The Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet.....Lose weight at Taco Bell

[disneyboy20022]

http://www.drivethrudiet.com/christinesstory

I'll believe Taco Bell is as healthy as Subway when Mcdonalds starts selling a weight watchers version of a Big Mac

No wonder the Taco bell dog died....it must have died of Hyena pitched laughter when it heard of this new ad of eating at Taco Bell Drive Up can make you lose weight....

[Elladorine]

McDonald's actually used to sell a diet-esque burger called the "McLean Deluxe" as a replacement for the McDLT back in the early 90's. It got pulled due to poor sales . . . people really didn't hit drive-thrus for "diet food." And Taco Bell had a lower fat, lower calorie menu similar to this "fresco" thing back in the early 90's which also tanked. I think the mindset has changed in recent years, especially after books like "Fast Food Nation" and films like "Super Size Me" rose into public consciousness, not to mention the success of the Jared Fogle campaign at Subway (BTW, even at Subway it's way easy to go overboard on fat, calories, sodium, etc.). I'm guessing that Taco Bell is looking for their very own Jared here; I could be wrong but in this case it feels contrived. Anyway, Taco Bell is aware that a certain percentage of their potential customers have their eyes out for healthier options and/or are hoping to lose weight, so why not cash in on that?

I was actually curious about this Taco Bell promo and checked out that site the other day. Note that they make a small statement toward the bottom of the page that says these items on the menu are "not a low calorie food!"

The thing is . . . as important as calorie consumption is to weight loss, if you're trying to eat healthier there's so much more to consider than just calories. The "fresco" items may be lower in calories and fat content than the corresponding items on their menu, but they're still high in sodium and simple carbs. Plus fast food in general is typically processed all to hell.

They're certainly a healthier option if you're craving Taco Bell or fast food in general, and it wouldn't hurt to have some in moderation every so often. But on the surface they imply that you can drop pounds by simply hitting their drive-thru. If you read through all the fine print you'll see that they at least stress that it has to be part of an overall healthy, low calorie/low fat diet along with exercise, but that's not exactly something you can pick up at the window.

At the very least, I think it's a step in the right direction. People struggling with their weight (like myself) need to be informed and made aware of what they're eating when it comes to content and nutrition, not to mention portion control. But if people really want to eat healthy, it's best to stick with fresh veggies & fruits, whole grains, lean meats, etc., which are pretty hard to come by unless you stick with the outer aisles of your local grocery store.

[Super Aurora]

funny, i'm actually eating taco bell as i'm typing this.

[Escapay]

No wonder the Taco bell dog died....it must have died of Hyena pitched laughter when it heard of this new ad of eating at Taco Bell Drive Up can make you lose weight....

Well it's not necessarily an "only Taco Bell" diet. As the woman said in the site, she ate Taco Bell and made other sensible choices. That's the key words. Other Sensible Choices. You can lose weight and still enjoy the occasional Fresco item once in awhile. I did the Subway diet during my 2005 WDW College Program (mainly out of convenience and laziness rather than intentionally trying to stick to a diet) and lost 20-30 pounds, but it didn't stop me from indulging in chocolate milkshakes at Ghirardelli's in Downtown Disney.

albert

[toonaspie]

I would never be able to comply with any such diet.

I have difficulty eating vegetables and I cant live without cheese!

[PixarFan2006]

I have seen the fresco items at my local Taco Bell, but I do not think I would ever try them. I'm sorry, but I do not go to fast food restaurants to lose weight.

[Siren]

The problem with these fad diets is they work great...till you get off the diet. Unless you make a conscious effort to make lifestyle changes, no diet, no matter what actor, doctor, or average joe is gonna work. Simply exercising and eating right are all you need. Portion control is important, but I don't believe in cutting out certain foods all together. Eating in moderation is a good rule of thumb. For instance, instead of having a 3 scoop sundae with all the trimmings, have one scoop with one topping. You will often discover, that is all your craving needed. I know when I am craving chocolate, if I grab a fat free Jello chocolate pudding, I am as satisfied with that as I would have been with a brownie sundae.

[Margos]

You're right. I know that's how South Beach Diet worked. It was a terrible diet that deprives you of carbs (I'm Italian, gosh darnit! My pasta is the source of my strength! ). I hated it so much while I was on it, although I did lose 20 pounds. As soon as I gave it up, I gained 30. Absolute waste of time.

[Elladorine]

At the very least, I think it's good that fast food restaurants are making an effort to offer healthier items on their menus. As a person who's trying to be careful about what she eats these days, I can't tell you how frustrating it is when friends and family want to go to restaurant A or B and I'm dragged along, hoping in vain that I can find something on the menu that isn't going to throw my system off for an entire week (and believe me, it's happened many times).

And yeah, eating healthier for weight loss is a lifestyle change, meaning you have to find a system that you can work through and live with for the rest of your life if you want to reach and maintain a goal. Realistically, I can't always eat at home. I'm often on the run and can't always plan my meals ahead so I've found ways to occasionally work in fast food and other conveniences when necessary. Things like this Taco Bell "fresco" gimmick can actually make my life a little easier, but still isn't exactly the type of thing I'd advise anyone to plan their entire diet around.

[Disney Guru]

Yet another scam to give the American Public more health issues, when giving them the false mindset that they are becoming healthier.

[ajmrowland]

Honestly, healthy diet and exercise is enough. Not every food you eat has to be healthy, and not every fast food has to be junk food. even the "healthy" stuff they serve probably is, though.

[SpringHeelJack]

Yet another scam to give the American Public more health issues, when giving them the false mindset that they are becoming healthier.

If you're stupid enough to just glance at the commercial and think you can lose weight just by eating certain Taco Bell foods, you kind of deserve whatever happens.

[Siren]

I do agree, I am happy fast food places do have healthier alternatives. I don't hit fast food places much, but its good to know I have a choice to get fast food that is healthier than the normal fair. By no means would I live on the stuff, but its convenient on the go now and then.

[pap64]

The problem with these fad diets is they work great...till you get off the diet. Unless you make a conscious effort to make lifestyle changes, no diet, no matter what actor, doctor, or average joe is gonna work. Simply exercising and eating right are all you need. Portion control is important, but I don't believe in cutting out certain foods all together. Eating in moderation is a good rule of thumb. For instance, instead of having a 3 scoop sundae with all the trimmings, have one scoop with one topping. You will often discover, that is all your craving needed. I know when I am craving chocolate, if I grab a fat free Jello chocolate pudding, I am as satisfied with that as I would have been with a brownie sundae.

I agree 100% with this, Siren.

I've never, and I mean NEVER, believed in diets because all they do is eliminate an essential nutrient from the pyramid of foods. I have a friend who used to do all sorts of diets throughout his life. It got to the point where I LAUGHED in his face because his anxiety over it was crazy. At the time, he was doing a diet which eliminates corn. Corn, if I am not mistaken, has sugar. At the moment his body was craving sugar because he was completely eliminating it from his diet. So when he saw chocolate cake he went nuts because his body was craving it, but he was fighting it.

It got so bad that one time, his mother made him and his friends chocolate cake. His refusal to eat it was so bad that he FORCED me to eat it (think of the Tina and Ike cake incident, except less violent and overdramatic). Of course, I don't eat the things I am forced to eat, so while the cake was wasted I didn't let him control me because of his own beliefs.

And all of this is because he has this really, really big fear that he will die young or get really, really morbidly obese like his father.

And the bigger irony is that I don't do diets, I don't do exercise, the only thing I do is acupuncture and chinese herbs, and right now I weigh LESS than him. I am at 240 pounds while he is nearing the 300 pound range.

It all depends on the mentality. You can lose weight, you can be healthy, and you can be happy when doing all of this. But if you let fear, insecurity, paranoia and anxiety rule over you its going to get worse.

Besides, having a healthy lifestyles doesn't extend your life. True, you may die at an older age of natural causes, but that doesn't stop you from suffering cancer, AIDS, tumors, heart attacks, brain damages and various accidents that can mean death.

I'm not saying to not try and live a healthy lifestyle. What I am saying is that to do it with an open mind, see an expert about it, have fun with it and don't let your fears and insecurities be the main reason for the weight loss.

[Elladorine]

Well technically speaking, a "diet" doesn't necessarily constitute a fad of unhealthy denials of nutrition or entire food groups. There are plenty of healthy weight loss plans out there. The real problem is that people are looking for the magic pill, so to speak, and many look to the latest fad in hopes of losing with as little effort as possible. And you can't blame them, losing the weight is extremely difficult for most, especially when you're talking about someone in the 300 pound range and beyond. There's a lot to consider both physically and emotionally, plus with all the options and varying expert opinions out there it can be confusing as hell to know what to do. It's easy to forget that it often takes years to put on a substantial amount of weight and just as long to take it back off safely. And to those that have never had to experience it for themselves, you have no idea how difficult and overwhelming it can be. Plus we are all surrounded by an abundance of overly-processed, highly marketed, great-tasting and easy-to-access crap, much of which looks harmless on the surface.

Obesity has become such an epidemic (especially here in the US, with other countries following suit) that doctors have given up hope on patients losing weight on their own. So what do they do? Advise surgery that physically limits the amount of food a person can eat, whether part of the stomach is cut out or blocked off. And once the surgery is complete? Patients are typically put on a strict diet of 300 calories a day the first year. Think about that . . . 300 calories a day for an entire year! No nutritionist or dietitian in their right mind would order anyone to limit themselves to that as a safe way to lose weight on its own but general practitioners are advising it as part of the surgery process being the only viable option for permanent weight loss. Patients of the surgery often have to take vitamins and other supplements for the rest of their lives, dangerous complications are common through the procedure, and in the end the weight can still come back.

I understand the frustration, the hopelessness, the anxieties, the desperation of wanting a smaller body, but without the support of friends and family and without the comfort of a clear solution. As I've mentioned elsewhere in this forum my highest weight was 360+ pounds. When I was a kid my mom put me on every diet out there, each of which were quickly given up when there were no instant results, each attempt more discouraging than the previous, making me feel more and more like a worthless failure. When I was a young adult I was advised by a doctor to follow an extremely low-fat diet (popular in the 90's even within the medical community), which subsequently broke down my system and nearly put me in the hospital (your body actually needs fat in order to survive, who'da thunk?). It wasn't until more recently I became better informed about the needs of my own body when it comes to balance, calories, and overall nutrition.

Rey and I are the same height. Now granted we're not the same gender, but back before I resumed my diet this summer he was literally eating twice the amount of food that I was, yet I still weighed 50 pounds more than him! Seriously, if I made sandwiches for lunch, I'd have only 2 while he'd 4-5. If we went out to eat, I'd eat only half my plate and save the rest for another meal when he'd finish everything off at once. And you can't say it was our activity levels that made the difference because we were on equal terms there. All of our bodies are different, and all of them react differently to various foods and exercise.

My genes are against me. I come from a family that suffers with obesity on both sides. Some people can easily stay at a healthy weight living off of convenience foods and eating whatever they're in the mood for. I'm not one of those people, lol. Even when I felt I was eating a reasonable amount of something reasonably healthy, I couldn't get the weight to come off. I have to actively track what I eat, I have to check labels. I've had to completely give up soda (both regular and diet) and most refined carbohydrates altogether, especially sugar. My health, my very life is at stake here.

Both of my parents died far too young. It's a proven fact that obesity contributes to cancer, heart attacks, high blood pressure, artery blockage, and a whole slew of other life-threatening illnesses. Had my mom eaten healthier she might not have developed and died from complications of breast and bone cancer when she was only 56. Had my dad not had a diet high in saturated fat his liver might not have broken down or he might not have developed fatal pancreatic cancer in his 60's.

I don't see my actions as a fear, but as a responsibility to my future health and happiness. I personally know people that have gotten so big that they can no longer walk or even stand on their own. I watched my mother's independence and dignity completely crumble in a matter of months due to her illness. I've watched my own health decline over the years in fact (and I'm only in my early 30's), but it has gotten much better in this past year now that I've stepped aside to take care of myself. I've currently lost 112 pounds altogether and still have a ways to go. I'm looking forward to the next 13 when I'll actually weigh less than Rey, lol.

It's not about self-control or willpower like everyone assumes, it's about the proper knowledge, the right mindset, and being in tune with one's body which is much more difficult than it sounds. Rey's support has been a big help to me. It hasn't been easy at all but I'm making progress. The new energy I've gained and just feeling much better in general has been well worth it.

I dunno . . . after reading many of the posts in this thread I just wanted to put all this out there.

[Mayhem]

I have to heartily agree Enigma, and I have to applaud your efforts and success so far to better yourself in the weight department. Sadly not everyone is like you; their will power is more won't power, and their get up and go has got up and left. The desire for a "magic bullet" is unfortunately all too prevalent; people don't want to put the effort in because many other things in life come too easily to them. They feel why should weight loss be any different? People must first want to help themselves before taking the next step.

I do think having support from other people and not trying to do it alone makes a big difference (so big up to Rey there), which is perhaps why weight watching groups do have success; it isn't just about the plans, the policies, the diet regime... it's also being encouraged and made to feel positive with the decrease in pounds.

Giving up the soda was a big move. I try to limit how much of the stuff I drink when I'm over in the US, and it can be very hard at times to find something other than it to buy from machines, dispensers and outlets. Especially when there are also free refills on offer. This is partly due to the overwhelming use of high fructose corn syrup in most American drinks; we tend to use regular sucrose here in the UK for example. In fact I usually play a game with my friend Kris when I go visit her your side, trying to find anything that doesn't have HFCS in it!

Sure the stuff in restaurants is watered down, but it all still contributes. I think the massive sizes and (underestimated by many people) calorific ratings of sodas are a contributory factor to the weight issue and other medical problems. Kris suffers from occasional bouts of gout and her problem has been helped enormously by almost cutting out sodas entirely from her diet (with massive prodding by me!).

Diet drinks aren't necessarily any better. The acid is still present, and now you have some unnatural sweetener in the place of the sugar molecules. Not only have some been linked to cancers, but many of them fool the body into thinking it is receiving real sugar still (via the taste buds in the tongue) and the pancreas produces some insulin to counter it. With less sugar intake, your blood sugars can decrease. The body learns from this. There is some hypothesis (with decent medical backing) that the body can then interpret that the sweet taste doesn't actually have sugar to process and it not only can screw with your insulin levels as well, but make you put on weight as the sugar you do intake isn't being processing properly due to less insulin! It can also result in you eating more to boot...

So if I do have a soda I only drink the full fat stuff... lesser of two evils!

Hmmm, think I've rambled there a bit too much, but all in the name of enlightenment I suppose heh...

[Elladorine]

Thanks, much appreciated!

Oh yeah, you're totally right about the HFCS. Because corn is subsidized by the government it's a cheaper option for the food companies to use than old-fashioned sugar cane. When the public finally started becoming concerned about its over-use its producers started making commercials to ease fears (I'm sure many of you have seen them), pointing out that HCFS has the same amount of calories as sugar and is "fine in moderation." What they fail to mention is that it's very difficult to use something in moderation when it's put in practically everything! If you're in the US, check your labels; it's not just in soda, ice cream, candy, and other sweet treats. You'll see they put in in things you had no idea would even contain sugar in the first place, let alone this stuff because it's a cheap, tasteful filler. Hell, I can't even buy something like Campbell's tomato soup anymore (which touts a healthy label!) because it contains this crap. The thing is the way HFCS is processed; although it's broken down into a sugar similar to what we get out of cane, the body doesn't process it the same way and it's believed to cause liver damage.

And yeah, I dare you to find a drink from a vending machine, restaurant, etc. in the US that doesn't contain this stuff, an ungodly amount of sugar in general, or chemical sweeteners unless you're getting water. So I'm stuck drinking water, iced tea (whenever it's available plain, many places only have raspberry or lemon with some kind of pre-added sweetener), or occasionally black coffee wherever I go. And I won't even touch juice unless I have a label to read beforehand, as many are no better than soda and contain more HFCS than actual juice. And besides the fact that it can trick and mess with the body, artificial sweeteners like aspartame have been found to be harmful. Heh, that concept never even used to phase me . . .

When I first moved to Nevada a couple years ago I decided I wanted to cut down on my sugar intake. Rey was drinking a lot of soda, so I started picking up diet soda and diet green tea thinking it was a healthier alternative. And developed horrible, horrible headaches. Most of the time it wasn't so bad, it just felt like my head was in a fog, but when it got really bad I found myself bed-ridden due to the blinding pain, sometimes for as long as a week. I couldn't watch TV, couldn't read, couldn't eat, couldn't even sleep, about all I could do was draw the curtains, turn off all the lights, and hold a pillow over my head in hopes that the pain would somehow ease up. I used to chalk it up to allergies, an out-of-date eye prescription, the change in climate, the stress of moving and everything else I'd gone through. Unfortunately it took months to figure out the real issue was aspartame, which is recognized as "safe" by the FDA. And it's not only in diet drinks and products, they put it in "regular" food items to bring the calorie count down and often put the stuff in lip gloss and balms, toothpaste, mouthwash, even medicine! It's one of the many reasons I have to read the labels of *everything.* Aspartame is also unstable, as it can break down into formaldehyde if heated . . . heh, and it's interesting when you consider that my dad had to read shampoo and hairspray labels back in the 80's and 90's to watch out for formaldehyde, which would give him headaches upon use.

It's insane what they allow to be added to food and drinks these days . . . which is why I do my best to eat fresh, whole foods whenever possible and only eat the processed crap when really I don't have any other options.

[pap64]

Enigawing: As an FYI, not saying that anyone trying to lose weight is being foolish in following these diets and I understand how trying to lose weight and it not working can lead to desperation hopelessness. But what I am saying is that if you let your own fears, frustrations and insecurities take over you while trying to lose weight it WILL become even harder to lose your weight and your health will be affected.

[Disney Guru]

Sorry had worded my reply wrong. I just meant that I think its kind of a joke, granted a good plan but struck me as funny kind of like if McDonald's made a Healthy Choice Double Quarter Pounder.

[Mayhem]

Kris told me she thought the reason for use of HFCS was because corn production was subsidised by the Government. Looks like she was on the right lines then. It's not as if we have huge amounts of sunny weather here, so any sugar we add in manufacturing is imported anyhow, so I guess it doesn't matter so much which type is it; I suppose sugar cane might be used because of our links to countries where it is grown (India mostly I figure).

In getting away from HFCS in drinks, I'll often order a beer instead in the US. Is that a lesser of two evils now? Heh... though imported beer mind you most of the time; I find the pasteurisation process kills the taste for me on American beers sadly.

Unfortunately it took months to figure out the real issue was aspartame

If I'd known about your issues back then, I would have immediately suggested the diet soda as cause; someone else I know suffered exactly the same symptoms with exactly the same reason and stopped drinking diet sodas as a result. Plus, as you said, then having to start label reading afterwards. Almost as bad as gluten intolerance at times... which coupled with an allergy to certain milk proteins (which another good friend of mine has both) then it really buggers up your potential diet in life.

Unfortunately aspartame is the most widely used sweetener over here in the UK as well (partly due to American drinks manufacturers) although sucrolose is gaining ground. And yeah, I know about the formaldehyde link as well... another reason I stopped having diet sodas.