Christine Dougherty: Taco Bell's New Spokesperson Claims She Lost 54 Pounds Eating Fast Food (PHOTOS)

Has Taco Bell found their own Jared? Christine Dougherty, a new spokesperson for the company, says she lost 54 pounds in two years by eating "Fresco" menu items at Taco Bell instead of her normal fast food choices. Of course if you read the fine print in the commercial it also says Christine was limited to 1,250 calories a day, only 50 calories above what most doctors will tell you is the minimum amount a woman should eat daily.

Taco Bell shields itself repeatedly in their new ads and Website by saying "These results aren't typical," these are "not low calorie foods," and the "Drive-Thru Diet® menu is not a weight-loss program" but it is after all called the "Drive-Thru Diet" so the intent is clear: Taco Bell is trying to rebrand itself as a healthy alternative. Going back to the fine print we see that the Fresco Menu "can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu." 20 calories off a fast food meal doesn't seem like much help, but each menu item is below 350 calories--a far cry from their 1,000 calorie "Volcano Nachos."

Jared Fogle, the Subway weight-loss spokesman who helped make the company millions, was recently caught looking less than skinny. This both makes room for Christine and casts doubt on these types of diets.

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Comments

[Ahyoka]

06:37 AM on 01/19/2010

If you have are dieting but love fast food and get cravings for it periodical­ly, then this alternativ­e to the regular high calorie stuff they have there can be very helpful in those times. I use the Fresco tacos when I MUST HAVE QUICK TASTY TACOS and I can still stay under my calorie limit and not mess up my diet. They are just as tasty as the regular ones..in fact I like the way they taste even better. I wish more food chains would do this.

[robbor]

05:03 PM on 01/18/2010

She had to have lost much more than 54 pounds to look as she does now - how much lipo was involved?

[Ahyoka]

06:45 AM on 01/19/2010

54 pounds loss can make a HUUUUGE difference in the appearance of a woman! I recently lost 30 pounds and I look totally different and better.

[HealthHabits]

01:04 PM on 01/08/2010

The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet….weig­ht loss miracle or a great big load of corporate bullsh*t?

http://www­.healthhab­its.ca/201­0/01/08/th­e-taco-bel­l-drive-th­ru-diet-we­ight-loss-­miracle-or­-a-great-b­ig-load-of­-corporate­-bullsht/

[uncouthgourmand]

09:29 AM on 01/05/2010

The timing of this should be no surprise to anyone. People plan to fail on their resolution­s very early on, so why not make it drive-thru convenient for them. I was especially shocked how bombarded my new year was by fast food. Did anyone see the rose parade? I was there and ran into the trifecta of fast food mascots http://unc­outhgourma­nds.com/20­10/01/04/f­ast-food-i­n-the-new-­year-rose-­parade/

[Sylvenwolf]

10:49 AM on 01/03/2010

I think it's good that more companies are getting out the word about the possibilit­ies of healthy living through a super convenient type of food, fast food. My boyfriend went from over 225 to 160 eating mostly Wendy's and Pho noodle bowls. It was easy and fast for him to cut calories and fat this way because fast food portions are very controlled­. What they offer is what you get, and it is posted in a variety of places. Taco Bell, Wendy's, and some other chains even have meal planners on their sites that even include such features as allowing a user to see what various' items food values are with or without various ingredient­s being included - all of this and they take only a few minutes to order and pick up your meal, at a reasonable price. Fast food, just like homecooked or restaurant food, is not inherently healthy or unhealthy. It is what the user makes of it, in consuming portions and ingredient that are in line with their lifestyle, that determines the impact on his or her life.

[Michael Henry]

11:39 PM on 01/02/2010

Taco Bell needs to fair the "me too" advocates from within, the agency, and the the spokewoman­. This is such a lame excuse for creativity­.

[FreedomOnionSoup]

05:58 PM on 01/01/2010

You could also lose weight if you ate nothing but a can of dog food everyday. That still doesn't make it a good idea.

[hollace]

08:26 PM on 01/02/2010

first laff 2010 thanks

[dailY BAILOUT]

10:46 PM on 12/31/2009

hat tip to http://iam­ned-site.b­logspot.co­m/

[bambilashes]

09:30 PM on 12/31/2009

The Taco bell diet, has many up's and downs, heres a coupon for the free taco and a great article on why taco bell is the best fast food for weight loss, and some other cool facts http://911­-fitness.c­om/taco-be­ll-diet-co­upons-and-­review.php

[melton244]

03:42 PM on 12/31/2009

So was that the me..th or coke diet?

[3dtrix]

12:36 PM on 12/31/2009

When I was in high school - some years ago, to be sure - one of the kids in our circle of friends dad worked at a large commercial butcher - they supplied meat to most of the area restaurant­s. The dad told us to eat at whatever fast food joint we cared to - but stay away from Taco Bell - their meat was the cheapest, lowest possible quality the law allowed. Just sayin'...

[rf dude]

10:52 AM on 12/31/2009

'
Umm - that "after" photo looks like Michelle Bachmann in full grin-ace..­.

[OneConservative]

10:18 AM on 12/31/2009

I could happen. Taco Bell has some food that is essentiall­y left over bird food.

[nippyfan]

09:44 AM on 12/31/2009

Taco Bell is gross. Every single time I dared to eat there I got sick. Maybe that's how she lost the weight. Parasites help you lose weight.

[jsarets]

10:42 PM on 12/30/2009

The only fast food diet that actually works is to never order any liquid candy drinks and drink water instead. Just eliminatin­g soda and other sweetened soft drinks from your typical American diet makes a big difference­.