Teacher loses 37 pounds eating only McDonald’s
An Iowa science teacher inspired by the 2004 documentary Supersize Me went on a McDonald’s-only diet recently to show it is our dietary choices, not the food itself, that causes weight gain.
John Cisna, a teacher at Colo-Nesco High School in Colo, Iowa, northeast of Des Moines, worked with his students to develop a 90-day eating plan consisting only of McDonald’s menu items.
His hypothesis was that “I can eat any food at McDonald’s (that) I want as long as I’m smart for the rest of the day with what I balance it out with,” according to KCCI.
Cisna stuck to a 2,000-calorie diet and tried to stay close to the recommended daily allowance for carbohydrates, fat and proteins.
The owner of the local McDonald’s franchise was so interested in Cisna’s project that he agreed to donate the 90 days’ worth of food, according to the TV station.
Cisna said he also started walking 45 minutes a day. He said he didn’t exercise regularly before the experiment.
A typical day included a couple Egg White Delights, a bowl of oatmeal, a salad and a more traditional value meal.
“So this isn’t something where you say ‘well he went to McDonalds and he only had the salads. No, I had the Big Macs, the quarter pounders with cheese. I had sundaes, I had ice cream cones,” Cisna said.
He said he lost 37 pounds during the experiment and lowered his cholesterol from 249 to 170. The teacher made a short documentary detailing the experience.
“The point behind this documentary is, ‘Hey, it’s (a) choice. We all have choices. It’s our choices that make us fat not McDonald’s,” he said.
Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @steph_grimes
