diets.
Not that you can't stick to the special k thing, if you must, but make sure that you are still eating properly. That means NOT eating cereal three times a day!!! You need some vegetables and some fruit and some healthy fats and some proper protein. You need to look for some stuff that is not overprocessed carbohydrates.
You might also look for a cereal that is a better source of fibre than special K - i.e. something with a decent amount of WHOLE grains. If you start looking at the labels in the cereal aisle, you will find that special k is pretty much crap compared to a lot of other choices you could make. Fibre one, for instance, has tons of fibre - it will move right through you - and NO sugar. Try a plain packaged oatmeal and jazz it up with fruit. Or old fashioned oatmeal or whole grain blends. Much better for you.
If you do all this you will still lose weight, I promise. You will just stay healthy while you do it. Anything more than a couple of pounds a week, and you are entering dangerous territory.
Replyshe is right make sure that you slowly get yourself back to regular food after finishing your diet or a lot of the weight or even more will come straight back
ReplyI've been on the Special K diet and have lost 10 lbs in the past 4 weeks which is a healthy amout to lose. However, knowing that Special K is full of sugars and carbs, I've found ways to get around that. Every morning I have the original Special K cereal which holds less sugar than the other types. For a snack before lunch I have my veggies. Then for supper I usually have a meal bar. Then at 3 I eat my fruits and I eat whatever I feel like for supper. I find this really easy to follow and I love it. Also, I keep up with my excersing. This is a wonderful diet and I've found it actually works. And as for keeping it off, everyone can keep off weight with excerise and eating correctly. As far as I'm concerned, I feel it is the dieters choice to keep the weight off. Good luck!
Replywhat happens when you stop eating special k? does that mean you get back to your normal weight?
ReplyIf you think it is just the "dieter's choice" to keep the weight off after a diet then you understand diddly squat about metabolism.
Replyi went on a diet back in 05 all i ate was ceral three times a day any kind of ceral i had them all with skim milk and i lost about 45pounds are more in about 8 weeks walked maybe 4 miles a week so it really doesnt matter what ceral you eat
ReplyTODAY IS MY FIRST DAY ON THE SPECIAL K CHALLENGE AND I HOPE TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT...
Replyhi, im starting the special k diet but i wanted to know if it really works and not just wasting my money on these stuff. so did you actually lose some weight? please response back.thank you
ReplyWith 30 pages worth of food allergies and not a clue what to eat anymore, this diet is definetely for me. I am going to try it on Monday.
ReplyIve been on this diet for 2 weeks and ive lost 10 pounds. But at tiems I replace a bowl of Special K with oatmeal.
ReplyIf a person is eating cheese burgers and fries for half their meals, then I can see them losing weight with this diet, since it is better than what they have been doing. But what about the rest of us? I exercise on a regular basis and eat healthy already. I am already within a healthy weight range for my height. I want to lose 5 to 10 lbs, and keep them off, so that I am at the best weight for me. If I were to eat special K for two meals a day, I would worry that I would gain weight. I couldn't even imagine losing weight on the stuff. The high fructose corn syrup makes it terribly unhealthy and if I were to add fruit and a special K bar to the whole ensemble, I would be consuming more calories than I do normally but without the feeling of a well rounded meal.
I guess what really bothers me is the assumption that anyone could lose ten lbs in 6 weeks eating special K for two meals a day. Their advertisements show women my size ( 5'5" 125 lbs) eating special K to try to lose those last 10 unwanted lbs. Unless a person is obese and eating fast food, this diet is a degression, not an improvement.
ReplyI have lost 7 lbs in a month. I started the Special K diet 2 weeks ago, so I calculate with my regular diet plan that I lost another pound. This is my 3rd week for Spec K and I am not bored with the cereal or the waffles. Protein Plus Special K is the most beneficial I think, due to the lesser amount of cals, carbs, etc. Also, I am about to start walking on a daily basis. I have gone to a 16 jean size from and 18!!! If you have it in you, add like I have, the Vitamin D... Google it, you will thank me later :))))
ReplyI am so happy becasue i have tried so many ways to lose weight and it has been so hard and when i tried specil k items it was like wow what a change i have loss one pond in just 3 day when i had first started so it really works i love it so much and it is worth spending money on and sine then i habe lost so much more weight !!!! Thanks Very Love,Angela
ReplyWow I lost 10 pounds.
ReplyI gained so much weight during my pregnancy. After I had my son in Nov. 2007, my starting weight was 220. I was determined to lose the weight and go back to my 125 weight. I have lost 42 pounds by eating less and simply walking a few days a week. I am now 172 and I decided to start this diet today. I want to lose 55 more pounds by my son's 1st birthday. Since my eating habits have improved, I am determined to try this diet for 2 weeks and see how it goes. If I do lose at least 5 pounds, then I will continue this diet for a few more weeks. I wish all of you the best of luck because I know how hard it is to lose weight and be healthy!
ReplyAfter I had my son I spent 5 months I struggled to lose weight so I finally tried the special k diet. Exercising 3 times a week and trying to be very loyal to two bowls of cereal a day, in 13 days I had lost 7 lbs. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I'm starting again in a few days to fit into my old bikini. Thanks Special K!!!!
Replystarting this Special K thing 2marrow im 16 years old 238lbs would like to go to 215 wish me luck
ReplyGood for you! Best of Luck Jimmy! I'm rooting for you!
ReplyI lost 25 pounds with this diet. I stay on it for 2 months. Then I change my alimentary habits. Is very hard but you can substitute the cereal for another food low in fat and calories like a sandwich with light bread, fat free cheese and turkey ham.
Replyhii, i tried special K and in over 3 months I lost 50 pounds!!!!!!!!!! I even ate cookies and all but i still lost weight. The special K jus ate up all my fat on my body now im a model and im worth so much money thanks special K for making my dreams come true! =}
ReplyOmg....just reading everyones comments on special K got me to go out and by it. There was one in particular that stood out to me....It was DANIELA! all my life i wanted to be a model but i never could do it but that to DANIELA's story I went out and bought the cereal and i only ate that for a whole week! ONE WHOLE WEEK! I had amazing results and i and happy with my body....Now i just got to work on my model poses! you will be seeing me on America's Next top MODEL and thank you daniela for inspiring me and that you special K.....oh by the way wat ever happen to regular k? well it doesnt matter....we r all SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyI have to agree with soozeequeue: you girls are scaring me. Especially the older ones who are moms. I'm also scared for your babies, especially if they are daughters, in advance.
ReplyI started the special kn diet a week ago and it's gr8!!!! With a great workout 2-3 times a week and special k cereal and bars I've lost 7lbs.! This is what I've been missing!!!
ReplyI tried this diet last year. I lost no weight at all. In fact, I probably put on weight afterwards due to the temporary starvation in calories. I wouldn't recommend this. It's boring, monotonous, and not really worth the money.
ReplyEveryone has different bodies so this diet is not just for anyone. Personally, I love this diet plan. But instead of special K i prefer raisin brand mixed with mini wheats i eat it every morning before school and when i come home i eat another bowl mixed with anykind of fruit that sounds appealing to me that day. When i get cravings of other types of the "fatty foods" all i do is drink a bottle of water or vitamin water.. this truley helps...I have been on this routine for 2 1/2 months now..I have already lost 26 lbs.. I am healthier and feel better about myself..those who havent tried this plan should definantly do so...
Replyits me again i wanted to say that now i weigh a 148 and im 14 and when i grow up i want to be famous my goal is to loose 4o pounds by the end of the year and im useing special k!!!
Replygood luck everyone
I'm starting the special k diet today. So far my diet is going to consist of walking (at a fast pace) for 30 min, crunches for 40 min and eating this cereal. If I don't lose atleast 10lbs Imma be pissed off:) No really I just want to lose the belly fat.
Reply40 minutes of crunches?? Just to be helpful, do 5 minutes of crunches and use the rest of the time to do a more total body workout, or some activity that's fun for you!
Reply