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Home 
Diets
Meal Based
QUICK FACTS
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BACKGROUND
PRO
CON
DIET and NUTRITION
EXERCISE
CONCLUSION
Common Misspellings
Whats better than
Special K Challenge?
Diets
Meal Based
Special K Challenge Review (UPDATED 2024): Don't Buy Before You Read This!
Are you up for this special challenge?
Top Rated Diet Shakes of 2024QUICK FACTS
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- Established: Parent company Kellogg’s in 1906
- Founder: Will Keith Kellogg
- Stock Symbol: K
- Headquarters: Battle Creek, Michigan
- Accessibility: Online communities, book
- Diet Type: Low-calorie, two meals per day replaced with cereal
- Gender: Female
Do You Know the Best Diet Shakes of 2024?
BACKGROUND
You've probably seen the commercials - excited women dancing around with bowls of Special K cereal. You probably don't get this enthused after your morning breakfast, but does yours help you lose weight?
The Special K Challenge says that if you'll follow their simple dietary guidelines, including two bowls of Special K cereal each day, you can lose up to six pounds in just two weeks.
The Special K Challenge promotes a community effort, by partnering with Yahoo Health. There you can join the Special K Challenge group, to participate in forums and chats with other challengers and access weight loss tips.
You're advised to visit with your doctor before beginning the Special K Challenge.
PRO
- A simple approach
- interactive online community at Yahoo Groups
- Fast approach to weight loss that is relatively healthy
- High fiber diet
CON
- Lacking in balanced nutrition
- A temporary solution
Provides little guidance for planning dinner meals
DIET and NUTRITION
The Special K Challenge is much like a meal replacement diet. You'll begin the day with a bowl of Special K cereal for breakfast with skim milk and fruit. Then replace your typical lunch with a bowl of Special K cereal. You'll then enjoy the dinner of your choosing - the healthier the better. Throughout the day you should consume plenty of fruits and vegetables to replace unhealthy snacks.
Special K has a variety of cereals and snacks to help you stay committed to the program. There are six cereals including Red Berries, Vanilla Almond and Chocolatey Delight. There are also many flavors and varieties of snack bars, protein meals, diet shakes, cereal bites and bars. Plus, the recent addition of Special K2O Protein water in refreshing flavors like Strawberry Kiwi and Lemon Twist. It should be noted that some of these food items, like the protein bars, contain partially hydrogenated oils- which means they are a source of trans fats.
EXERCISE
There is not any guidance provided from Special K regarding exercise.
CONCLUSION
If you're looking for something to jump-start your weight loss, maybe you can try this for a week or two. Maybe it will be a physiological boost for you to continue. Otherwise, the idea of an obviously temporary eating plan seems like a losing proposition. Be sure to read the food labels of all of the Special K items as you'll want to avoid the ones that list partially hydrogentated oil in the ingredients, as this is a source of trans fats.
Common Misspellings
Special K Deit, Special K Diet, Special K Challenge Diet, special k diets
How Does Special K Challenge Compare?- Product Name
- User Rating
- Has Good Appetite Suppressant
- Has Only Natural Components
- Good Taste
- 18Shake
(Editor’s Choice) - 97/100
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Special K Challenge?
User Feedback
(Page 6 of 10, 191 total comments)Angel
I am starting the challenge tommorrow, so hopefully I can pull through it and stick with it. I just had my second son and I really need to lose 38 pounds. I know its alot but hopefully I can lose it all with the help of this diet. If this works I'm telling everyone!
posted Jan 4th, 2009 11:30 pmnickie
+im trying it starting today!
posted Jan 2nd, 2009 8:34 pmLanie
-The problem with this diet is not so much that it doesn't help you lose weight; it's that it doesn't help you lose weight in a healthy manner. Not to align the two precisely, but consider for a moment: If an anorexic person skips two meals a day, or eats only a banana or an apple, for two weeks, of course she'll lose weight and could easily drop a size or more, but she won't be healthy by a long shot. Losing weight isn't the only thing to be aimed for with a diet or weight-loss regiment. If a person wants to lose weight, they not only shouldn't try to do it only by modifying their diet, but they shouldn't be able to do so. Exercise is critical for healthily shedding fatty pounds. And eating healthy food is the way to prevent further unhealthy weight gain or moderation and even help drop unwanted weight, not cutting potentially healthful meals down to a bare minimum of cereal and milk.
posted Dec 30th, 2008 10:27 pmKitson
+I did the Special K Diet for 2 weeks and I was also doing turbo jam for 45 mins a day. I lost 10lbs during that period on the diet. I would have continued but I got the flu and had to stop. I'm planning on starting back Monday.
posted Dec 27th, 2008 5:55 amChelle
+I'm looking at the part that says you lose 2 inches. I have been 120 forever and I'm ok with that, but I had a baby and want to get rid of that lower pudge that won't go away. Anyone seeing an actual smaller waistline? I started yesterday (19 Nov) and I'm doing well 2 days into it. If it works, I'll write back.
posted Nov 20th, 2008 4:39 pmtk
+I certainly hope this works cuz I really want to shed those extra pounds.
posted Nov 17th, 2008 5:26 pmKimberly
+I think that I just might try it!
posted Nov 11th, 2008 6:58 pmke ke
+i like the diet but i wondered if i could do this again i did i once but i mgonna tri one more time im gonna stay consistant
posted Nov 5th, 2008 8:42 amalanka
+does it really work? because i worked out for a while and did not see any results, i would love for this to work. i hope its healthy also.
posted Nov 4th, 2008 10:49 ambritt
+do we have to use skimmed milk??? is no fat milk okay??
posted Oct 26th, 2008 4:43 pmmee
+yay!!!
posted Oct 9th, 2008 3:45 pmshannon
I started the diet last week and lost 5 pounds already. It works.
posted Sep 29th, 2008 8:40 amColin
Listen, this diet does work! I am down from a portly 131lbs. to a slim 84lbs. It has taken me 6 months but there is no way I am stoping now!! Just a bowl of Special K in the morning and for dinner with a sensible lunch. I highly reccomend it!!
posted Sep 18th, 2008 2:49 pmanonymous
The Special K diet can work. I have lost 26 pounds in about 2 months. I have given up all sodas INCLUDING DIET. Also take a multivitamin everyday, walk 30 minutes per day. The protein meal bars are my lunch along with a small can of v8 and a small yogurt. It is true your body does have to adjust to the smaller portion sizes, but you can get more servings of fruit and vegetables. Really 12 servings or fruits a vegetables are recommended normally. Remember to check the portion sizes though. I am going back on the diet starting today and I did not gain my weight back while not following the diet for about 6 weeks. Good luck!!! And by the way I started at 218 pounds.
posted Sep 15th, 2008 5:07 pmmeka
i have been reading everyone's comments. some are encouraging and some are not. i tried the special k diet a few years ago only for the two weeks and lost 8 lbs. i am about to start it again because with the cereal, snacks, fruit and water, and your choice of a healthy dinner it will work. my thing is will it be safe to try for a few months?
posted Sep 5th, 2008 8:26 pmshelley
I started the special K diet earlier this year, just for a week to try it out, and I lost 7 lbs in a week. Though, along with eating two bowls of cereal a day..I ate what I wanted to eat for dinner! Chinese food, whatever..but I also worked out for an hour each day..and you really need to lay off sodas while on any diet..and drink water..and even milk is good for you. It's a great diet, I think and I'm about to start it back.
posted Aug 20th, 2008 5:10 pmcat
I'm looking forward to trying this, i love cereal and i'm not one of those people who never eat breakfast. I don't usually eat special K though, I usually eat weatabix :)
posted Aug 20th, 2008 5:10 pmDee
I was on the Special K thing for a little over a week. I lost about 7 lbs in less than a week. I only ate a bowl a day, as a snack and ate a small portion of salad for lunch but sometimes I skip lunch and I just have a sandwich bag full of the dry cereal. I also exercised like 1.5-2 hours a day excluding the weekends. I had to stop eating Special K because one day, my friends were having chinese food and since they didn't want me grubbing on salad while they had a feast, I skipped my salad and only ate half of the chinese food. Later that night, I felt weird and ended up puking the whole night including the next morning & afternoon. Aparently, I had the stomach flu and was running a high fever. Special K is a decent way to go but I think I went overboard. Plus, I don't believe in buying the special K granola bars/water. A waste of money. Now I'm back on a new diet. Basically, I just eat salad when i'm hungry or craving for something. I lost 5 lbs in 4 days (with an hour of exercise a day)
posted Aug 19th, 2008 9:06 ambam
I have been on the special k diet for two weeks and tomarrow is weigh in day, last week I lost 4.5 lbs, and did not have a problem sticking to the plan. I eat the 2 bowls, 2 snacks and 2 cups of fruit during the day, for dinner I eat a lean cuisine and a cup of veg. After reading the comments above it seems to me that the people who are having the easiest time of this plan are the ones who incorporate fruits and veggies. way to go everyone who is sticking with it and I would def encourage anyone just thinking about it to try it!!!
posted Aug 17th, 2008 11:11 pmGeorge
I have been on the diet for 4 days now, have lost 5 lbs. I eat the special k with strawberries for breakfast with soymilk, snack on dry cereal all day and eat another bowl at dinner with soy milk. Then do 30 min of cardio at gym at 20 in the steam room. I feel great! Oh, plus i do 70-90 crunches, 10-20 pushups and 20 reverse lifts for back of the arm toning. just need to stop eating the unhealthy, greasy food and eat. plus, a normal food day once a week is always a good thing. dont starve your body of things it needs too much. that's how you crash and binge eat then gain it all back.
posted Aug 12th, 2008 5:23 pm