Fad diets come and go, but the ones that have a healthy basis, such as the Kashi GoLean Diet Plan, seem to outlast many of the others. The Kashi GoLean Diet Plan is a meal replacement diet plan in which dieters substitute a regular breakfast and lunch with Kashi GoLean products and eat a sensible, healthy dinner.
What are the Healthy Benefits of Kashi Products?
Kashi GoLean products are all natural, low fat, high in fiber and high in soy & whey proteins. Because the products are composed from all natural, whole grains they have no white sugar, preservatives or artificial additives like many other meal replacement plan products. The diet staple, Kashi’s GoLean Crunch! Cereal, has a high fiber content that helps fill you up so that you stay satisfied with your portion longer into your day while aiding the regularity of your digestive system. It is recommended that adults aged 19-50 years old eat 25 grams of fiber daily. Each serving of Kashi GoLean Crunch! provides approximately 20% of your daily fiber recommendation. The 9 grams of whey and soy proteins, unlike meat proteins, are low fat proteins that help develop lean muscle.
Kashi Go Lean Cruch! Cereal’s Nutritional Panel states that 1 serving (1 cup) holds 190 calories, 3 grams of fat, 0 choldesterol, 8 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of protein, and 13 grams of Sugars. While the sugar content seems high, bear in mind that the sugars in the Kashi products are not refined sugars-they are all natural, which will make a difference in the manner in which they are metabolized by the body.
How Does the Diet Plan Work?
The Kashi GoLean Diet Plan suggests that the morning breakfast and the lunch meal be replaced with Kashi GoLean Cereal or with a Kashi GoLean protein shake as you choose. You may choose to add skim milk or soy milk to the cereal or eat alone-allowing for an extra yogurt or fruit to accompany the milkless breakfast. Snacks of Kashi bars or fresh fruit and yogurt may be twice added during the day, with the final meal a sensible dinner of your choice. A personally prepared, sensible dinner can also be substituted with Kashi prepared meals as well for the convenience.
Are There Any Side Effecs?
You may have noticed that the daily fiber and soy/whey protein intake is several times higher than the typical daily intake of many. This increase in fiber and soy/whey proteins can disrupt the dieter’s gastrointestinal system causing gas, bloating and abdominal cramping. As with any dietary changes, the symptoms may be worse in some and last for varying lengths of time. In ten people surveyed about their experiences with this diet, these symptoms were the primary reason that they cited for being unable to maintain the diet for a long period of time.
What are the Positive Aspects of the Diet?
The lowfat, all natural Kashi GoLean products offer prepackaged, healthy alternatives to many other highly processed meal replacement diet plans. The lowfat, low cholesterol aspect may aid in heart health and cholesterol reduction diets. They are prepackaged in a number of varieties and flavors to make for easy portion control. The portions are also easy to convert to other weight loss program guidelines, such as Weight Watcher Point plans.
What are the Negative Aspects of the Diet?
The digestive system side effects can be mild to extreme depending on the dieter’s pre-diet food choices. In addition to the gastrointestinal drawbacks, there are only so many variations in the Kashi products and many are quite similar in taste, texture and appearance. These product similarities can lead to diet boredom and abandonment-which is often a negative aspect to meal replacement type diets. Aside from side effects and diet boredom, some of the Kashi products can be quite pricey. For example, the cold cereals can be purchased for pricing ranging from a little over $2.00 per 15 oz. box to well over $4.00 per box (for approximately 8 servings), which isn’t uncommonly priced for all natural cereals. The Kashi snack bars recommended to supplement the breakfast and lunch range from approximately $25.00 to $34.00 for 24 snack bars, which is not especially friendly to all budgets.
Overall Review
The Kashi GoLean Diet Plan offers a healthful alternative to other meal replacement diet plans. The success of the plan will vary by an individuals tolerance to any adverse digestive system side effects as well as the budgetary ability to purchase and use a wider variety of products to avoid diet boredom. The healthy ingredients, calorie counts and high fiber and protein contents make it a filling, healthy option for dieters. As with any diet plan, the dieter should discuss the plan with his physician prior to making a diet change and insure that the ingredients and benefits of the proposed diet provide him adequate nutrition for his current state of health.
