At the beginning of the new year, many people are diet-conscious. That makes it a good time to promote new weight loss products.
So, don’t be surprised if you are bombarded with ads for Kellogg’s new protein water called Special K2O Protein Water.
It seems to be a diet drink to help you lose some significant weight rather quickly. “Losing up to 6 lbs in 2 weeks* Just Got Easier” the ad proclaims. [SmartSource insert 1/7/07]
When one follows the asterisk after the weight loss claim, one discovers that losing that weight has little to do with consuming the advertised water:
*MOUSE PRINT:
So it is not that you drink this protein water to lose six pounds, but rather you must eat two bowls of cereal (presumably Special K) instead of two regular meals per day. The water helps account possibly for the extra pound of weight loss in their claim if used as a substitute for other higher calorie snacks, but it certainly is not the means to lose the six pounds promoted.
Using the Kellogg’s philosophy, a computer company could advertise a laptop and claim it will help you lose up to six pounds (if you eat cereal for two meals a day, and lug around the computer from place to place daily).
Special K2O water, incidentally, contains 50 calories; sugar, whey, and artificial sweetener per 16 oz. bottle. The whey contributes only five grams of protein, which is what you would get from drinking a mere five ounces of milk. And, the protein water is not cheap — it is $1.25 to $1.50 per bottle on sale.
I think there are actually multiple levels to this mouse print. Or maybe just Post’s mouse print and not Kellogg’s: the back of my box of Post Grape-nuts advertises “Eat 2, Lose 10!” saying that over half the people who eat Post cereals for 2 meals a day lost an average of 11 pounds over some period of time (like a month or 6 weeks, I forget.)
But that’s only step 1. Step 2 is “focus on portion control” in your remaining meal, “as part of a low-calorie diet”, and step 3 is “increase physical activity.”
So basically, all you have to do is diet and exercise AND eat two bowls of Post(tm) cereal per day and you’ll lose weight. I’m thinking one of those ingredients isn’t actually necessary to the equation. One thing’s for sure…. if I’m going to be keeping two of my meals under 300 calories, I’m getting a chef’s salad or something for one of them, even if it has fat free dressing on it.
I’m also thinking that the bowl they show on the front of the Grape-nuts box might represent about 6 or 7 of the bowls you would be eating on their “plan”, but what’s a little creative photography between partners in healthy living?
I may just be nitpicking, but if I’m reading this right…
“Average weight loss when replacing meals with two cereal meals is 5 pounds.”
…it sounds like you’d have to replace all *three* daily meals with *two* cereal meals. Ugh!
This is a crock. Kellogg’s should be ashamed of themselves!
What surprises me is that companies simply don’t seem to have any shame anymore. They’ll put any claim on a package, mostly false, but as long as it sells, they’re ok with it. Is honesty such an old thing?
We should all call Kellogg’s and say “When I bought this K2O water, I thought I was buying Potassium Oxide. This is false advertising and I want my money back!”
It’s still not as bad as the claim that oatmeal “actually goes in and soaks up excess cholesterol”
I’ve got an idea, just replace all three meals with a single 2 liter bottle of soda…
You’ll lose a *lot* weight that way, and it doesn’t even have to be diet!
Man, I feel sorry for your pancreas if you do that….
Why is anyone so shocked. There are so many bald faced lies in this area that it isn’t even funny. Weight loss is simple. You must consume less calories than you expend. That is all there is to it; no magic secret.
BTW, the body is 70% water. Losing 5 pounds is chinch. Keeping the weight off is mmuch harder.
The real shame here however is not the companies lies. It is the American people themselves who have always been kind to a crank vending a panacea. Consumers can demand the truth; they would rather not. If Americans liked the truth Las Vegas and Walt Disney World would not exist.
Shame on you America! Bunch of worthless cons.
Here’s my ad:
“Lose up to 15 pounds in a week.
Simply replace all of your meals with equal portions of our product…the original, pure *** H20 ***
You’ll find yourself invigorated, energized, and (epsecially) hydrated.
Watch the pounds just melt right off. In a month you can lose up to 60 pounds…and no virtually side-effects. Only $7.95 per pint.”
Daniel’s comment is highly “off color, impolite” and “objectionable”. If he wishes to comment on the mouse print he is more than welcome, but he needs to leave his political and nationalistic ideals off his comments. I expect his post to be removed immediately!
EDGAR REPLIES: The comment rules were posted after Daniel’s comment was published. And frankly, I am considering turning off comments because too many people feel it necessary to comment on one another’s postings, call other posters “morons” or “idiots”, raise politics or religion, etc., rather than sticking to making comments about the advertisement in question.
I don’t about anyone else. But I’ll take the coupon and check this out. Maybe it is good, and maybe its worth it, but no one will know until they try it. The mouse print is an insurance, because we all know if they didnt have it there, then they could be sued.(The whole coffee is hot issure)
The drink contains 5 grams of protein that is a little less than an egg, and about the same as skim milk. Now as Edgar states that it contains 50 grams(I assume when he says 50 he means grams) of whey that translates into 2.07 carbs, .18g Fat, .423g Protein, 28.5mg Calcium. Now that is in whey alone.
In addition, liquid whey contains lactose, vitamins, and minerals. See the problem here is you want to complain about something. Kellogg’s says it is protein water, and that is EXACTLY what it is. It is NOT a replacement for milk. And I dont know about you but I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and I could eat one for lunch instead of buying McDonalds, so there are two. deal with it.
EDGAR REPLIES: “50” is “50 calories”, not grams.
“contains 50 calories, sugar, whey, and artificial… ”
50 Sugar?
50 Whey?
..etc..
EDGAR REPLIES: Per 16 oz bottle, there are 50 calories. Some of the contents include whey, sugar….
Sorry to break the news… Anybody can lose weight consuming only two (2) bowls of cereal a day.
its not just two bowls of cereal a day get your facts right before crying about iy.its two bowls of cereal and another meal.. i have actually started it… and a friend of mine told me she lost 35 ponds doing this… now why do you people even care if your not even on or going to try this diet out???
K20, I don’t think the point is whether or not the diet works…the point is that this was an advertisement for WATER that claims to make it easier to lose weight, and the way that you lose weight when drinking the water is by EATING CEREAL! 😛
This was featured tonight on ABC’s 20/20
Well, my husband has lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks, and the only change he has made is drinking Special K2O instead of Mountain Dew. He does not like plain water or other flavored waters or diet sodas so this works.
Regarding the commercial about replacing one of the Kellogg’s waters for a high calorie coffee drink – If a person is thirsty they don’t order a coffe drink – they want coffee. that water is not a replacement when you want coffee- that commercial is sort of ignorant. Who came up with thatup with tat commercial concept is insulting the intelligence of the public.
i tried this “Special k challenge” thing and it did work, but it olny works if you eat cereal 3 times a day for ALL meals….. actually, you can eat any cereal 3 time a day.. so theres no point on spending 6$ on Special k cereal when you can buy some for like 3$
I think Kelloggs atre trying to pull the wool over some peoples eyes.
I bought the powder form of the K2O water, pink lemonade flavor. I like the
fact it has 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. I sweetened my drink
with Splenda, so it only has about 30 calories for a 16.9 oz. bottle. I needed
more protein and more fiber in my diet, and more fluids (I hate plain water)
so I think this is a great product. I eat fewer than 1200 calories a day, and
exercise almost every day of the week to maintain my weight, so I like
the fact I can add more protein and fiber to my diet without adding a lot of
calories.
Ok- this is a true question. What happens if I replace 2 meals with K2O? Or if that is all I drink/eat? What would happen to me in two weeks- if- I didn’t eat the recommended cereal. Or- what if I just ate the cereal, fruit, and then Special K2O? How harsh are the side-effects of having a diet that still does contain calories, protein, sugar, etc? It doesn’t seem to bad really. And- i love the taste of the K2O. I have a fridge full. I may try this.
Basically, the key to any weight loss program is proper diet and exercise.
Proper diet consists of a balanced nutrition. Exercise consists of more than
lifting a drink (water or otherwise) or a fork from the table to your mouth.
This protein water is considered a substitute. For a person that cannot tolerate
milk or plain water, this is a good ‘subtitute’ for the protein you would get from
the milk or not drinking water at all. I believe that crash diets are a result
of our societal need for instant gratification. The true path to success is
balance and discipline. I have lost weight on crash diets only to put it right
back on. By utilizing nutrition and regular exercise, I have lost over 100
pounds (and counting). Yes I was one of america’s statistics… But I am not
anymore! Special K is not doing anything different than Slim Fast, Alli, or
anyother company out there with a ‘quick fix’ to weight loss. Any of them may
work temporarily and, depending on the person, may be a good start. But if you
are going to really loose weight and maintain your health in the process, you
need to consider the USDA guidelines for nutrition. It may be a longer process
but the rewards are much greater. Trust me – I’ve been there! =]
Their claim, even without the mouse print, is true. You can lose wait eating candy if you consume less of it calorically than whatever you were eating in place of it. It isn’t false, it is just irrelevant. All manufactures are going to pitch what works to sell the product. That Kellogg’s and ost and any other cereal manufacturers pitch it this way is simply an indication that consumer’s buy it, both litterally and the marketing pitch.
Replacing two meal a day with cereal is NOT a good idea. It is
way too few calories for ANYONE to eat and ultimately it will
send your body into starvation mode and you won’t lose anything
anyway..other than water weight that is. Basically, if you do it
for a week, yes, you might well lose weight but it’s only going
to be water weight and what is the point of that? It will be
back in 2/3 days. This is a ‘diet’ plain and simple, and as any
sensible person knows DIETS DON’T WORK…take the time to learn
how to eat the correct amount of calories a day in the right
portions and exercise often. Works much better than cereal…
I agree with previous comments made: if one takes in less than they expend they will lose weight regardless of whether or not those calories are in candy, cereal, steak, etc. However, one must also maintain a balanced diet in order to get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients essential for remaining healthy. Losing weight shouldn’t be the only issue, especially if it is placing someone’s health at risk. Eating two bowls of cereal in place of two meals limits one to only one meal/day which could contain any fruits or vegies. I’m not a registered dietician or anything but this sounds unhealthy to me. Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, Weight-Watchers…these are all much more balanced approaches to weight loss. (Alli is a diet pill and not a diet. One must follow a low-fat diet along with it as well as limiting one’s calories).
But drinking Special K as a protein supplement could be wise for those who ARE going on silly low-cal. diets, as it is a means of adding essential protein, whic might have been otherwise missed.
One really must read the label however–there are those who are allergic to whey proteins and milk and could be at great risk by drinking this product. I only learned of these ingredients because i questioned how flavored water could contain protein. If i am to believe what is on the internet, there has already been one death of a 10 year-old child from either this drink or one similar to it…because flavored water seemed harmless enough and so the label wasn’t carefully read.
Yeah.. but if you can get a free pack of special k2o protein water why not testing it out? you can request a free pack on our site.
I don’t think this product should be allowed to be called “protein water” because it only has 5 grams of protein, a miniscule amount when one considers his daily needs.