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".
I would highly recommend Slimming World. Lost nearly 11lbs in 3 weeks. Healthy eating, 3 meals a day, snacks, and I can still eat chips
