Krash Diet

I'm watching a bunch of weightloss shows on the Discovery Channel, and there's a bunch of Kellogg's Special-K commercials telling people they can lose 6 lbs in two weeks by replacing two meals a day with a bowl of Special-K cereal. They don't tell you about the details which includes changing your lifestyle, eating fruits and vegetables, and exercising. In their study, they tell you that participants ate an average of 575 calories/day less (27% less). Without exercise, this would amount to only (14 days * 575 calories/day) / (3500 cal/lb-of-fat) = 2.3 lbs of fat lost in two weeks. So these people must have exercised another 3.7 lbs off, requiring (3.7 lbs)(3500 cal/lb-of-fat) / 14 days = 925 calories of exercise per day. That's about 2 hours of exercise each day. Personally, I couldn't lose 6 lbs in two weeks without resorting to starvation. Maybe I could have when I was really overweight, but not now.

Oh, and the average weight loss was only 5 lbs. I guess someone lost 6 lbs; that was "up to" person.

So the Kellogg's Special-K Challenge is really simple -- calorie restriction, intense exercise, instant lifestyle change, and disappointing results. Congratulations, you've been sold out for a box of cereal.