Okay, have you guys heard about the Taco Bell Diet (aka Drive-Thru Diet)?

I’m serious. Taco Bell’s girl Christine is to Taco Bell what Jared was to Subway. By eating from the “Fresco Menu” (a set of menu items with no cheese or sauce which come with a tomato salsa) five to eight times per week, she reportedly lost 54 pounds in two years.

These Fresco menu items are only 20 to 100 calories less than regular menu items, which makes the whole thing sound like marketing to me—a thinly-veiled ploy to get fast-food put on one of those ridiculous “Good Foods” lists.

Granted, when you’re on the road and your options are limited, a soft taco is probably a better choice than an order of fries since it will give you some nutrients for your calories, but eight times a week? Oh dear.

While I’m the first to admit that I can be a bit of a food snob (why have McDonald’s when I can have homemade hummus with greens and just-roasted peppers on whole wheat pita and fresh fruit on a road trip?), it can be very easy to make small tweaks at almost any eatery (or at home) that can cut calories or enhance the nutritional value of a meal, depending on your needs. Two years is a perfectly reasonable time in which to lose 54 pounds (that’s about a half-pound per week), but you don’t have to rely on one restaurant to make it happen for you.

Point of this post: If you’re concerned about your health, consult a dietician, not a fast-food mascot. I miss that Chihuahua.