I think the idea of some low calorie TB options is a good idea but "Drive Thru Diet", .....I just can't see it.

TB is actually one of my favorite pick-up places. I go once or twice a month. Like kaplods, I use it to make a Taco salad. I pick up a bag of shredded lettuce at the grocery store and break up a crunchy taco to add to it. The regular crunchy taco is 170 calories so I can have a large salad with a few calories. Sometimes I get 2 tacos and make a really huge salad.

Taco Bell for breakfast, lunch and dinner, after a week you would lose weight by not eating that stuff anymore.
I do like a taco and pinto beans once in a while, everything in moderation. A few tacos are better than a quarter pounder.

It seems that Fast Food Packs More Calories Than Nutrition Labels Suggest.

(Yes, I am going to post this on every fast food thread.)

Anyone remember when KFC tried to advertise their fried chicken as diet food during the atkins craze? KFC - carb free - loose weight!! It's another example of buyer beware.

Isn't their fried chicken breaded?

I actually love the fresco menu. I am a big salsa, tomatoes type person so I don't miss the cheese and other stuff at all. I think the burritos are actually very tasty, and some of them are like 160 calories, so you can get two--like the chicken and the steak-- and still have a fairly low calorie lunch.

As for this diet thing, I dunno. I don't have cable so I haven't seen the commercial, and the only place I'd seen info on "the drive thru diet" is here. Eh, whatever, I like the fresco menu as a change of pace every once in awhile.

If you watch the commercial, the woman says she replaced her usual fast food with TB's fresco menu. They also say right on the commercial that the drive thru diet is not a weight loss plan. I think if you eat fast food once in a while, it's probably not a bad idea to replace a burger and fries with a fresco taco or two.

I would not trust this diet. Your adding a couple of vegetables and calling it healthy? I don't know. I mean obviously chicken is healthy, but I don't know how healthy it can be when you start adding in all the other ingredients they use.

I think that people are mistaking this for a regular diet plan? I looked at the website and this is what they said:

As you know, the Drive-Thru DietŪ menu is not a weight-loss program. It's about making different choices. For me, I didn't want to cut out my fast food so I started choosing Fresco items from the Drive-Thru DietŪ menu and making other sensible choices. I reduced my daily calorie and fat intake by 500 calories to 1250 calories a day, and, after two years, I ended up losing 54 pounds! These results aren't typical, but for me they were fantastic!

What she says is she replaced her old fast food habit with the healthier items AND she started making other sensible choices including cutting 500 calories out of her diet per day.

And with doing that, she loses 54 pounds in two years.. so basically, Taco Bell is just saying that you can include their healthier options in your diet program and lose weight.. not that you eat just their food and lose weight.

Given how Subway's weight loss craze was forever long ago, I really don't think this is a response to it but rather a way of keeping up with other fast food places offering healthier options.

As someone said.. it's all in how you see fast food. If it's a rare treat then this probably won't be a huge benefit to you.. but if you are a trucker or someone who is on the road a lot and literally eats out all the time then this could make a big difference.

Thank you for planning my dinner tonight! LOL! I think I may have DH drive through and pick up a few hard shell tacos and we can crush them over a bed of lettuce. Boy does that sound good? (It doesn't help that I'm hungry)

I'm very glad TB has the Fresco options. No, it's not a "diet", but they have healthier items than a lot of places AND their nutritional information is big and bold right on their drive up window menu! Easy. I applaud TB for that.

I really like the Fresco type items at Taco Bell. They are not advertising it as a diet, but as a replacement for other fast foods. A couple people already posted that. A couple of tacos or burritos for 160 or 170 each versus a Nachos Bell Grande at 750 or so. that is something I would have eaten at one time. I'm definitely saving in the calorie department. another meal that I used to eat: Big Mac and fries at McDonalds 590 + 210 It adds up. I can live with 350 - 400 for 2 items at Taco Bell.

another thing about TB is the sodium...its kinda high. as for chipotle, i really don't want a 5lb, 1000+ calorie burritto

Oh come on, why not? But seriously, you can do a burrito-less burrito, meaning it's in a bowl. I love it with just lettuce, rice, chicken, cheese, and salsa. If I eat just half of it I can have it for around 250 calories. You have to play with it, but it can be a healthy meal. It's when you add the guacamole, sour cream, cheese, beans, etc. and wrap it in a 300 calorie largest-I've-ever-seen tortilla that it becomes a problem.

Actually, even though I don't like Taco Bell, if you sit and think about it, of course these things wouldn't be bad for you. Someone above said that 'adding tomatoes and lettuce doesn't make it healthy' or something to that effect- actually, the fresco items use chicken instead of beef, no cheese, no sour cream, AND add veggies.

Pure common sense would tell you that if you remove beef, cheese and sour cream from a taco, it is going to have fewer calories. If i liked Taco Bell, I would have no issue ordering fresco items...I just don't.

I mentioned that I had ordered a bean burrito 'fresco' which has no beef/chicken/meat but I don't eat meat so I wasn't aware that fresco meant chicken for other items.

Also in the bean burrito I had, I had to search for the tomatoes/lettuce, really I could barely tell they were in there.

And someone else mentioned Chipotle, you can get a nice filling meal with lots of veggies there for under 300 calories, that is why I love Chipotle. I don't eat the burritos anymore when I go but when I did, I'd split it in half and share it with my husband. It was a good, cheap meal.