Does any body know if the Special K diet works?

Answer 1

It works by replacing two higher calorie meals with lower calorie meals. You can do the same thing by replacing dinner with a salad, or your morning eggs and bacon with a bowl of oatmeal.

It works like every other gimic, short-term fad diet. I.E. you will gain the weight right back when you go off it because you do not address the lifestyle that had you gain the weight in the first place.
I did the Special K diet as a crash diet before my wedding, and I did lose some weight. Lack of exercise and not changing my eating habits meant that I still didn't like the way I looked and the weight came back. When I hit that same weight the second time (diet and exercise way), I looked better, and was an entire size less than I was with Special K. Even lost 10 more pounds afterwards too.

Special K is not the best cereal in the world. Seriously pour over the nutrition label (not just the calories... the whole thing), and you will notice that it's not very high in vitamins and minerals or fiber, and has a lot of sugar. Compare it with Cocoa Puffs, and the label looks pretty similar.

If you are ready to lose weight and keep it off long term, your best bet is to eat a well-balanced diet. I added the link to the diet and exercise site that I use. It's free after registration.

EDIT: Dude, did I just get a thumbs down for recommending a well-balanced diet? REALLY!??

Answer 2

It would probably work, but you would have to eat that way for the rest of your life if you want to keep the weight off. Diets like this don't teach you anything about nutrition. Once you go back to eating the way you used to, you will gain the weight back. The best thing to do is learn how to eat right and make it a habit.

Answer 3

It works that same was that any other diet works. The key is that you have to take in fewer calories than your burn. The food you eat really isn't as important as the total calories when it comes to losing weight. The Special K thing is more of a marketing ploy, but would work if you follow their exercise plan and eat sensibly.

Answer 4

I would guess that it works because all special k is is air. The problem would come after you lost the weight if you went back to eating what you normally eat. Then, you would gain all the weight back, if not more...that's how those kinds of diets usually work!

Answer 5

Here is the review for the Special K diet. I was going to try it, but then I read this article and I realized they were right. The cereal has high fructose corn syrup and I heard that eating that all the time really isn't good for you. It is harder to break down.


http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2006/03/09/special_k_diet_cereal_for_weight_loss.php

Answer 6

I thought of doing this one too. I decided to avoid it because I started reading a book about diet and lifestyle changes. According to the book you should limit consumption of corn products (solids, flakes and syrup for example) because these are generally used in the cattle industry to FATTEN their stock for sale in our markets. Have you ever heard of corn fed livestock? Anyway, I hope this was a helpful suggestion. I would stick with something WHOLE GRAIN like Grape Nuts, Shredded Wheat or Rolled Oats with skim milk. Best of luck with your weight loss!

Answer 7

I would assume it works simply because it greatly reduces your daily calorie intake. Whether or not you'll go insane while trying to eat only cereal 2xs per day for 2 weeks is another story.

Answer 8

It worked for me I lost 6 pounds in 3 days!!! I stayed strickly on it though!

Answer 9

it has... i have tried it for 2 weeks in a row. I weighed 253#'s last month and now weigh 244#'s... it has helped me very much and will follow it, especially since I am diabetic.

Answer 10

i tried it for a bit and had a bit of success. it was easy and although it seemed l;ike i was eating SMALL amounts of food for breakfast and lunch i never got hungray inbetween.