Chef Boyardee Diet?

johnlent · January 2013

So I have had some amazing success over the last 29 days or so with a somewhat bizarre but not hyper-restrictive or unhealthy diet plan. The easiest way to explain it: I eat one multivitamin and three cans of Chef Boyardee per day (roughly 1500-1600 calories daily). In addition I drink lots of water and get and average of 12 miles of jogging in each week.

How can that possibly be healthy you say? Well apparently the newest science is that its not high sodium that kills you, its sodium that is out of balance with potassium.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/507014-the-relationship-between-potassium-and-sodium/

So, a typical can of Chef Boyardee has 520 calories, 1200mg of Sodium and 1380mg of Potassium (Whole Grain Mini ABCs & 123s with Meatballs).

It's also pretty evenly balanced in terms of fat/protein/carbs - gives you just under 1/3 of your daily recommended values of each.

I know, common sense says that much processed food cannot be good, but I've lost 19 pounds in 29 days, my blood pressure is 116/73 and I feel great.

Any thoughts/comments/suggestions?

dwh77tx · January 2013

Yes you may lose weight, but are you going to do this for the rest of your life? Probably not. So, at some point you will need to start eating regularly again. What about fresh veggies and fruit? I wouldn't do this for long...

ctalimenti · January 2013

LMAO! I LOVE THAT STUFF!!!!

johnlent · January 2013

Well, the fitness change (running in half marathons etc.) I certainly intend to keep up for the rest of my life if I can. Once I get down to a healthy weight, the plan is to slowly move to a more traditional diet that involves more fresh vegetables and less processed food. For a 6' tall fella like me that means somewhere in the range of 180-185 lbs. So probably will keep this up through March/April.

Did I mention I am not experiencing cravings? If I get a little hungry in between meals I'll do like 1/4 -1/2 cup of granola.

And of course, its $3 per day. Can't beat that!

LittleMissDover · January 2013

I think you should follow up with the Twinkie diet.

johnlent · January 2013

Sadly there are no more twinkies. Once yodels and twinkies ceased to exist I lost all interest in sugary snacks. :laugh:

LittleMissDover · January 2013

I'm British, I never had the pleasure of eating a Twinkie.......

johnlent · January 2013

Oh, now that is just sad. No wonder Hostess went of business. They clearly missed the boat on the international market.

mhk0719 · January 2013

I will say CONGRATS on your weight loss! I had never heard of anyone doing the "Chef Boyardee diet". My boys love that stuff!

Acg67 · January 2013

Who'd a thunk, undereating would result in weight loss?

akern1987 · January 2013

That is kind of amazing...I love chef boyardee, but never thought it would be a good idea while trying to lose weight...you sir have inspired me, lol!

johnlent · January 2013

Who'd a thunk, undereating would result in weight loss?

Obviously going from 2000+ cals per day to 1500 cals per day is going to be effective. The trick is finding a way to easily watch those calories, in a way that is inexpensive and enjoyable.

PS: When Im at a healthy weight, maintaining it should require about 1800 calories a day. That's what Im eating now, plus a power bar.

johnlent · January 2013

That is kind of amazing...I love chef boyardee, but never thought it would be a good idea while trying to lose weight...you sir have inspired me, lol!

Definitely read the labels, not all cans are created equal. Whole grain lasagna? Awesome. Chili Mac? Not so much.

I would also warn anyone that a large part of why its okay for me to eat so much sodium is that Im in training for a half marathon in NYC this march. Long distance running you sweat out a lot of electrolytes that need to be replenished.

Without exercise I definitely would not be comfortable eating that much salt.

bpmartyr · January 2013

Impossible. Only clean foods cause weight loss. Eating processed food will make you gain weight, even in a deficit, duh.

Sarcasm Sheldon

Sweet_Potato · January 2013

I don't like processed foods personally, and haven't had a can of Chef Boyardee since I was 6 years old, but I don't see this being a problem health-wise. But do you actually enjoy eating this stuff all the time? There are so many delicious foods out there that I think it's sad you're avoiding them all.

GCLyds · January 2013

How boring and unimaginative. I think I would be sick of it after one day. Whatever keeps you at a deficit will help you lose weight. I cant imagine doing this long term.

714rah714 · January 2013

Did you ever see that brown substance in their ravioli, I think they called it meat, from what animal, I don't know

johnlent · January 2013

To be fair, I also have gone for extended periods of time in my life eating nothing but military Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's). And I assure you they are much more processed, less flavorful, and quite literally leave a bad taste in your mouth pretty quickly. By comparison this has a lot of variety, and I can add spices like basil, pepper etc. to get some more and different flavors as the mood strikes me.

But hey, Ive been doing it almost a month and I dont feel the need to stop any time soon, so whatever works right? Not really that different from Mr Subway, Jared.

johnlent · January 2013

Did you ever see that brown substance in their ravioli, I think they called it meat, from what animal, I don't know

Ha! In most of their food, the "meat" is a combo of chicken pork beef and soy protein. But then again, before I started doing this I had no problem with Taco Bell, Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs or Taylor Ham (Pork Roll) - so who am I to judge?

Erin_goBrahScience · January 2013

babyblooz · January 2013

Ew, no. :noway: I'll just keep eating fresh food, thanks!

darkguardian419 · January 2013

calories in vs calories out...

amazing.

ricky_j_b · January 2013

haters gonna hate,if it works,and is short term no harm,I bet once you get close to your goal weight it will be harder to do the can diet,,,,
good luck!!