Drive Thru Diet? Seriously?

I see a lot of stuff on TV that leaves me scratching my head? I wonder.. who believes this stuff? And then I remember the millions every year who get scammed, hoodwinked, bamboozled or otherwise relieved of their pocket change. As PT Barnum said, there's a sucker born every minute.

The latest thing that caught my eye was the Taco Bell commercial for the "Drive Thru Diet" about the lady who didn't want to give up her "fast food" so she switched to Taco Bell's Fresco menu and lost 20 pounds.. or 40.. or whatever. This has to be a joke right? Just a clever way to advertise the menu? "Results not typical" indeed.

The Fresco menu is lower fat, because it forgoes cream based sauces and sour cream and the like.. but it still has the same greasy meat and probably cheese... how much better can it be?

For Comparison:

Crunchy Taco Supreme: Shell, Meat, Lettuce, Cheese, Sour Cream

200 Calories, 100 calories from fat, 12 g of fat and 5 g saturated fat.

Fresco Crunchy Taco: Shell, Meat, Lettuce, Fresco salsa

150 Calories, 70 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2.5g saturated fat.

This isn't too bad, almost 50% reduction in fat and exactly 50% in Sat. Fat.

Based on 65 grams of fat and 20 grams saturated fat as the recommended daily allowance, the Fresco Taco isn't too bad roughly 10% for both. But that is a little high for a "diet" food... and well.. you have to eat like 3 of them.

Maybe the Fresco items aren't so bad.. but there is something hideously wrong with even suggesting that you can lose weight at a fast food joint. Next someone is going to sue them because they ate one Fresco taco a day (along with non-Fresco items like Nachos Supremes and deep fried Chulapa's) and then wondered why they ballooned up to 500 pounds. Just watch.. it will happen. Taco Bell opened the wrong can of worms with this one.

I love Taco Bell as much as the next guy.. where else can you get food at 2AM and only spend 3.16$. It's great, but healthy it's not. The only thing not deep fried is the meat and it's swimming in a jacuzzi of it's own grease. If it drips down your chin like a memphis pork rib.. delicious it may be, but low fat it's not!