Weight Loss News

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to start a diet and lose weight? Or begin a weight loss program and get more fit? Taco Bell's Drive-Thru-Diet® may give you the convenience of eating-on-the-go while watching your calories.

The Taco Bell Drive-Thru-Diet® features Christine Dougherty, their diet campaign spokesperson. Taco Bell's special Drive-Thru-Diet website features the benefits of the Fresco Menu and Christine's success story. She says she lost 54 pounds by choosing the "Fresco" items; each item contains less than nine grams of fat.

The website also features a gallery of the "after" slim and fit-looking Christine and a couple of glimpses of the "before" Christine. Her diet plan included a reduction of total daily calorie intake to 1,250 calories (she cut out 500 calories from her previous eating habits) over two years. Unlike Subway's Jared, who ate only from Subway, Christine's weight loss is an "exceptional experience" based on her 1,250 calorie plan with "sensible food choices," however those choices aren't explained. Also not explained is how much of the daily 1,250 calories came from the Fresco menu or if she included an exercise plan.

Taco Bell's site does not claim that the Drive-Thru-Diet is a weight loss program nor the items on the Fresco menu are "low calorie." By ordering from the Fresco menu, dieters can reduce 20-100 calories per item compared to the regular menu items. Further, Taco Bell advises, "for a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise."

The website also offers nutritional content so dieters can research whether driving through is a wise choice for the weight loss program they are on. Fast food is already notorious for having more sodium than home-prepared foods. The sodium content for several Fresco items are over 1,200 mg; the USDA recommended daily allowance is less than 2,300 daily, so one burrito could give dieters over half of the daily allowance in one serving. Vitamin and mineral measures are not provided.

Your weight loss plan may include the Fresco items like Christine enjoyed, but while it may seem you can lose weight just by eating the Taco Bell Drive-Thru-Diet®, remember that a successful weight loss program includes healthy food choices that incorporates balanced USDA nutritional content as well as a consistent exercise and fitness component.