Sunday, September 5, 2010

On the Special K Challenge

So, I started saying this in the comments, but it was getting out of hand. So here we go:

On the subject of the Special K challenge, it's you have two Special K meals (cereal, meal bar, etc) and one 'real' meal (IE- low calorie, healthy food. They have suggestions, I'm making my own). And then two healthy snakcs, they suggest their own of course. I'm planning on having cereal twice, because I need the calcium, for breakfast and for lunch. I was going to make my snacks either fruit, vegetables and hummus, or the crackers (maybe with hummus). My dinners were going to be whatever healthy fare I could scrounge up.

For as far as how I figure it works is: cereal is filling, and if you get the right kind of cereal, doesn't pack too many calories for the good nutrients. Because most of what you're eating is cereal, meal bars and protein waters, and then a healthy dinner, you end up losing weight. The cereal creats a huge calorie deficiency, which is good if you've been struggling to stay within your calorie limit and feeling full. You need a deficiency of 3,500 calories per week to lose one pound per week.

Of course, this isn't something you should do all the time. A lot of people use these kind of techniques and others as a jump start into a healthier lifestyle. Eating the cereal lets you get used to smaller portions without feeling hungry all the time, the protein waters and the bars do the same. This is something you can do without any kind of brand loyalty. Any healthy cereal you enjoy would work just fine instead of the Special K, and healthy granola or meal bars you enjoy could also replace theirs. I'm specifically doing this because I love the cereal personally and the snacks.

After the two weeks are up, your body's becomed used to eating that smaller amount of calories (hope you're tracking and making sure you're staying within your suggested limit, though~! Being under is a bad idea, jsut as much as being over), you can go back to eating more than just cereal for your other two meals a day. You need less to stay full and content and you can expand into other foods you enjoy.

I don't say thing from experience with this plan myself, I say thing from experience with how I've noticed other people losing weight, or just from what little I know about nutrition and how bodies work. I'm not an expert or anything, nor am I trained in any of this, but certain things have been tried and proven, and this is one of them. Again, this isn't something you should do allt he time, unless you really love cereal all that much or something.

4 comments:

Lilies in my Cereal said...

I wrote a comment and the computer went wonky.

So here I go again.

The Wii Fit Game talks about 3,500 calories being a pound. If you are going to eat the hummus, I would suggest holding off on the crackers. They have a large amount of calories in a few bites not to mention the carbohydrates and saturated fat. You should probably go with the veggies or have breads like pita or sourdough if you are craving flour.

I don't eat cereal or have milk. The cereal attracts bugs and I like to avoid the calories from the soy milk or rice milk I had. This is good to remember for when I eat cereal at other's houses. Have you tried Kashi? They seem to have good health stats.

I'm excited for you! Good luck! :)

Astrid said...

I usually eat hummus with mostly veggies (carrots, broccoli, and celery) and some crackers or pita bread, depending on which I happen to have at home.

Most grains comes with bugs already in them, or at least the eggs of them, so it's not so much that they're attracting bugs as they're hatching (though grain moths are something that show up, as opposed to come with). Putting them in the freezer takes care of that, if you have the space.

Lilies in my Cereal said...

:( I was talking about roaches that appear out of nowhere.... ewww... the thought of bugs growing out of my spaghetti is making me a little queasy.... goodness.

Astrid said...

Aah. roaches, yeah. I haven't ever had problems with those, thank god, but I think they can happen a lot more easily in the country than the city. I'm not sure about this, but it's what I've heard from my mom. She used to get them a lot when she lived out in the country and now we don't get them at all.

Well, weevils are just like that, really. They're usually not a problem, unless you have a bad infestation start, which isn't very likely. Usually, people use up their grains before this becomes an issue at all. And, like I said, freezing them will take care of the problem all together. The thought makes me really queasy, too, but I figure it's just a part of loving carbs. Haha.