Taco Bell has launched their new drive thru diet promoting their Fresco Menu. According to the commercial, "eating better just got easier." But does Taco Bell fast food really promote healthier eating or support weight loss? Let's take a look.
The Taco Bell drive thru diet commercial claims that one woman lost over 50 pounds eating Taco Bell Fresco Menu items as part of a healthy diet that averaged 1290 calories a day. Eating anything and staying below 1300 calories a day will likely cause weight loss. Even consuming 1300 calories a day of candy and soda pop a day would lead to weight loss, but that doesn't make them part of a healthy diet.
Taco Bell Fresco Menu items are a little less fattening than their regular menu items from a calorie and fat stand point. But just a little less.
Fresco Crunchy Taco has 150 calories and 7 grams of fat. A regular Taco Bell crunchy taco has 170 calories, and 10 grams of fat. Most nutritionists will tell you a 20 calories and 3 grams of fat difference is minimal. You might as well eat whichever of the two items you prefer. Apparently the Fresco taco sports more salsa and about a teaspoon less cheese when we compared the items side by side.
Other Fresco Menu items fare a bit better in comparison to their regular menu counterparts, but most continue to offer only a minor advantage. As in leave one bite of the regular menu item on your food wrapper and you'll get the same advantage. A regular half pound burrito combo is 450 calories and 18 grams of fat, while the Fresco Menu 1/2 pound burrito is 430 calories and 16 grams of fat. Wow, not exactly an impressive difference. Just an observation, nobody needs to be eating a half a pound of anything at one sitting.
Taco Bell states at their website that the drive thru diet is not a weight loss diet. Fresco Menu items are meant to fit into a healthy eating plan or weight loss diet of your choice. On the other hand, the commercial clearly features a 50 pound weight loss success story and calls their "new" promotion the drive thru "diet." This gives a clear allusion to viewers that the Taco Bell drive thru diet is intended to be viewed as a weight loss approach. The Fresco Menu is not new, has been around awhile, and it's slightly less caloric foods are just that, slightly less.
Bottom line, you can eat fast food and lose weight. Tom Naughton, the director and star of the movie "Fathead" proved this fact. But Tom chose to limit carbohydrates and calories to lose 12 pounds in 28 days. He ate lots of fat including saturated fat. While doing so, he not only lost weight, he improved his cholesterol profile, a common phenomenon with low carbohydrate diets. Saturated fat is not the enemy it's made out to be. But too many calories is definitely a problem for most of us. Too much food is why we're a nation of fatties.
If you decide to eat at Taco Bell, here's a link for a coupon for a free Fresco taco. Enjoy. Just stop at one if you want to lose weight.
Comments
Good article Carol!!
To me, it's just best to avoid the fast food places all together! Cook your own food! On the rare occasion that I'm out, hungry and have nothing to eat, I usually stop in a convenience store and buy some nuts or maybe some jerky.
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Great quick article, hears another that has some tasty and healthy food choices: hubpages.com/hub/Different-kinds-of-foods-to-keep-healthy. Good luck every one in the New Year.
testes
you know what word really needed to be in this piece? SODIUM.
As a Registered Dietitian, I believe that people need to find what works for them when it comes to weight loss. There is not a one size fits all solution to this problem. I also believe that all foods can be enjoyed in moderation in the context of an overall healthy lifestyle. An overall healthy lifestyle requires us to make healthy choices in 4 main areas: nutrition, exercise, stress management and sleep. For more information, see my book, "How To Eat Fried Chicken and Be Thin Too" on Amazon or at strategicbookpublishing.com
I'm going to have to agree with Alcinda. I've gone to fast food places on occasion and will get a bunless burger or something along those lines but it's only when I'm desperate. However, I am not so sure that there's only ground beef in there because I never feel satisfied like I would if I had made the same thing at home. Taco Bell puts very little protein in their menu items and those that are bulkier use rice as a filler, it's not going to keep someone full and satisfied for very long meaning that they are going to get hungry again very soon.
First, recommending fast food "as part of a healthy diet" is a gimmick. No one needs to eat fast food ever. Taco Bell is attempting to bring in customers, not get people to lose weight or eat healthier.
My family still eats out occasionally, but one of us often gets sick. My son missed 5 days of school after getting food poisoning at a restaurant I won't name here. Food sanitation should concern everyone, especially in restaurants where strangers handle your food.
While everyone needs to find their own dieting style, there's no reason fast food has to play a role. You can make tacos, burgers, etc. at home in as little as 20 minutes, and the food will be safer. And you'll know what went into it and whether the chef washed their hands properly.
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