Most people would think that eating fast food from McDonald‘s for more than 3 months would ruin the diet, but this was not the case for a 57-year-old man from the US state of Tennessee. 

Kevin Maginnis has been in the media this week, explaining how he dropped around 27kg by eating fast food from McDonald’s for all three of his meals for 100 straight days . 

Maginnis, a grandfather from Nashville, Tennessee, told local news station WSMV that he only ate half of what he was ordered to limit calories during his experiment. He said he “never gets tired” of Big Macs, quarter-pounders, French fries, apple pie, and other treats because of the half-portions he eats. 

Separately, on NBC’s Today show, Maginnis explained how he avoided snacks between meals and only drank water between meals. The result was that he lost 58.5 pounds (26.5 kilograms) while improving his cholesterol and blood sugar tests, as well as his risk of heart attack. 

Today’s presenters were amazed at McGinnis’ transformation, as he appeared in a track coat and skinny jeans, an older photo showed his stomach bulging out, and one presenter noted that the diet McGinnis followed was “clearly unsustainable”. “Don’t make fun of me for eating apple pie and losing weight,” McGinnis joked. 

But then he said he understood he could maintain his weight loss if reduced portion sizes remained a staple of his diet. 

Maginnis announced his unorthodox diet on TikTok, and it quickly went viral. The 100 days ended by last Thursday, June 1, when he reported losing weight from 238 pounds (108 kilograms) to 179.5 pounds (81.4 kilograms). 

These findings contradict the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, which documented how filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, 32, gained 24.5 pounds (11.1 kilograms) along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depressive symptoms and impotence. 

The film follows a lawsuit against McDonald’s brought by attorneys representing two morbidly obese children, both of whom suffered from one of the biggest health problems in the United States. The documentary was well received critically, but Spurlock was exposed about his history of sexual misconduct during the height of the #MeToo campaign. 

Maginnis told WSMV that his wife joined him about halfway through his 100-day diet, and he reported losing about 20 pounds (9 kilograms). 

WSMV said it consulted doctors, who warned that the McGinnis diet “isn’t for everyone.” In return, doctors urged the public to focus on eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other unprocessed foods.