Jared Fogle, or the “subway guy” weighed 426 pounds when he decided to take on the subway diet in 1999. His decision to diet was caused by his concern over his ankles and feet swelling and having episodes of apnea. He would wear jeans with a waistline of 60 inches and his growing size was causing problems with his everyday life. He was just a college student then, and yet his health condition was so bad that his health was as bad as a middle aged man. He could hardly walk because of his weight. Upon his decision to lose weight, he took on many diets. He first tried low-calorie microwave meals, diet shakes and sticking to a 1,800 calorie-a-day diet. He didn’t like the tastes of these shakes and microwaveable meals. The other diets were too time consuming to prepare.
Then he was challenged by Subway’s campaign called “Seven under 6 Grams of Fat.” This was the Subway ad campaign that highlighted Subway’s seven kinds of sandwiches that only contained 6 grams of fat. Since he lived near a subway shop, he decided to shift his meal plan to exclusively eating subway sandwiches. He would only eat two sandwiches a day and after shedding 100 pounds, he started walking to school, or about 1.5 miles every day.
A friend of his wrote about his weight-loss story and was published in the local paper. Subway eventually caught on and after implementing a local campaign, began to spread it across the country. Jared started endorsing Subway, and gained instant popularity.
Jared designed his own weight loss diet based on his own preferences. He did not believe in a one-size-fits-all kind of regimen. He was a student when he started the Subway diet, and instead of going to the gym, his exercise routine was composed of walking to school, taking the stairs or running errands around campus.
His daily meal plan would begin with a cup of coffee and cereal with skimmed milk. He would snack on fruits rather than munching down an entire pizza. He would have a 6 inch turkey breast sub, diet soda and a small bag of baked potato chips for lunch, and a foot long of veggie delight for dinner. His diet is more flavorful and allowed people to still enjoy the flavors of eating but kept it to a 1,000 calories per day.
Other options for a healthy sub are now available, and all have only 6 grams of fat. These would be the turkey breast and ham with only 120 calories. A subway club only has 150 calories. Oven roasted chicken subs only have 140 calories. Jared also chose wheat bread and did not have cheese or mayo in his subs. He instead used vinaigrette.
From this experience, he became an endorser of Subway. Jared has written a book about weight loss and life management at the same time formed the Jared Foundation to help kids fight childhood obesity. He still encourages people to find a diet that is well suited to them, and not be swayed by diets that ultimately discourage you from eating properly. He had inspired so many people through the Subway diet, which many have even claimed that Jared’s design worked for them. His current worth is $15 million and has an unlimited pass to eating free at Subway.
You too can gain lessons from what Jared’s experience. Eating deli meat is a sure way to enjoy sandwiches and keep the excess calories out. You have an option to make the sandwiches on your own and be all the way vegetarian, or choose low-fat and low-sodium meat. The secret to low fat sandwiches is to stay away from dairy products and fill it in with vegetables, and perhaps fruits.
Another alternative to eating Subway sandwiches is to make a nice chicken and cucumber sandwich. This is classic and easy to prepare. All you need are slices of chicken breast and cucumber.
If you are to lay off the meat, treat yourself a bit with alfalfa, tomatoes, smoked cheddar and ranch dressing. This all vegetable sandwich is juicy and crunchy, with a little salty and smoky flavor of cheddar.
Zucchini is also a great veggie filling for a sandwich. Top it with marinara sauce and mozzarella, and melt it till you get that rich and creamy filling without shooting up your cholesterol.
You can even make a burrito out of black beans. Spread cream cheese on 2 pieces of tortilla and mix canned black beans with onions, garlic, red peppers and jalapeno peppers. Roll in and get the protein load from the beans at the same time the spice from jalapeno.
If you are to have your meat fix, places like Kroger and Publix can provide you with low-sodium and lean cold cuts. There are ways to keep your sandwiches low fat and still retain the flavors in your meals.
