Merab Morgan reacted with sheer disgust when she first saw the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, in which director Morgan Spurlock lived off the McDonald's menu for a month. But instead of shying away from the golden arches, Morgan launched a 90-day McDonald's diet of her own-and dropped 37 pounds in the process.
Unlike many viewers who took Spurlock's anti-fast food message to heart, Morgan refused to buy into what she considers propaganda.
"Its not like the devil makes you do it," the Henderson, N.C. woman said in response to those who blame fast food chains for their health problems. "I've been overweight for years, and I knew what I was doing was wrong whenever I ate the wrong thing or too much."
Spurlock made his film in an attempt to reveal the health risks of fast food, eating only at McDonald's for 30 days. He ate between 3,000 and 5,000 calories per day and feasted on every menu item at least once-from Big Macs to Sausage McGriddles-opting to "supersize" whenever asked. By the end of the film Spurlock had packed on 25 pounds and faced liver failure and increased cholesterol.
Unlike Spurlock, Morgan set out planning to lose weight.
The single mother who commutes to Chapel Hill for work said she found it impossible to pack her lunch everyday or stay on expensive diet plans such as WeightWatchers.
In April, a then 270-pound Morgan retrieved nutrition facts from the McDonald's website and embarked on a 1,200- to 1,400-calorie-a-day diet. She determined the calorie intake of her meals based on an analysis done at WeightWatchers several years ago.
"I ordered things I enjoyed, always trying to pack the least calories into the most filling meal," Morgan said, noting that she ordered most of her favorite menu items but avoided french fries.
"For me, the key was staying consistent," Morgan said. "I knew if I ate too much at meal number one, I'd pay for it later that day by eating something smaller."
Anna Lutz, a dietician clinician at Student Health, said both Spurlock and Morgan promote interesting views on eating. Lutz said moderation is the key to a healthy diet but noted that eating only fast food is not an ideal solution to poor eating habits or obesity.
"Although fast food chains have made positive changes recently, such a diet almost promises to be low in fiber and other important elements and high in sodium," Lutz said.
Lutz also emphasized that any fast food diet is probably deficient in phytochemicals, which are essential for controlling long-term cholesterol levels.
Since ending her diet in June, Morgan said she still eats at McDonald's "pretty much every day" and is inching closer to her target weight of 150 pounds.
"For every person it's different; certain cases call for different measures," Morgan said. "For me, it's all about taking control."
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