The Subway Diet or the All-Sandwich Plan

Jared Fogel, an overweight Indiana University graduate, lost 245 pounds by following religiously a sandwich diet. It seems almost unbelievable, but Fogel was eating two sandwiches a day, which he was buying from a subway store. Some people think it’s an advertising stunt, but some really believe it’s true.

Fogel has publicly revealed the secret of his successful regimen. For a year, he skipped breakfast and nutritionist criticized this diet, explaining that the necessary amount of nutrients was missing from this Subway diet of his. There are two public versions of this so-called “Subway Diet”.

The first one includes small bowl of cereal with skimmed milk and a black coffee with sweetener instead of sugar for breakfast, a turkey subway sandwich with diet Pepsi for lunch and a vegetarian subway sandwich and water for dinner. An apple, an orange and some water are just fine for a snack. Second version is simpler and it doesn’t include snacks.

Breakfast only includes coffee, lunch consist of a six inch turkey subway sandwich and baked potato chips, and for dinner, a twelve inch vegetarian subway sandwich. There are some advices Fogel gives. He recommends avoiding condiments, cheese and mayonnaise, which are fat, and always drinking low calorie beverages. Also, exercise is included by running to catch the sub.

The pro’s of this diet is that it’s easy to follow and you don’t have to cook if you’re not a fan or if time is precious. The bad things are that it’s not cheap, it can get boring and nutritionists believe it’s a lack of vitamin and minerals, which can lead to lack of energy.

The controversy is written all over this so-called diet. Can the words “fast-food” and “diet” coexist and can this food help you lose weight even though it’s not healthy? One thing is for sure, a limited amount of calorie intake leads to weight loss.