Christine is No Jared Fogle

Posted By elissa on Dec 29, 2009 | 2 comments

Methinks most people recall Jared Fogle, whose dramatic weight loss on the “Subway Diet” helped boost the fortunes of the restaurant chain.  Apparently Taco Bell is taking a leaf from the Subway book, by highlighting another dramatic weight loss story in ads for its lighter “Fresco” menu items. 

Meet Christine, the spokesperson for the “Drive-Thru Diet.”

As you know, the Drive-Thru Diet® menu is not a weight-loss program. It’s about making different choices. For me, I didn’t want to cut out my fast food so I started choosing Fresco items from the Drive-Thru Diet® menu and making other sensible choices. I reduced my daily calorie and fat intake by 500 calories to 1250 calories a day, and, after two years, I ended up losing 54 pounds! These results aren’t typical, but for me they were fantastic!

As you can see, however, Christine’s story is somewhat less dramatic than Jared’s.  Jared actually lived off Subway food, whereas Christine appears only to have included “Fresco” items in an overall balanced, low-calorie diet. This reduced emphasis on Taco Bell’s food is conceded by Taco Bell itself, which echoes Christine’s disclaimer that the so-called “Drive Thru Diet” is NOT an actual weight loss program.

Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell’s Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. For complete nutritional information please visit TacoBell.com.

To put it another way, Christine went on a conventional, low-calorie/low-fat diet, and subbed some of the lighter Taco Bell menu items in place of other fast food fare when she needed a fix.  The LA Times Blog provides some insight:

Christine’s story is a little skimpy on the details – she says in her statement and video that she reduced her total daily calorie intake by 500 calories to 1,250 calories by choosing Fresco items and “making other sensible choices.”

…I’m guessing “other sensible choices,” such as eating carrots as a snack or holding the whipped cream on that caramel macchiato, had much more to do with Christine’s weight loss than the type of tacos that she ate. 

 Also? The blurb on Christine is more loaded with disclaimers than a box of cheese-covered nachos is with empty calories. The Drive-Thru Diet is “not a weight loss program,” Christine says, adding, “These results aren’t typical, but for me they were fantastic!” And in smaller print? Fresco is “not a low calorie food.”

So Taco Bell makes no claims as to its tacos’ special weight-loss capabilities. And since many major fast food chains now offer healthful options, Christine could have just as easily credited McDonald’s Southwest salad with chicken (320 calories) or Burger King’s veggie burger (420 calories). She could even have made that Subway sandwich a wrap to cut down on carbohydrates.

LOL!  Now there’s certainly nothing wrong with incorporating some lighter fast food choices into your fat-loss program… Taco Bell included.  It’s not necessary to live like a secular monk 24/7 to lose excess body fat and keep it off.  So kudos to Christine:  it appears she lost the weight slowly/steadily over a 2 year period, using a plan she could stick with.  But the “Drive-Thru Diet” is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.  As noted by the LAT, it’s simply a matter of keeping tabs on your intake and making sensible choices when you do indulge.  Most fast food and other chain restaurants put their calorie/nutrient info online, so it’s not hard to plan what to order in advance, regardless of which one you visit.