John Cisna, a science teacher from Ankeny, Iowa, ate nothing but McDonald’s food for three months with surprising results, reports the International Business Times.  Unlike normal expectations for an all McDonald’s or all fast food diet, Cisna managed to lose 37 pounds during his experiment.  At the end, Cisna had not only lost weight, but had also seen other health benefits.  His cholesterol dropped from 249 to 170 and his low-density lipoprotein dropped from 173 to 113.  He even managed to get all the meals for free from his local McDonalds because the project was not a bad marketing gamble for the fast-food franchise.

However, this proved Cisna’s hypothesis correct.  He stated, “I can eat any food at McDonalds I want as long as I’m smart for the rest of the day with what I balance it out with.”  In order to eat smart, Cisna limited himself to 2,000 calories a day and tried to stay as close to recommended levels of nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fat.  Even though he may have had a Big Mac for dinner, he knew that he had to pass on the McGriddle in exchange for some yogurt or oatmeal.  Cisna even let his students pick out the food he would eat.

According to KCCI News 8, Cisna said that a typical breakfast would be two egg white delights, a bowl of their maple oatmeal and a 1 percent milk.  A salad for lunch would be followed by more traditional value meal at dinner.  Cisna’s students used McDonald’s online nutritional information to construct daily meals for their teacher, making sure to follow the nutritional limitations he had set.

It is also important to note that Cisna incorporated physical activity by walking 45 minutes per day during the experiment.  At the end, Cisna emphasizes that the experiment only shows that choices are what lead to poor health.  Eating McDonald’s alone will not cause a person to gain weight.  Rather, it is the well-known answer of diet and exercise for a healthy weight.  It is not ideal to pick up all three meals from McDonald’s for financial or health reasons, but if that is what a person chooses to do, they should make smart decisions in the process.

Cisna focused on making choices within dietary recommendations.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a healthy diet is composed of fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy.  Grains should be primarily whole grains, proteins should be lean, and dairy should be calcium rich.  Additionally, it is important to avoid empty calories and opt for nutrient-rich foods.