The Special K diet promotes using Special K products as your primary sources of food. You have freedom to choose between certain products, as long as you stay within prescribed portion sizes. In general, people adopt this restrictive diet as a short-term weight-loss measure, as its unvaried food sources and lack of exercise make it less sustainable and healthy for long-term weight loss. However, modifying the plan or using Special K products more sparingly can improve your long-term results.
Rate of Weight Loss
The Special K diet consists of replacing two meals per day with Special K products, including cereal, protein bars and protein shakes. In addition, you consume two snacks daily, choosing from Special K products such as chips, cereal bars, protein bars, fruit crisps, crackers, protein water and mixes. You eat a third meal of your choice, but it should center around low-calorie, nutrient-dense whole foods. This diet plan allows unlimited fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. You can consume your normal range and quantity of beverages while following this plan, or further cut calories by drinking plain water. The variety of approaches and portion sizes on this plan determines your weight loss success. If you cut 1,000 calories from your normal daily consumption, you can lose 2 pounds per week, or about 60 pounds in seven months. Add exercise to your diet plan, and you can meet your weight loss goal.
Long-Term Weight Loss
A very strict daily diet does not support your overall health and long-term weight loss. If you do not eat foods from diverse fruit, vegetable and protein sources, you may experience hunger or feel deprived. The best food plans feature whole, unprocessed foods high in nutrients and naturally low in calories. While Special K products can be a part of a calorie-reduced plan to lose weight, emphasizing them over nutritious whole foods is not sustainable. You may meet monthly goals only to find you regain the weight you lost after you leave the plan.
Time Frame
Seven months is a long time frame to follow an extremely restrictive diet. The Special K challenge page has recommendations and food plans for people who want to diet for two weeks, not seven months. A two-week jump start on this diet can result in the loss of a few pounds, depending upon how many calories you cut. After that, switch to a diverse eating plan that allows for gradual weight loss at a healthy rate of 2 pounds per week.
Exercise Makes the Difference
The Special K diet offers no specifications regarding exercise while following the food plan. However, the American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardiovascular exercise daily. Double this recommendation and you burn enough calories to lose an additional 2 to 6 pounds per month. Coupled with a healthy diet, you can lose about 10 pounds per month, enough to meet your goal of losing 70 pounds in seven months.
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