FINGER LICKIN
Weight loss: Fried chicken addict ate nothing but KFC for a week and LOST weight – but it’s not all good news
A FRIED chicken addict ate nothing but KFC for a week - and ended up losing weight.
Mike Jeavons loves the greasy fast food and wanted to see if he still enjoyed the meal if he had it seven days straight.
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In a "Super Size Me" style experiment, he travelled to his local KFC in Bedfordshire on a daily basis to try out every item on the menu.
The 34-year-old spent £105 over the whole week and consumed an average of 2,000kcal every day.
He was surprised to step on the scales at the end of the "experiment" and find out he had lost 2lbs.
However, it wasn't all good news as his salt intake increased to 150 per cent of his recommended dietary allowance and his fat intake increased to a whopping 250 per cent.
Naughty food
Mike said: “I love KFC and wanted to see if I’d still love it if it was all I ate for a week.
“After I stopped the experiment, the week after I felt constantly thirsty and had headaches. I also really missed KFC.
It’s great as an occasional treat, but not something I’d recommend eating every day
Mike Jeavons
“It was a lot of fun eating all this naughty food. Every day I would be really looking forward to mealtimes.
“It’s great as an occasional treat, but not something I’d recommend eating every day. It was fun to do but I wouldn’t want to do it again."
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Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to extend their shelf life.
But this can lead to people eating more than their recommended amounts as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating, according to the NHS.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, nutritionist at the Health and Food Supplements Information Service, said: “Regardless of whether Mr Jeavons lost weight, this is a completely unhealthy diet and shouldn’t be tried by anyone.
"Deep fried junk food and fizzy drinks lack key nutrients for health especially vitamin C (for healing), vitamin D (for immune function), iron (for mental alertness) and calcium (for bones).
This is a completely unhealthy diet and shouldn’t be tried by anyone
Dr Carrie Ruxton
";Weight loss diets should be as balanced as possible to promote general health and wellbeing.
"Taking a daily multivitamin can also be considered to top up the diet”.
Not only that but regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Obesity has been linked to 13 different types of cancer, as well as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Risky
Dietitian Helen Bond said: "If you are obese you are more at risk of obesity related cancers, you are more at risk of heart disease and stroke.
"And also the fat content within junk food is quite high in saturated fats and trans fats and they can increase the risk of bad cholesterol and over time that is not good news for your heart health.
"Obesity is also linked to insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and also type 2 diabetes.
"In the long-term we know too much salt can cause raises in blood pressure."
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On top of that, junk food doesn't contain anywhere near as much fibre as you need to maintain a healthy gut.
"If your diet is very heavily reliant on junk food then it is very difficult to get the 30g of fibre recommended per day," Helen added.
"Your gut bacteria needs food that is nourishing and we are learning more and more about the importance of gut health in relation to things like immunity, to weight to digestive issues.
"For people that have digestive issues where absorption [of vitamins and minerals] is a problem then making sure your gut is as healthy as possible goes hand-in-hand with a high fibre diet.
"There are some people with issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) where a high fibre diet may cause them problems, but generally people should be eating more of it in our diet."
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MORE ON DIET
Obesity levels in the UK have trebled in the last 30 years and about 27 per cent of the UK population is considered obese.
A further 34 per cent are considered overweight, according to the latest Government statistics.
We are officially the fattest nation in Europe - with obesity costing the NHS about £16bn a year.
Top 10 tips to overcome unhealthy cravings
These 10 top tips can help you overcome unhealthy cravings, or dependence on ultra-processed foods, and effectively create your own healthy meal plans:
- Have at least 4 servings of non-starchy vegetables and 1 serving of healthy fats a day.
- Include 100-175g of a protein source at each meal – a serving that is at least ¼ of your plate (or the size of the palm of your hand).
- Limit grains and/ or starchy vegetables (complex carbs) to a maximum of 3 servings per day.
- Have one meal free from complex carbohydrates a day.
- Have up to 1 serving of fruit a day, whole (not juice), for example, one medium-sized piece of fruit or two small handfuls of berries.
- Cook all meals at home – plan and prep everything you eat, which might include bringing lunch into work.
- Avoid refined carbohydrates, ultra-processed foods, and items with added sugar – if you want something sweet, have 2 squares of high quality (75%+) dark chocolate and take the time to enjoy it.
- Drink at least 2 litres of fluids per day, including water, coffee/tea, or herbal teas.
- Avoid juices, fizzy drinks (regular and diet), and energy drinks.
- Take a break from drinking alcohol.
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