When trying to lose weight, fast food is usually the first thing many cut out of their diet. Strict rules see dieters salivating as they pass their favorite restaurants or long for a single fry.
But one man has turned the concept of dieting on its head by creating an unusual diet strategy that involves eating only foods that many would consider the ultimate sin of dieting – McDonald’s.
Kevin Maginnis, 56, decided to eat only McDonald’s food for 100 days in a bid to lose weight.
“On February 21, I realized I was at 238 pounds,” Maginnis said. Newsweek. “I remember reading somewhere that when your waistline hits 40 inches for a man that’s too big, it’s dangerous. When I saw my scale jump to 240 pounds, that figure of 40 made me fear.”
As his weight increased, he thought of his family: “I knew that if I wanted to live longer for my grandchildren, my wife, my children… I had to do something. Take me out of this obesity to give me a better chance of being able to be there for my family,” he said.
But is such a diet healthy? Signe Svanfeldt, chief nutritionist for healthy eating app Lifesum, said Newsweek there are significant risks to eating only fast food.
“For optimal well-being, eat a varied and balanced diet based on your energy needs. Eating the same thing every day will not provide the variety of nutrients needed, leading to nutrient deficiencies,” she said. declared.
“A diet rich in fast foods, usually high in saturated and unhealthy fats, sodium and sugar, will make you feel sluggish, while a varied diet filled with fiber, unsaturated fats, protein, vitamins and minerals will make you feel energized while providing all the nutrients you need.”
Obesity affects about one in five children and one in three adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is estimated that 70 million adults in the country are obese, and in 2017 over 41% of the population was classified as obese.
A person can be considered obese if their weight is much higher than what is considered healthy for their height. For adults, a body mass index of 30 or more falls into the obese range, while a BMI of 40 or more is classified as severe obesity.
From 1999-2000 to 2017-March 2020, the prevalence of obesity in the United States rose from 30.5% to 41.9%, according to the CDC. During the same period, severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.
Obesity is linked to significant health problems, including a higher risk of serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, types of cancer, and poor mental health.
But when most people think of golden arches, weight loss is one of the last things that comes to mind. So why did he choose McDonald’s?
“I’m tall and my last name is Maginnis,” he said with a laugh. “Big Mac has always been a nickname for me, and I thought why not just roll with it.”
Maginnis’ mission is simple: he will only eat McDonald’s food for 100 days for each meal, but each serving will be cut in half.
You’d be forgiven for drawing a comparison to the 2004 documentary super size me, in which Morgan Spurlock undertook an experiment to exist entirely on McDonald’s food for an entire month. But unlike Spurlock, Maginnis follows strict rules when it comes to the amount of food he consumes.
“It’s half the size,” he said. “It was super-size me, it’s half-size me. It’s only McDonald’s, three meals a day, but I cut every meal in half. I look for heat before I eat.”
To “seek the heat”, Maginnis always waits to be hungry to eat. “We don’t drink water until we can’t put any more water in it,” he said. “We drink water until we are no longer thirsty. Then I eat just enough to be full, not stuffed.”
While waiting for him to feel a pang of hunger, or “the heat”, Maginnis makes sure he doesn’t overeat. “I always get rid of what’s in my stomach before adding more food. This allows my body to start tapping into my fat stores.”
On a normal day, Maginnis will start with a sandwich – a creation of his own making which he calls a McNulty. To make the sandwich, he orders a sausage, egg and McGriddle cheese but substitutes the sausage for a crispy chicken patty and has a round egg and bacon on top, all bought from the fast food giant’s menu.
“I’ll have that and hash browns for breakfast, but I’ll only have half,” he said. A single McDonald’s hash brown has 262 calories. “So for lunch, I’ll have the same.”
In the evening, he returns to McDonald’s for a final meal.
“I’ll choose a numbered meal, something like a Big Mac meal, and I’ll cut it in half and eat half of it for dinner, then half that I’ll carry over to the next day,” he said. adding that he spends about $5 a day on his diet.
His enviable 100-day plan will always see his efforts pale in comparison to the Guinness World Records holder for most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime – which is held by Donald Gorske, who devoured more than 32,000 burgers, while eating two every day since 1972.
At 1,080 calories for the Big Mac combo meal with a medium soda and medium fries, that means half the order sees Maginnis eating around 540 calories per meal.
By day 50, halfway through, he has already lost 38 pounds and plans to continue for 50 more days, sharing the journey online. To make his experience as clear as possible, Maginnis even stopped exercising.
“I stopped exercising, stopped taking vitamins and supplements,” he said. “Because I wanted to isolate only portion control for those 100 days so no one could say, Well, maybe it wasn’t McDonald’s.”
Maginnis’ counter-intuitive diet has drawn viral attention as he shares his mission on TikTok under the handle @bigmaccoaching. With over 77,000 subscribers, he updates the world daily on his progress and thoughts on the experience.
Since the start of the experiment, Maginnis has kept her doctor informed and undergoes regular tests.
“I had my blood tests at the start and about 14 days after,” he said. “All the indicators improved. All the biomarkers improved. My cholesterol levels went down and my triglycerides went down.”
He continued, “I spoke to several doctors, both before and during this – and people on TikTok who are doctors and cardiologists. Just like the rest of TikTok – who are around 30% ‘We are with you “, 30 percent “It’s crazy, you’re too old to play with your health”, and 30 percent grab the popcorn to see what happens – the doctors seem to be the same.”
He said. “Obesity is the killer. Not the food itself,” he said. “He [leads to] heart attacks, strokes — so many things — but it’s obesity that’s dangerous. Much more dangerous than a fry.
“I’m not saying I’ll do this for the rest of my life. I’m doing this as an experiment for 100 days to see if my health improves over the 100 days, not just my weight, but my health as well,” he said.
Svanfeldt recommends a more traditional approach. “To lose weight, a steady, sustained pace is crucial,” she said. “Eating a varied and balanced diet, with plenty of nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins, while staying in a healthy calorie deficit, is key. .”
But Maginnis stands by his experience and says he’s looking to develop a habit that will last a lifetime. “That’s what’s going to help me live longer. I believe if I eat three smaller meals a day and seek warmth before I eat, that’s sustainable. Eat McDonald’s every day for the rest of my life, it’s not sustainable. But eating three small meals is.”
Newsweek contacted McDonald’s via email for comment.
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