Fast food with a fitness side dish.
A British health expert claims you can indulge in the gluttony of the golden arches without completely overhauling your diet.
Rare fat loss coach Rosi May has taken to Instagram to share simple tricks to turn your McDonald’s order into a health-conscious Happy Meal. And even better, there’s no bed of veggies or grilled chicken breast involved.
May says, “Here’s how to lose weight when you eat at McDonald’s. And don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to swap your burger for a salad, because nobody goes to McDonald’s to eat a salad.”
She explains that to lose weight, the body needs to be in a calorie deficit, which means that you burn more calories than you consume. In this sense, the goal should not be deprivation, but conscious calorie counting. She emphasizes: “Losing weight is not about giving up everything you enjoy.”
May claims that by following her fast food advice, you can save over 500 calories per order and pave the way to weight loss.
“500 calories over the course of a week adds up to 1 pound. If you do that every week, that’s 52 pounds in a year.”
Meal number one gets an upgrade? A Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, a large serving of French fries, and a large Coke has 1,385 calories, which is within the recommended daily calorie intake for most people.
May suggests the simplest swap is to replace the large Coke with Coke Zero or a Diet Coke, saving 212 calories. This is not to say that Coke Zero or Diet Coke are healthy choices, as both contain aspartame, which a 2022 French study linked to an increased risk of stroke.f.
May reduced her large portion, which contains about 444 calls, to a medium portion, which contains 337 calls, saving over 100 calories.
Finally, she swapped the double Quarter Pounder with cheese for a regular double cheeseburger, saving an average of 200 calories without having to forego the enjoyment of the double patty.
May explains: “Overall, you’ll save over 500 calories and still be able to have a double cheeseburger, fries and a drink. But that won’t burn all your calories for the day.”
Finally, May tells her followers that losing weight doesn’t have to mean deprivation or repetition: “You can still enjoy things like McDonald’s during your weight loss journey. But it doesn’t have to be boring. You just have to be smart about it.”
Her advice is backed up by registered dietitian, freelance writer, nutritionist and sustainable food blogger Kelsey Kunik, who admits she also shops at Mickey D’s: “In the world we live in, many of us are incredibly busy and it’s more than likely that you’re on the go and hungry. So while I don’t recommend eating at McDonald’s every day, it can certainly be part of an overall healthy diet.”
