The Subway diet was created by an obese man who
was motivated to lose weight. After rejecting traditional
diets, Jared Fogle developed a weight-loss plan based
on the low-fat menu at the Subway sandwich shop. The
low-fat subs were also low-calorie, and Fogle came up
with his own version of portion control. The man who
once ate an entire pizza limited himself to two sandwiches
a day. While his plan was very restrictive, Fogle
demonstrated that people who ate at fast-food restaurants
could make healthy choices.
Jared Fogle developed a diet that amounted to
approximately 1,000 calories per day. As a college student,
he usually ate before his first class, which was
scheduled for noon or 1 p.m. Fogle said in interviews
that he ate little or no breakfast. He sometimes breakfasted
on a bowl of cereal with skim milk or a piece of
fruit. Otherwise, a Subway sandwich was his first meal
of the day. He sometimes snacked on a piece of fruit
and took a daily multivitamin. His daily diet, according
to his book, Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through
Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around, consisted
of:
-Breakfast of coffee.
-Lunch of a Subway 6-inch turkey sub, a diet soda,
and small bag of baked potato chips or pretzels.
-Dinner of a Subway foot-long Veggie Delite sandwich,
a diet soda, and small bag of baked potato
chips or pretzels.
Fogle ordered sandwiches filled with lettuce,
green peppers, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers,
and pickles. Fogle omitted cheese and condiments
that contained fat like mayonnaise and oil. Instead,
he used condiments like spicy mustard or vinegar.
He alternated ordering the sandwiches on wheat or
white bread, the choices that Subway offered at the
time.
The sandwiches that Fogle ate were on Subway’s
‘‘Seven Under 6 Grams of Fat,’’ menu. In the spring of
2007, that list of subs consisted of a ham sandwich,
roasted chicken breast, subway club, sweet onion
chicken teriyaki, turkey breast, turkey breast and ham,
and the Veggie Delite.
Nutritional information
Sandwiches were served on wheat bread and contained
lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles,
and olives. According to the Subway 2007 ‘‘ Nutritional
Guide,’’ the 6-inch turkey breast sub was 280 calories
and had 4.5 grams of total fat and 4 grams of dietary
fiber. The Veggie Delite sandwich was 230 calories for a
6-inch sandwich. The half-foot sub had 3 grams of total
fat and 4 grams of fiber. The 6-inch sandwich provided
two servings of vegetables, and the footlong sub contained
twice that amount. According to the nutritional
guide, Subway based those portions on amounts designated
by the National Cancer Institute.
The guide published in 2007 described the nutritional
content of all Subway sandwiches and offerings
that included salads, fruit, chips, and cookies. Fogle ate
baked potato chips. The 1.125-ounce bag of Baked!
Lay’s potato chips had 130 calories and 1.5 grams of
fat, according to the guide. A similar sized bag of Rold
Gold Classic Tiny Twist pretzels had 110 calories and I
gram of fat. Fogle drank Diet Coke, which had no
calories.
Subway’s guide also included information about
Fresh Fit meals for children and adults. The adult version
consisted of a low-fat 6-inch sub, a bag of baked
chips, apple or raisins and 1%low-fat white milk, water,
or a diet drink. The Fresh Fit for Kids meal consisted of
a min-sub, a fruit juice box or 1% low-fat milk, and a
bag of apples or raisins.
Subway cautioned in the guide that Fresh Fit
options should not be considered a diet program.
The sandwich chain and Fogle acknowledged that a
nutritionally balanced diet and exercise were important
components of a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise and weight maintenance
Fogle began walking when he was physically able
to do so. He started with walking to class and then
began walking to do errands and around the large
Indiana University campus. He added more exercise
through activities like taking the stairs instead of the
elevator. Fogle advised prospective dieters to find an
activity that they enjoyed. He liked walking, and regularly
walked 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers). After reaching
his goal weight, Fogle continued to walk and also
participated in activities like the Heart Walk, an
American Heart Association fundraiser.
Fogle weighed 190 pounds (86.1 kilograms) when
he began doing the Subway commercials in 2000. He
had maintained that weight as of the spring of 2007.
Fogle said he maintained that weight by walking and
limiting his daily food intake to 2,000 calories. His food selections include smaller portions of items like
pizza. Furthermore, he ate Subway sandwiches several
times each week. Fogle said he enjoyed the sweet onion
chicken teriyaki sub, a sandwich added to themenu after
he ended his diet. It contained 370 calories and 5 grams
of fat, according to the Subway nutrition guide.
The benefits of the Subway diet start with convenience.
The dieter buys prepared food, knowing that is
low in fat and calories. Subway provides nutritional
information, and the dieter doesn’t need to purchase,
clean, and cut vegetables. The weight-loss plan is based
on portion control, and the dieter eats vegetables,
bread, and turkey. Lean meats like poultry, vegetables,
and grains like are among the recommended foods in
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 produced by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The federal guidelines also advocate physical activity
as an important component of shedding pounds and
maintaining a healthy weight. Jared Fogle’s weight-loss
plan included exercise. He created the diet because he
liked fast food and enjoyed eating bread. On his diet, he
didn’t have to give up either.
