). The Special K Challenge promotes quick weight loss through portion control at snacks and two of your daily meals. Use the remaining number to estimate your rate of loss. Sleep Loss Tied to Changes in Gut Bacteria. How the Special K Challenge Leads to Weight Loss. The Special K Challenge uses the principle that, to lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than you burn. This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive. WebMD archives content after 2 years to ensure our readers can easily find the most timely content. The Special K diet is designed to be a quick fix, not a long-term program. The company recommends you be at least 18 years old and at a body mass index of 25 before trying the plan. A gradual weight-loss is more likely to be sustained for the long term, too. It includes little education and no health care experts or exercise recommendations to help dieters go the distance. If you take the Special K Challenge, think of it as a prelude to a well- balanced diet plan, and let those six pounds serve as a motivator to help you keep going. The Special K challenge offers sound dietary advice, such as limiting portion sizes, drinking ample water, sticking to foods low in saturated fats, eating plenty of beans to boost your fiber intake, sleeping well and destressing. Note that the Special K Challenge is promoted as a temporary weight-loss solution. This calculator should take into account your activity level, age, gender and your current weight. The Special K Challenge is a simple, economical diet plan that uses familiar foods most people enjoy. (Of course, dieters could opt to do their own challenge, with their favorite high-fiber, high-protein cereal along with nutritious snacks and a healthy dinner meal. In fact, most are not whole grain, and they tend to be low in fullness-promoting fiber and protein. For example, say the online calculator figured you need 2,000 calories to sustain your weight.
The Special K Challenge: What You Can Eat. Colon Cancer on the Rise Among Young Adults. The third meal you eat should be well-balanced and of your choosing. The plan also encourages you to exercise modestly on most days, such as dancing to your favorite tunes or walking 10 to 20 minutes at lunchtime. Once you know this number, subtract from it the 520 calories from your two cereal meals as well as the calories from your third meal, determined using an online calorie-counting program. They include a BMI calculator on the website so you can figure out your BMI in seconds. Figuring Your Weight Loss on the Special K Challenge. With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, she coaches cycling and running and teaches Pilates and yoga. Losing weight at a rate faster than 2 pounds per week for an extended period of time is not usually recommended by health organizations, such as the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, due to the risk of developing gallstones. Asprin: The Wonder Drug in Your Medicine Cabinet. To find the most current information, please enter your topic of interest into our search box. But according to the Special K Challenge, you could lose up to 6 pounds in 14 days if you eat cereal or other Special K products for breakfast and lunch, plus a regular dinner. By replacing two meals daily with a bowl of the cereal, the company claims you can lose up to six pounds in two weeks. The only support comes from information on cereal boxes and the Special K website, plus a Special K Challenge message group on Yahoo featuring a blog from athlete Gabrielle Reece. She is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, RYT-200 and has degrees from Princeton and Columbia University. But it makes no recommendations about the content or size of the third meal. There is nothing special about Special K products. When followed for just two weeks, the Special K challenge may help you drop pounds for a special occasion, such as your high-school reunion. Andrea Cespedes is a professionally trained chef who has focused studies in nutrition. Video: Cancer Takes a Toll on a Small Town.
