Kellogg's introduced Special K as a diet cereal in 1956. In an effort to further market the cereal, Kellogg's created the Special K Diet, which directed dieters to replace two meals a day with a serving of Special K cereal and low-fat milk. The diet promised a weight loss of up to six pounds over the course of two weeks for people with a body mass index over 25. The Special K Diet has morphed into the "Special K Challenge," which offers online meal plans, recipes and multiple products in addition to the cereal. As a result, the diet offers more variety and greater nutrition than its original conception.
Features
The Special K food diet allows you to chose a preset plan that emphasizes a "classic" approach, a "mix-it-up" option, an "on-the-go" focus or one for "chocolate lovers." You can also use the website to design your own plan using Special K foods and your own recipes. The Special K diet follows a basic dieting formula: eat a low-calorie diet consisting of three main meals a day and two-low calorie snacks. The meal plans use Special K products for two of the meals and the snacks. You then choose the food for your final meal, but the website offers suggestions and recipes for healthy options. Special K foods include multiple flavors of the original Special K cereal, protein drinks, snack and meal-replacement bars, whole grain crackers, waffles and protein-enhanced water. A non-cereal Special K meal might be a protein drink or a serving of waffles with berries.
Benefits
Provided you restrict the calories in your "free" meal, the diet offers a low-calorie plan that is likely to promote weight loss. Because the products are portion-controlled, you do not have to count calories. The Special K products are readily available at most grocery stores and are reasonably priced. The free web plans and recipes make the diet accessible to anyone.
Expert Insight
The Special K Food Diet encourages a regular eating pattern, which helps keep blood sugar levels stable and prevents extreme hunger. It also emphasizes eating breakfast every day, which is an important habit of successful dieters. Seventy-eight percent of members in the National Weight Control Registry, a group of over 5,000 people successful in losing and sustaining significant weight loss, report eating breakfast daily. A 2002 Purdue University study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found portion controlled, ready-to-eat cereal used as a meal replacement did help participants lose more fat than participants who did not use cereal as a meal replacement. In 2003, the Journal of the American College of Nutrition published another study, by lead author Sungsoo Cho, Ph.D., maintaining that people who eat a sit-down breakfast comprised of foods like ready-to-eat cereal have a lower body mass than people who skip breakfast or eat eggs and meat.
Drawbacks
Despite the expansion of their product line, you may still feel limited when following the Special K Food Diet. You obtain optimal nutrition by exposing yourself to a varied diet that includes many different types of grains, produce, proteins and fats. By limiting yourself to "fortified" cereals, you may not meet all your nutritional needs. Special K products are highly refined and include palm kernel oils, high fructose corn syrup and multiple preservatives and artificial ingredients.
Considerations
Even if you lose weight on the Special K Food Diet, you will most likely regain it if you return to your previous eating habits. Participants in the National Weight Control Registry report that continuing to follow a low-calorie diet after achieving their goal weight contributes to their success in keeping the pounds from coming back. Use the Special K plan to teach you the healthy habits of controlling portions and eating breakfast, but be careful to not become overly dependent on their products.
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