The Special K Diet

So I thought while I was home for my internship and had some extra time on my hands, I wanted to try something new. I enjoy eating Special K cereal and always saw the Challenge they offered on the back of the box. In case you haven't seen this before, here are the guidelines.

Breakfast: One serving of Special K cereal with 2/3 cup skim mik or other Special K products

Lunch: Repeat breakfast meal or have different Special K product and a healthy side like hummus and crackers or fruit

Dinner: Eat your normal meal

Snacks: Eat two snacks each day of Special K products (bars, cereal, crackers, and fruits/vegetables)

Drink fluids as you normally do.

I started this diet on January 27th, and it started out okay, except for the cost of th products. The cereal, fruit crisps and crackers weren't too expensive, but the protein shakes and meal bars were a little pricey. I rationed how much I ate those products so this experiment wouldn't take a huge toll on the wallet.

Throughout the diet, I never really felt content with what I was eating. Too much of something is never a good thing. With this diet, I felt like I was eating a lot of carbs without much else to balance it out. The diet doesn't require fruits and vegetables. It suggests it, but people on the diet can just omit it. I feel like both of those are necessary to help lose weight. Yes, one's sugar count will go up, but at least they are natural sugars. 

With the different products I consumed, all of them were high in carbohydrates:

Cereal: 22.3 g

Protein Bar: 26 g

Fruit Crisps: 20 g

Protein Shake: 29 g

Crackers: 22 g

Popcorn Chips: 23 g

And carbs give one energy, with it breaking down to sugar for energy, but too much is not good either. I feel like everything I ate was loaded. And the numbers above are for a single serving size. For cereal, it is super easy to go over the 1 cup serving size for a single meal, and the same goes for the crackers. And I ate almost all of these each day, which is a lo of carbs. 

Another factor that is pretty low in this diet is protein. Yes they have protein bars and shakes, but that isn't enough. One can eat protein for their dinner, but that may not be enough to eat on a daily basis. A healthy diet I believe consists of a variety of foods that provide different nutrients. For example, protein can be obtained through beans, nuts, and meat. It shouldn't have to come only from a chocolate special k bar. Without enough protein, it can lead to muscle weakness or muscle mass lost.

Here is a list of what I kept track of eating each day.

Based on research of this diet and my results, I don't recommend this diet for long term. It made me feel hungry a lot of the time and actually made me want to eat more than usual at dinner time because it was my non-Special K meal! I felt I could splurge a little because I didn't have to worry about portion control with the other products. Everyone is different, but I didn't lose any weight, but in fact gained a pound! And the challenge doesn't require exercise in the diet, and I do exercise regularly. With eating right and exercising, I should have lost weight, right? 

The positives of this is learning about portion control and how to eat healthy snacks throughout the day. It also helps those that skip breakfast, since breakfast is the most important meal of the day! :) 

I will probably try another diet sometime in the near future, or possibly summer time to learn more about what does and doesn't work for a diet.