85 pounds lost on Starbucks Diet

Mandino788

What are your thoughts on this?

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/starbucks-diet-one-woman-dropped-80-pounds-coffee-211600454.html

Christine Hall went from a size Grande to a size Tall. That's Starbucks-speak for a dramatic weight loss. The Virginia-based law librarian has spent the past two years buying almost all of her meals from the coffee chain. On Thursday, in an interview with The Today Show, Hall claimed to have lost 76 pounds by sticking to a self-designed Starbucks-only diet. That's some serious brand-commitment.

It all started some two years back when Hall was rejected as a kidney donor because of her weight. At 200 pounds, an invasive surgery was too risky for her 5 foot 4 inch frame. So she turned to an unexpected place for help: a fast food chain. (And no, it wasn't Subway.)

Starbucks strikes deal with cupcake stars

Starbucks, the home of the whipped cream coffee drink, is not exactly a dieter's haven. But with the chain conveniently located near Hall's two jobs, and a calorie count listed on every item behind the sneeze-guard, the 66-year-old saw the potential.

On an average day, she'd start with a 145 calorie breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and grab a bistro box of fruit and cheese for lunch. For dinner, she'd dig into a panini.

She began tracking her calorie intake in May of 2010 and by November, she had dropped 40 pounds thanks to a lot of bistro boxes.

Restricting her diet to as little as 876 calories a day in order to drop 2 pounds a week, couldn't have been easy for Hall. In the past few years, Starbucks has become more of a milkshake shop than a coffee bar. A 24 oz Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha (Whole Milk, Whipped Cream) will set you back 700 calories, and that's without the side of food. What's another 490 calories from a walnut zucchini muffin at that point?

Starbucks secret menu food

Most of the bakery options glistening behind the counter range between 350 and 450 calories. But heartier offerings are a better investment. Paninis and sandwiches range between 340 and 460 calories, while bistro boxes of fruit and cheese or veggies and chicken range from 220 to 480 calories. It's a great option for a low-calorie quickie lunch, but if you're forking over Starbucks dollars three times a day, it could get pricey.

Still, Hall has zero regrets about her diet. A year after she was rejected from being an organ donor, she was given the okay by doctors to partake in a 32-person altruistic kidney swap.

Two years later, she's another 40 pounds lighter, weighing in at 114 pounds. She says she feels like she's 15 again. "I don't hurt anymore," Hall, who suffered from sleep apnea and joint problems at her heaviest, told The Today show. "I sleep like a baby and I have tons of energy. It's great."

Not everyone is as positive about the Starbucks diet. According to Marjorie Nolan Cohn, the national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, the diet is a "set up for disaster." Particularly concerning, says Cohen, is the "lack of variety, which sets you up for malnutrition, even if you are eating enough calories."

"Starbucks has a lot of good options, but if that is all you are eating for two years you are severely limiting your intake," she tells Yahoo! Shine. "I think most other people would get bored and end up binging at some point. Not to mention the cost. This is simply not a realistic 'diet' for most people."

Consider Brett Bruce, a 35-year-old marketing consultant and father of two, who embarked on his own Starbucks diet in March of 2010. On a 30-day challenge to lose weight without exercising, he subsisted strictly on Starbucks food in the hopes of dropping the pounds. His blog starbucksdiet.com, which tracked his progress, ended with a disappointing update.

"I do feel as if I may have plateau'd a bit," he writes on day 21, after dropping about 6 pounds from his 217 pound frame in the first 2 weeks. While he did credit the chain with getting him to eat more fruit than he ordinarily would have, he admits, "my weight has remained the same all week." That post, uploaded 9 days before his challenge ended, was his last update.

gwild0r

of course this diet doesn't mention that she spent 300,000$ over 2 years to follow it..

fat2fit4good

and this proves that weight is all about math: calories in - calories out.... how boring though....

livitup85

Having worked at a Starbucks throughout my university years, this post intrigued me.
Thanks!!!

LCBinGA

Couldn't you do the same at any place that lists food content? Was in Panera the other day and noticed they list theirs on the big menu board! Could do the same there. Like the Subway guy, same concept.

So what we've learned is if you keep count of intake, along with water, and exercise it could lead to weight loss....hhmmm, someone should make a website off that idea -- oh wait they have MFP and many others. only difference is she has the big company name Starbuck's . . . imagine that!

mfpcopine

Some people do better on a repetitive diet with known food quantities.

HealthylivingTIG

wow... once you have committed yourself to a cause, you can make anything happen. I would have never considered starbucks to be the food of choice for a diet. This woman made it happen for herself... good for her.

YoungDoc2B

Imagine all the money she spent on this, when there were definitely cheaper ways to accomplish the same goal (probably quicker, too). Yes, she may have lost the weight, but how healthy is she on the inside?

mfpcopine

and this proves that weight is all about math: calories in - calories out.... how boring though....

For some people, lack of variety is helpful. Whatever works.

rmk20togo

of course this diet doesn't mention that she spent 300,000$ over 2 years to follow it..

↑↑ This explains this ↓↓

But with the chain conveniently located near Hall's two jobs...

:laugh: :laugh:

keithmustloseweight

You could just go on the Twinkie diet too. Doesn't mean it's good for you, but you'll still lose weight.

Treece68

Apparently Lawyers can afford to go the Starbucks every day I wonder how much she has spent.

kristin_jenkins

The article mentions that on some days she restricted her diet to 878 or so calories. A human body can barely function on that! Any diet that is unhealthy is not worth it... sure she may lose weight, but at what cost to other muscle and organs? Fail.

Kelley528

Starbucks diet ----whatever. It's an expensive habit to keep. It just proves its all about the calories. She could have lost all the weight by preparing the same meals herself.

Luckily here in New York all chain restaurants are required to list their calories on their menus so it makes eating out very easy, that is on the rare occasion I eat out. The cheapskate in me make my own meals and snakcs 3x a day.

daffodilsoup

Most overpriced diet ever.

mfpcopine

Starbucks diet ----whatever. It's an expensive habit to keep. It just proves its all about the calories. She could have lost all the weight by preparing the same meals herself.

Well, she didn't, and many people seem to have trouble losing weight just by preparing their own meals. There's obviously more to it than that. Maybe she got a boost from the camaraderie and familiarity of Starbucks.

Good for her.

NicolePatriot

876 calories a day? Geesh.

lizziebeth1028

There is no magic about Starbucks or Subway or any other food chain. It's all about staying in calorie deficit. And I have to agree with everyone else....most expensive diet ever. The morning oatmeal alone is 3 something and it appears she wasn't even eating all the goodies that go along with it (dried fruit, brown sugar and nuts)....that is a lot of money to pay for a plain unflavored pack of oatmeal. You can get a whole box of generic for 3 bucks.

Anyway...it does show however....where there is a will there is a way!!

1holegrouper

Its just a "me too" publicity stunt. Just like "Jared" at Subway she hopes to make money off this. Sure, you can lose weight on anything but you don't see Jared taking his shirt off and you don't want to see this lady in a bikini either.

derekj222

of course this diet doesn't mention that she spent 300,000$ over 2 years to follow it..

most definitely! this is being SO lazy too...not making any of your own meals, not doing anything for yourself. I think any anyone ate meals/drinks break/lunch/dinner and can see the calories would be able to lose the weight...question in...once she stops this, will she know what to eat at home or will she spend the rest of her life eating Starbucks?

derekj222

Its just a "me too" publicity stunt. Just like "Jared" at Subway she hopes to make money off this. Sure, you can lose weight on anything but you don't see Jared taking his shirt off and you don't want to see this lady in a bikini either.

LOLOL! True

EvgeniZyntx

Blergh on her "food" choice. I had a muffin there this morning.

If I used them as a primary source of food I'd off myself creatively.
Death by small wooden stick, death by coffee cup cuts, death by free bad music, death by plastic container stuffed down throat.
Death by choking on the word "Venti" or "Trenta".

squankmuffin

Eck! What is her blood pressure like?

1FitMom326

The article mentions that on some days she restricted her diet to 878 or so calories. A human body can barely function on that! Any diet that is unhealthy is not worth it... sure she may lose weight, but at what cost to other muscle and organs? Fail.

This is exactly what I was thinking. When you restrict your calories that much you are losing... fat and muscle. If all you ate was M&M's and restricted your calories you will lose weight it doesn't mean it is the best way.

silvergurl518

of course this diet doesn't mention that she spent 300,000$ over 2 years to follow it..

exactly. starbucks = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

WhatDoesLisa

" In the past few years, Starbucks has become more of a milkshake shop than a coffee bar. "

I can't get past this line. But good for her I guess!

lizziebeth1028

The article mentions that on some days she restricted her diet to 878 or so calories. A human body can barely function on that! Any diet that is unhealthy is not worth it... sure she may lose weight, but at what cost to other muscle and organs? Fail.

878 calories a day :noway: That's unhealthy! The weight loss had nothing whatsoever to do with Starbucks and everything to do with severe calorie restriction.

vtmoon

This is not dieting, this is called dying very slowly, lol.

MelidaTatiana

That is a disciplined lady!

jenillawafer

Sounds expensive.

mfpcopine

It's odd how so many people here keep making cracks about Starbucks's high-calorie food when the excerpt states that the would-be kidney donor stuck to the healthier items on the menu. Sure, if you eat a Starbucks pastry every day washed down by a Venti whole milk Frappuccino with whipped cream you will not lose weight.

But that's not what she did. She found a method that was convenient (near her two jobs), familiar, and reliable. She apparently could afford it, and, as I said before, there may have been some extra benefit to going to the same store or stores. Most baristas at Starbucks try to anticipate your order if you go in there so much as twice. The atmosphere is much nicer than that of a Subway, a McDonalds or a Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Obviously, this was an unusual diet, which is why it was news. But it's not crazy. And she met her goal, which was to get down to a weight at which she could help someone.

No matter how many times people on this site say you have to figure out what works for you, some people do not get it.