The Special K Diet, also known as the Special K Challenge, is a two-week plan that claims to help you lose 6 pounds by following a meal plan that calls for eating healthy and replacing two of your meals with Special K cereal, protein shakes or protein meal bars.
The Diet
The basics of the plan require replacing two meals with Special K products and eating one meal as you regularly would. Of course, this meal should be healthy and reasonable. As well as three meals, you should eat two Special K snacks each day. Snacks include protein snack bars, cereal bars, crackers and protein water mixes. You can also eat as many fruits and vegetables as you chose and drink the same beverages you normally do. This meal plan will probably include fewer calories than you normally would eat, which will lead to some weight loss, according to Jennifer Nelson, Mayo Clinic nutritionist. But this diet might leave you feeling hungry, which makes the diet difficult to continue. This can lead to overeating and re-gaining the weight you have lost.
Exercise Schedule
Every little bit counts, so squeeze exercise into your schedule whenever you can, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Get your workout in by doing it right when you wake up. Starting your day exercising will boost your metabolism, energy and mood for the day. If you can’t work out in the morning, at least exercise before you eat dinner. This will make you less likely to overeat.
Cardio Exercise
Raising your heart rate burns calories quickly. The Special K Challenge website recommends taking a stationary bike class or aerobics class because working out with others will motivate you. The site also recommends jumping rope, which burns 100 calories in 10 minutes for a 5-foot-4, 140 lb. woman, or using a stair climber, which burns about 15 calories per minute. You can also try running, swimming or biking to raise your heart rate and burn calories quickly. Make your exercise fun by working out with a friend, playing tag with your kids, exercising outside or trying a sport such as tennis. Exercises such as running, jumping rope, skipping and jumping jacks work many large muscle groups at the same time, burning calories more efficiently.
Strength Training
Muscle burns fat, so by building more muscle, you are reducing the amount of cardio exercise you have to do. You don’t need machines to tone your muscles; you can use your own body weight or free weights. While you’re watching TV, do calisthenics such as lunges, squats or crunches, which use your own body weight. Work your glutes by getting on all fours and extending one leg behind you. Bend the extended leg at a 90-degree angle so that the bottom of your foot is facing the ceiling and point your toes. Then lower the leg and repeat for 12 repetitions while keeping your glutes squeezed tight. Repeat on the other side. Sculpt your muscles more quickly by mixing up your routine. Try increasing the weight or repetitions of your lifts.
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