Those last 7 lbs...gonna do the Special K thing
 

Hi all!

I'm on exchange in England right now, and dorm life has stressed me out. I suddenly started binge eating, and I haven't in months! Yes...I've had a bad history of depression and binge eating...but I thought being independent and seeing Europe would give me the confidence to be a normal 21 year old university student. But no. I've gained 7 lbs since the beginning of spring break.

I've read lots about the special K diet and how many people dislike it, but what the heck, I'm going to give it a try. I just need some support. It's a 2 week thing.

Has anyone tried it? Is it really that unbearable?

I haven't tried it but I can say that eating Special K is like eating air for me. There is no way that it is filling enough to replace any of my meals, not even breakfast.

I also think that losing weight on a fad diet like that is a good way to end up gaining the weight back again as soon as you go off the diet. You are basically eating processed carbs and little else for two of your meals. I also think that Special K has a lot of calories for not a lot of nutrition. The original Special K has 22g of carbs (almost no fiber), 7g of protein, and no fat (which means no good fats, either). That means that 80% of the calories from that cereal are from processed carbs (sugar, high fructose corn syrup, starches, etc.) With the exception of the Protein Plus variety, all of the other varieties are worse. The Protein Plus is the only one that is even close to healthy, with only 45% of its calories coming from carbs and 36% of the calories from carbs are at least from fiber, whereas none of the other cereals have any fiber at all (which means the other cereals also probably aren't very filling).

The bars aren't great either. The protein meal replacement bars have 50% of their calories from carbs, almost none of which are fiber. You really want only about 40% of the calories in a meal replacement bar (or energy bar) to come from carbs, and the more of those carbs that are fiber, the better. The snack bars, cereal bars, etc. are all worse. The cereal bars are really not much better than a candy bar.

So I just can't believe eating Special K cereal or bars for two meals a day is a healthy way to lose weight. If you are having trouble with binging now, I think trying eat Special K for two meals a day might aggravate that problem. Your body isn't going to be getting the balance diet that it needs, which is likely to increase your cravings.

If your going to do this, I think you would be much better off using a different cereal (for example, Kashi Go Lean or Fiber One would both probably be better choices) and/or different energy bars. But even with better choices in terms of cereal and energy bars, I still don't think it's a healthy way to lose weight.

Also, losing 7 pounds in two weeks at your weight is not realistic or healthy. A much more realistic and healthy goal would be 1-2 pounds per week.

Cereal for binge control??
 

Special K is like air for me too. I'm hungry again 2 hours after eating it. You mentioned that you were bingeing - maybe use the Special K as snack food instead of more caloric stuff? I tried this a couple of years ago with Raisin Bran. Whenever I felt like I had to start chowing down everything in sight I fixed myself a bowl of Raisin Bran with a sliced banana added. By the time I got this all together and eaten usually I was able to then stop the rest of the binge. It will probably work with any fairly wholesome cereal but I used Raisin Bran so I got some fruit (dried is better than none yes?) and fibre, as well as the nutrition from 2% milk.

;) Dagmar

My dad has tried this (but with raisin bran). He didn't lose anything (I think he ate too much at dinner time because he was extra hungry) But a "crash" diet like this probably won't hurt if you only do it for two weeks. Personally, I'd substitute Fiber One for the Special K (the extra fiber will fill you up more) and I'd add fruit to each bowl (strawberries, blueberries, bananas).

Anyone i have know that has tried the speacial k diet did loose but it all came back as soon as they started eating again. You are basicalyy starving the whole time.... Why don't you try "slimfast" or a similar product to replace brekfast and lunch.

Canada mom, I think Slimfast is just as bad if not worse than Special K. Slimfast has so much sugar and is so processed.

ive just finished the special k diet. i've found it really easy, becuase i've always loved the taste and find that it fills me right up! i only lost 4lbs, and it will probably come striaght back on - but if you've got an event you want to slim down a bit for, I say why not?

If you really want to go the 2 cereal-meals a day diet, I'd say pick one that's comparably less sugary and higher in fiber (I believe Special K has quite a few lines that are quite sweetened) -- that way you'd stay full for a longer period of time.

But as others noted, it's basically a starvation diet and it really doesn't set you up for healthy lifelong eating habits. However, as themonkeysuncle noted, it may be OK if you have an event you want to temporarily lose a few pounds for (but even those moments should be few and far between 'cause otherwise you're just yo-yoing)

Yeah, maybe not Slimfast but a good whey protein-based meal replacement. There is a good one by Garden of Life, called Ultimate Meal. You could have that for breakfast and lunch and then have a fairly normal dinner, and you could lose a few pounds without starving yourself. From my experience, diets like the special K one just end up messing up your metabolism and you start gaining more weight once you are off them. I hope you choose to go a healthier route!

Another possibility would be to get Ann Louise Gittleman's "The Fast Track Detox Diet" and then go on maintenance as recommended. Great book!

The only diet(s) I have ever had success with are meal replacement--slimfast or cereal. If left to my own devices, I make bad choices. There is just something about knowing that I can only have a bowl of cereal, or slimfast, etc. that keeps me on track. (maybe it is just a lack of discipline too :carrot:)

I have to agree with everyone else. I've tried this and I used to be a Special K fanatic. But really all that stuff was doing was making me crave more and more sugary, sweet stuff (cuz that's what it is). Their Red Berries line is delicious, don't get me wrong. But it is NOT filling. So while it may be low calorie, you're getting very little nutrition and NO satisfaction (for me, it made me crave more). I would avoid it. Their protein plus line is better. But still not great. Once I realized how much real food I could actually eat for the 110 calories that I was wasting, it wasn't even a contest.

P.S. I can't even have that stuff in the house anymore. I had some the other week and was eating it out of the box by the handful--it's like candy!