The Subway Diet
March 6th, 2008 · Filed Under: Abs Nutrition
Recently I have been seeing a lot of commercials for The Subway Diet….you remember Jared don’t you? He’s the gentleman who lost over 240 pounds by eating a lot of sandwiches at Subway. It seems that he has kept the weight off for 10 years now. I say congratulations to Jared for keeping this weight off for so long. Not too many people do.
I’m wondering though if The Subway Diet is healthy. Is The Subway Diet a safe and effective way to lose weight?
During his diet, Jared would eat a 6 inch turkey sub and a bag of baked potato chips for lunch. And for dinner, he ate a 12 inch veggie sub with extra veggies, and no cheese, oil or mayo.
So he was skipping breakfast and eating 2 meals a day consisting of about 1000 calories. As you can see, Jared was on a restrictive calorie diet, eating lots of bread, processed deli meats, and I’m guessing he drank diet soda. It doesn’t appear like he was getting any fruits in his diet. He also was on a walking program.
He basically lost all of this weight with portion control. He found what worked for him and he was able to stick to it.
What do you think about The Subway Diet? Do you applaud Jared for losing all of this weight and keeping it off? Or do you have the opinion that Jared did not lose the weight in the most safe and healthy manner? Should he have been eating more frequently, including breakfast? Does he need to add more veggies and fruits to his diet with less breads and diet soda?
And what do you think about Subway and their commercials promoting their restaurant as a way to lose weight?
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave your comments below.
Have an amazing day.
Scott
Tags:
March 6th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I don’t think it’s a diet many people could stick with. If he were truly eating just twice per day.
What I do find fascinating about Subway’s Marketing is that one day they are thrilled to tell you about Jared and their low-fat/low-cal choices. The next day I see a commercial for their monster italian sub with twice the meat!
Jim Labadie
http://professionalgradenutrition.com
March 6th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I like Jim’s comment!
I will say that the veggie sub at Subway is amazing but would it be realistic finacially for normal everyday people to do this? Every now and then I get subway for my family of four and it can easily be a $20-$25 visit. This must have cost him at least $10 a day / $300 a month / $3600 a year…yikes! That’s a lot for one person…my grocery bill for four a month is around $400. I do not think it is very practical.
Jennifer
March 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I do applaud Jared for keeping the weight off. Not sure I believe that skipping a meal is a healthy idea, but portion control is healthy. The fact that there is little veggies and no fruit, is not healthy. And the diet soda just doesn’t have any positives to it. Not sure he really lost with just the Subway Diet, and he must of had to walk a lot of miles to make the program work. No I wouldn’t use Subway as a diet.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
It’s tough to find good fast food. Subway for Jared was probably a huge swing from what he was eating before.
The biggest issue with subway is that the veggies look awful and the bread is highly processed. The whole wheat isn’t 100% whole wheat either. It wouldn’t be as spongy if it was.
You’re better off buying organic veggies from the store and bringing your own sandwich. It will take just about as long to make that meal as it does waiting at line during lunchtime at a Subway
Live Awesome!
Kevin
http://www.renegadehealth.com
March 6th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
No, i do not think that Jared got a healthy diet at all .. First off, you need to have a breakfast in the morning, preferably in between the first hour you wake up to get your metabolism started for the day. Therefore, Jared was not on a healthy diet. But if it changed his eating ways thats good, but i would’ve recommended him a way healthier diet. Plus always eating subway, must’ve cost him allot, when making your own healthy meals would not be as expensive
March 6th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Hi Scott;
I agree with Kevin that what he was eating at Subway was way better then he was eating before and from past experience a person’s body will adjust to whatever you put into it whether it is healthy or unhealthy..like Kevin said the bread would be white bread and not sprouted bread,the veggies not properly washed so loaded with chemical sprays and the pop would not encourage proper digestion or it would not support proper digestion with chips on
top of it all would produce quite an acidic system..he might not have a weight problem but he might have other problems he doesn’t mention..I still think eating at home is the best way to go..this year I have not eaten out once..I host teenage students and they are use to eating healthy so eating out here in Canada is appaling to them..their chief complaint is our food has too much sugar in it..have a great day!!!Helen Cowan
March 6th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I applaud anyone who can lose, and keep lost, excess weight. That said, I cannot accept that this was/is a reasonable way to lose weight for the majority of people. It does not have many of the recommended eating habits for maximum health and I wonder how anyone could actually afford it over the long haul. What habits has he adopted for a life time plan? The walking is obviously a long term healthy habit but none of the rest is sustainable. I crave variety. So, I personally could not make this work for one week let alone a year or more. I also need to eat many times a day or my whole body crashes. This is definitely not for me, but if it works for him, more power to him.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Sure I applaud Jared for losing weight and keeping it off. But no I don’t believe it was a healthy way to take off the weight. Too low on the calories, not enough variety in the diet (What a shame not to taste the rainbow of flavors in all the different fruits and veggies) How boring that must have been!YAY for variety! And proscesses meat no whole grain bread.(truly sad) It’s true that not many people would be able to stick to this. Skipping breakfast is bad,too!
March 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I’m glad that Jared was able to stick with a program and that he lost - and has kept off all that weight. However, I think the Subway diet has too much simple carbohydrate for a lifesty without much physical intensity and that Jared probably wasn’t getting as many fruits and vegetables as he should have. It is clear that the calorie output has to exceed the calorie input to loose weight - but I just don’t think this would be the way for me.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I happen to have it on good authority that he did NOT lose his weight on a “Subway Diet”, but rather, had lapband surgery!
After that, he ate very small amounts of Subway and has maintained the loss by eating small amounts….. as all surgery patients must do.
Healthy? HARDLY. Better than death, yes, but don’t buy this story, he did not lose weight by eating less and walking more!
March 7th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
A friend of mine recently lost a lot of weight after a divorce(not as much as Jared)and I got to witness the whole process. She basically cut way back on her meal portions, skipping breakfast and even not eating at all some days. She incorporated no workout program and didn’t mix in more fruits and vegetables. Now although she does look better, it’s not a “healthy” look and she has hit a plateau, not really being able to finish her journey. I’m sure Jared is better off healthwise now, but how boring a meal plan is that? And to me, having a fast food place prepare all of you meals has some health issues.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well, if you want to be a purist, sure, Subway isn’t the healthiest food, and no he didn’t play by the modern-day American Health playbook of how to lose weight the safe way (e.g., Abs diet, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, etc. - which is great, don’t get me wrong, I love those books),…Jared’s goal was to lose weight, and it worked, he looks great, has a great body, and I’m sure he is healthy. Subway is healthier (generally speaking) than McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Carls Jr., Jack-in-the-box, and yes, even Starbucks (sorry Starbucks fans, I know you there are many addicts). Relatively speaking, if you were to hit Subway consistently, having Turkey and veggie sandwiches, like Jared, even with the bread, your health is still way better off than going to McDonalds consistently, eating greasy hamburgers, which is toxic and taxing on your body. In our fast-food culture, Subway is medicine. But again, if you want to be purist, then you can try and spend much of your time and money living organic and natural, for the purpose of living longer. But people are more interested in looking good than living longer, so forget the purist diet.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
There are many ways a person can lose weight, this just being one of them. But it isn’t the healthiest way a person should do it. There have been studies that say that having a variety of foods lead to eating more at meals. So, maybe the lack of choice was helpful to Jared in this way. I admire his commitment and determination. Losing weight is not easy no matter what route you choose.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I would say he did lose lots of weight but unfortunately I am not impressed with his appearance now…he still looks too big and not healthy looking and not fit at all in spite of his walking…he looks like he still need to lose more and be in better shape… so I would not do the Subway diet–not healthy permanently–it is fine for once in awhile but not daily…
March 8th, 2008 at 2:10 am
I definitely wouldn’t call the Subway Diet “healthy”, but the fact remains that he did successfully lose weight through portion control. It just shows that many people can lose a lot of weight while not doing everything perfectly. Although he’s at least in a normal weight range now, I still wouldn’t say that he has a “great body”… he doesn’t look like he has much muscle tone to me. But as long as he’s happy and feeling healthy in his new body, then that’s all that should matter to him. And although I don’t consider Subway “healthy” since my views of healthy are a little more purist, I will concede that subway is probably one of the healthiest fast food options if you need something quick.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Now, don’t get me wrong: anyone who succeeds in turning from obese to above average by losing 240 lbs is worth our applause and respect…That said…I think he took the lazy man’s out. And what I mean by that is that, sure, he managed to lose weight…by eating two massive meals a day in a fast food restaurant, consciously not adhering to any health principles and trying to keep his exercise to a minimum. What? Don’t look at me like that! Isn’t that what he did? WIthout having researched ANYTHING about him, just be reading what Scott wrote…I got the impression that Jared must be a fundamentally lazy person, who’s not willing to invest serious time and dedication to his health and fitness plan. If he really has gone through surgery in the past…then that’s even GREATER reason to make his food choices healthier.
I understand why some people roll their eyes at complex and hard-to-follow programs like Abs Diet, Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle etc…and I understand why an approach like Jared’s may be viewed as more “down to earth”, “feasible” and “realistic for the contemporary office worker”, but, the truth still remains: going to Subway twice a day to gorge on 6-inch sandwiches, filled with greasy “LOW-FAT” sauces and mangy vegetables, JUST because they taste better than chicken, asparagus and brown rice, does NOT constitute a lifestyle change. Not in my book, it doesn’t. You don’t have the right to call yourself the personification of fitness if you’re on a fad diet - that would be like mocking the sincere efforts of every person out there who is working hard to keep their lifestyle genuinely healthy.
Great for Jared that he managed to lose all that weight - he discovered one of the many ways that you can sacrifice the variety in your diet (and cardio) to get what you want. I’m sure he can make a model for many a fast food diet in the future - Subway hit the jackpot with this one. Until they discover the “Burger King diet”, I’ll just stick with HIIT cardio and five meals/day, (despite it being a royal pain) thank you very much. At least this method WORKS 100% FOR EVERYONE, whilst Subway’s method only seems to have one advocate, so far.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:52 am
I feel it is quite naive to think anyone can lose substantial weight by ONLY regulating what or how much they eat. Exercising (sweating) MUST be included with sensible eating habits to achieve weight loss. To lose over 200lbs. takes a commitment to a lifestyle change for the better, or surgury. The latter will leave you with flabby skin and no muscle tone. A DAILY fitness workout that allows the individual to progress the workout and make changes to the schedule to avoid plateaus, boredom, and stagnet exercises along with consuming the correct foods at the correct intervals will benifit the individual in both the short and long term.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:17 am
I think that most of us who are converts to eating good nutritious food the majority of the time can see that this is not a healthy way of eating. We also know that he would have lost weight on any low calories diet. What we need to do is get hold of this guy and educate him. See how his body responds to six small highly nutitious meals throughout the day and some regular exercise. Any Volunteers?
What a bloody good advert for subway tho’ gets ya taste buds going doesn’t it?. I bet their marketing department has been all over this one. Right Im off for a foot long sub with garlic chicken extra cheese and chilli
March 8th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Hi Scott,
I think it’s great for Jared that he lost all of that weight, but as we can all see it only got to him to a “somewhat overweight” level.
I personally can’t stand Subways commercials because they attack other fast food restaurants and market their foods as very healthy. Yet if I go in there and buy a Steak and Cheese I am not being very healthy.
I have always been of the opinion that, if you’re going to eat out, just eat out and enjoy it, it’s probably bad for you, but we all need a treat.
March 8th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I don’t think the Subway Diet is healthy at all. The bread is white flour or mostly white flour. The veggies are mainstream and non-organic. The meat is loaded with preservatives, nitrites and nitrates and non-organic.
If Jared has to have a hoagie, he’d be better off making one at home with organic replacements from Trader Joes, but he would be better off eating less meat and more organic fruits and veggies, less grains and especially white flours.
March 8th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Hi Scott,
I think if you eat two meals a day you are probably going to lose weight regardless what it is you eat.I think the question of the subway diet is,is it balanced and nutritous?Probably not.
Subway does have more choice to grab a healthy snack than burger king.It just depends on if you know what you are looking for and can resist the temptation to go for the junk food options.
March 8th, 2008 at 10:43 am
First of all - I want to say congratulations to Jared for maintaining his weight loss for 10 years - that is certainly something to be proud of!
However, I agree with everyone else. The Subway diet isn’t exactly what I would consider a healthy lifestyle change! Sure he lost a lot of weight, but did he gain any lean muscle mass? Notice how he is always covered up (arms, body, legs) with baggy clothes? I doubt he would be a contender for a “You think you look hot naked” contest!
I think the masses are still attached to their scales. If they see a noticeable drop in poundage, they rejoice and are happy. BUT - I challenge them to really get into the science of weight loss and start focusing on body fat percentages and lean muscle mass. I’d rather be 140 lbs at 14% body fat than 140 lbs at 35% body fat!!!
March 8th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
All I can say is if JARED from the SUBWAY commercials is your model of
success, you need to RAISE YOUR
STANDARDS!!! As Melvin Tickva from
MAD T.V. would say…..”C’MON!!!”
from raymondtrainerironmind@hotmail.com
March 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I applaud Jared but come on. If we measured his body fat it would probably still be in the 30% range. He would have no muscle if this is how he lost his weight and if he ever did change back to a different eating style he would put that weight back on. He basically has to eat like this forever. Exercise and realistic eating is the only way to maintain weight loss forever. I want to see a commercial with his shirt off. I bet he is real soft. Anyone want to look like that? Not me.
March 8th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
We all start somewhere. That Jarod lost the weight and feels good about himself and is probably making alot more money than some of us because he did it through a fast food chain isn’t too bad in some respects. Everyone entering into improving their “health” has their own idea of what that looks like, I think we need to be careful about being too harsh with those who are comfortable with different standards than we might be comfortable with. We all make choices for better or worse in different arenas of our lives. Jarod, as far as we can tell from appearances looks content with his choices, also, I question that anyone can really truly judge “health” from appearances. For Jarod, he may have traveled a great deal to achieve the level of health he has compared to where he was. We just can’t judge that. We can only decide for ourselves as we consider the options and their effects around us, but we still consider those options from where we are at and our level of resources both inner and outer. My hat is off to Jarod as much as it is to anyone that manages to make their life better in a way that harms few and helps others, even if it falls short of “perfection”. Is there always room for improvement? Probably, does everyone want to keep improving? Nope. Is that OK? Hmm… Now there’s an interesting discussion.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Not a good diet. I think most of the folks on this forum know that the ideal diet (or better yet, lifestyle choice) is to eat several small meals throughout the day (5 - 7) and each meal should have some lean protein, veggies and/or fruit and fiber. An occasional Subway sandwich (no chips or soda) is OK, but crazy to each just two meals a day from the same fast food outlet.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Excellent marketing and smart positioning by Jared. I will say that Subway is my first choice for “healthy” fast food. Since I work and travel with soccer a fair bit this is the place I always suggest with our soccer players. It is definitely a better choice than the golden arches, the crown and the pig tails.
it would have been interesting to get his blood workbefore and after the change.
As far as Subway is concerned they found a half truth and stretched into a smart marketing plan.
We must remember the most popular programs are not necessarily the best but the best marketed.
Cheers!
March 8th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Great Jared lost the weight, and I am sure he is healthier because of that, BUT the Subway diet — come on now –several things wrong here! You should be eating a small meal every three hours or so with protein, vegetable a little fat (15g in order to loose fat) -Also the bread!!! CARBS!! and fatty carbs! Sure, it may be one of your “BETTER” fast food chains - but not something you would eat every day as your DIET - where is the NUTRITIONAL factors! Kudos to Subway for the publicty (STUNT!)
Denise
March 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am
When I was a teenager almost 15 years ago, I worked at a Subway. I had checked out their ingredients list for their breads (white and “whole wheat”). That bread is as artificial as Wonder Bread! There were very few ingredients that I could pronounce let alone understand where they came from or why they would put that stuff in bread anyways. Isn’t bread supposed to be made out of flour, water, yeast, maybe a half tsp of sugar for the yeast to rise and salt? Why does an ingredients list have to be an inch long or more?
To top it off the sandwiches consist of processed cheese, chemical laden sauces and processed meats. The amount of veggies on a sub does not counter all the chemical junk that Jared is ingesting on a daily basis. So no Subway is not a healthy way to lose weight.
Someone had mentioned that Jared had taken the lazy way of losing weight. I totally agree. It takes time to learn how to cook healthy meals. It takes time to prepare the meals and to clean up after. But it is an investment in health and well worth it. It will pay off in the long run.
March 9th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
It is wonderful Jared was able to lose the weight but it was not in a healthy way. I have seen people go to all sorts of extreme in an effort to lose the weight. He should have been eating a healthy breakfast and included fruits not just sandwiches. I would guess at this point he is eating a regular meal and watching his calorie intake along with exercise.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I congratulate anyone who’s been able to be consistent and keep the weight off for 10+ years! Of course it’s not the healthiest diet in the world, than again, personally, “do what works for you” is a motto of mine, it worked for Jared… why does everyone need to Hate on him??
What Jared proves is that
Consistency and Persistence out gun,
any strict yo-yo measures that most people employ to lose weight ‘ Healthy or not’…
March 11th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
oh and i agree with George Basham comment number 26! a very well balanced objective non-hater comment!
March 11th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
ooops! i meant comment 25 by Lauran
March 24th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I think for most people the subway diet is not the healthiest choice but most people dont weigh 425lbs. either so with that being said it was probably the best thing he could have done for himself. Im sure 10 years later he has adapted a more heath conciuos life style. subway was just the fast fix. For all the haters out there you must be so perfect I hope your children weigh 425lbs and you will see a change of heart I promise.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:59 am
[...] http://theabsexpert.com/blog/the-subway-diet/ [...]
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
My opinion is that the Subway diet worked for Jared because it was basically a calorie restrictive diet, which will work for most people who are quite heavy. The problem is that once you get down to a more normal weight, restricting calories alone doesn’t seem to be the way to get super-lean looking, without losing muscle weight. I guess what we all want to do is to lose as much fat and as little muscle as possible, and the subway diet is probably not the solution to that problem.