Would you eat only at McDonald's for $10,000 for 60 days?

[frugal saver]

A woman in my knitting group's son takes these huge bike trips every year. Several years ago he said he was going to bike across Europe--and only eat at McDonald's, three meals a day.

My first thought was--he's going to die.

Then I found that the McDonald's in Europe sell a MUCH higher quality of food than the ones here in the U.S. He posts hundreds of pictures of his trips, and posted pictures of many of their menus--why don't we deserve good food like that?

If I recall correctly, he landed in the SE corner of Portugal and biked to Moscow--one of his longer trips, about 45 or 50 days I think. And stayed healthy through the whole trip.

Would I eat only at McDonald's in the US? No.

[scfr]

A woman in my knitting group's son takes these huge bike trips every year. Several years ago he said he was going to bike across Europe--and only eat at McDonald's, three meals a day.

My first thought was--he's going to die.

Then I found that the McDonald's in Europe sell a MUCH higher quality of food than the ones here in the U.S. He posts hundreds of pictures of his trips, and posted pictures of many of their menus--why don't we deserve good food like that?

When we were in France we ate our breakfasts at McDonald's because it was near our hotel, tasty, and reasonably priced --- definitely better than what we could get here in the USA. A friend just got back from Italy and reported similar.

I recall having a Lobster Roll at a McDonald's in Nova Scotia that wasn't too bad.

[bjl584]

I'd do it if I could pick and choose what I wanted from the menu. You can actually have a decently ok meal there if you get a salad.

[rennigade]

Paying me to eat crappy food that damages my health and well being isn't an automatic win and isn't necessarily worth the money. I just figure the damage done in 60 days wouldn't be that severe. I'm sure I'd gain weight and feel lousy but I'd be able to recover pretty quickly once the challenge was over.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me This guy ate at McD's for 30 days and made a very successful documentary.

It was a good documentary but mostly fluff. I believe Morgan had to "supersize" every single meal and eat everything each time. Yeah...with that method your body is going to go into shock and your stats are going to be way out of wack. I also believe he had to eat everything on the menu at least once...I could be wrong.

I cant think of the last time I actually ate at mcdonalds. But id still take up this offer without a second thought.

[SavingBucks]

In general, I would do this. I take an unhealthy friend who has cancer to McDonalds for lunch once every 2 weeks or so. I always have the Grilled chicken bacon ranch salad with low fat italian dressing and a plain iced tea. I would stick to the healthiest options possible with plain iced tea. I keep track of my eating via myfitnesspal so I do not think I would have a problem. Since they do not serve hot tea, I am going to ask next time if I can get hot water from their coffee machine (I would bring my own mug and tea bag).

My friend gets the fish sandwich or a double cheeseburger, medium fries, and the biggest Coke you can get! Fried have to be super hot and extra salted. Always a refill of the Coke as well.

She is addicted to processed foods, and figures why not! Previous heavy smoker and obese as well. Her and her hubby go to fast food 5-6 times a week and opt for the deals of the day - $4/4, $5 box, etc. at places like Jack in the Box, Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Taco Bell, etc. He says that the food is cheaper to buy than to make at home. All food is white, etc. with no salads purchased. So I am sure that neither are in good health like the results from the documentary. Maybe they eat salads and vegetables at home. I give her husband a care respite by taking her out and about and this is where she wants to go. I have tried to talk to her about healthier foods but there is always an excuse.

[greenskeeper]

sign me up, i'd do it for $10k

healthy eating or living is no guarantee for long life

neither is being unhealthy a guarantee for short life

do what you want, accept any consequences, and enjoy your time on this planet, it goes by quick!

[~bs]

sure, if i get to choose what i can eat. If my only choices are bigmac with fries, I'd probably take a pass. If I was 15 years younger, my body would recover from something like that a lot easier. lol

BUT, it's only 2 months...

[JBinKC]

Very easy if you had the total availability of the menu. I probably would eat the grilled chicken salad for 3/4 of my calories.

If you had to only select from the dollar menu that would be a tough undertaking.

[Mjenn]

Probably not, as I haven't been in a McDonalds in over 20 years -- but maybe if I could get an oatmeal for breakfast and a salad for lunch and a veggie burger for dinner with mini carrots it would be kind of doable? I probably wouldn't though.

I think it's interesting everyone is pro european McDonalds. I have no idea if the food here is better(I'm based in Europe) -- I haven't eaten there either. But I do find it interesting that they have now 'upscaled' the restaurants here (the decor is not the same as the US anymore -- its more Euro) and the prices have come WAY down -- McD's used to be significantly more expensive here than in the US, but my parents at their last visit thoughts one of the ads were for cheaper if not the same price. McD employees also make a starting salary of 14 dollars per hour here + extra for working outside of normal working hours. So interesting that we have both better quality food and higher paid employees.

[PierceFerdy]

sign me up, i'd do it for $10k

healthy eating or living is no guarantee for long life

neither is being unhealthy a guarantee for short life

do what you want, accept any consequences, and enjoy your time on this planet, it goes by quick!

I'm with greenskeeper - I'd probably do it. Especially for that kind of money. But then maybe my food standards aren't that high haha...

[~bs]

I'm with greenskeeper - I'd probably do it. Especially for that kind of money. But then maybe my food standards aren't that high haha...

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Super-Size-Me-What-Happens-to-Mr-PKJH4ZKJTJ

In 2004 Morgan Spurlock was the original 30-day challenge competitor when he decided to eat McDonald’s for every meal of the day. The only condition was that he would “super size” his meal if he was asked. The 30 days are cataloged in his groundbreaking documentary Super Size Me.

When the experiment began, Spurlock was in above average shape for a man his age, height, and weight. He saw three physicians, a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and a general practitioner. All of them agreed that the “McDiet” wouldn’t have too much of an impact on his health, saying that the body is incredibly adaptable, and would adjust accordingly throughout the experiment.

He ate three meals at McDonald’s each day, trying every item on the menu at least once, which had been accomplished by day nine of the challenge. On average he tried to replicate the number of steps the average American walks in a day, which is around 5,000. Every day he ate twice the recommended calorie count, at 5,000 kcal.

The film catalogs his life as he tries to adjust to his new meals, and the bearings it has on his physical and psychological health. After just five days, Spurlock gained nine pounds, and by the end of the 30 days, he would gain 24 pounds, increase his body mass by 13%, and increase his cholesterol to 230 mg/dL. On the 21st day of the experiment, Spurlock had to go to the hospital for heart palpitations, where his doctor warned him stop what he was doing before serious damage was incurred. At the end of the 30 days, his team of physicians were surprised by the deterioration done to his body. It took Spurlock 14 months to lose all of the weight he had gained. Twelve years later, Spurlock still has serious side effects, like the fact that it’s now much easier for him to gain weight quickly because of the extra fat cells he now has.

But the physical side effects of the experiment were only the beginning. He experienced intense mood swings, depression, and lack of a sex drive. It didn’t take long for these effects to take place either, noting early on that he was feeling lethargic and suffering from headaches, saying that they were only relieved when he ate another meal.

[disneysteve]

Every day he ate twice the recommended calorie count, at 5,000 kcal.

This is really what did him in. If I were to take on this challenge, I certainly wouldn't gorge myself like that. I'd try to keep my calorie count as close as possible to my normal intake. I'd also keep working out, not just doing 5,000 steps. And I wouldn't eat burgers, fried chicken, bacon, fries, white bread, and drink gallons of Coke. I'd stick to the options that are somewhat healthier. And I'd probably eat a ton of apple slices.

[~bs]

This is really what did him in. If I were to take on this challenge, I certainly wouldn't gorge myself like that. I'd try to keep my calorie count as close as possible to my normal intake. I'd also keep working out, not just doing 5,000 steps. And I wouldn't eat burgers, fried chicken, bacon, fries, white bread, and drink gallons of Coke. I'd stick to the options that are somewhat healthier. And I'd probably eat a ton of apple slices.

haha yeah... well it really depends on whatever the stipulations are behind the mcdonalds $10k challenge.

It would be super easy if you can pick and choose what you want. Mcdonalds does have orange juice, milk, fruit slices, yogurts, salads, etc. But a lot harder if you stipulate that you need 3 (unhealthy) full sized combo a day, each with up to 1500 calories. Honestly with 3 large combos and perhaps a dessert, it's not hard to hit 5000 calories/day with fast food.

To do your calculation, it depends on what you get as a drink with your combo but let's just go with a large Coke. So a Double Big Mac (700 calories) + large fries (560 calories) + large Coke (320 calories) = 1580 calories. For sure, it's a big meal with some big taste. October 6, 2012.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Sure but can i not work and just work out all day to make up for it?

[disneysteve]

Sure but can i not work and just work out all day to make up for it?

I'd need to not work so I actually had time to go to McDonald's 3 times a day plus snacks and stuff. There's no way I could do that and still work full time. I work 12 hours a day twice a week plus my other shifts. How am I supposed to get to McDonald's?