Personal Trainer Takes on McDonald's Diet to Prove Balance in Junk Food Consumption
A personal trainer from Northern Ireland has embarked on an unusual diet to demonstrate a balance in eating habits.
Charlie Kennedy
- 2024-01-11
- Updated 04:10 PM ET
(NewsNibs) - Ryan Mercer, a 35-year-old fitness enthusiast from Bangor, Co Down, has chosen to eat exclusively at McDonald's for the entire month of January. His aim is to show how it's possible to maintain a balanced diet while still indulging in fast food. Mercer, who is known for previously completing a month-long diet consisting solely of pizza and achieving weight loss, is taking on a new challenge to make himself more relatable to his clients. The goal is to educate them about sustainable weight loss methods.
Inspiration from "Supersize Me"
Mercer's decision to take on this diet challenge was partly inspired by the documentary "Supersize Me", where filmmaker Morgan Spurlock documented the detrimental health effects of eating only McDonald's for a month. Unlike Spurlock's experience, Mercer wants to mitigate these negative effects by controlling his calorie intake and continuing his exercise routine. He believes that overconsumption of fast food is undeniably harmful but argues that it can have a place within a controlled and balanced diet.
Challenge Findings So Far
In the first week of his McDonald's only diet, Mercer reports a weight gain of over 6 lbs, having consumed a total of 31,380 calories. This represents a significant increase from his usual caloric intake of 2,000 to 2,700 calories per day. To counterbalance his increased consumption, Mercer continues his workout regimen, focusing on strength training. He has also added more physical activity into his day by walking to McDonald's and to his job, thereby increasing his daily step count. The personal trainer hopes his challenge will demonstrate that occasional enjoyment of fast food does not need to be accompanied by guilt.
Maintaining Balance and Health Awareness
Ryan Mercer's McDonald's diet challenge is a personal experiment aimed at starting conversations on weight management and the place of junk food in a healthy lifestyle. By deliberately gaining weight, he is setting the stage for a practical demonstration of weight loss, intending to become a relatable example for his clients. Mercer's experiment continues to garner attention as he shares his journey, focusing on balance, moderation, and the importance of physical activity.
