Fairview man goes viral after eating McDonald's and losing weight
FAIRVIEW, Tennessee -- When trying to lose weight you might avoid McDonald's. But one Fairview man says that's the only place he turned to.
When it's lunch hour at the Fairview McDonald's, for most people in the drive-thru line it's their first Mickey D's trip of the day.
For Kevin Maginnis, it's his second. In fact, for the past 17 days he's gone to the fine fast-food establishment for every meal.
The trick is he only eats half the portion he's given.
"This isn't supersized me; this is half size me," says Maginnis.
He's on a mission to lose 50 pounds in 100 days.
"Nothing else has gone in my body, not even a breath mint," Maginnis adds.
It's a journey he started with his very first TikTok that went viral with 2-million views. In it, he says he was originally at 238 pounds, which was unacceptable, so he went to McDonald's.
"With millions of people watching, there's no way I'm going to slip up and accidentally over eat and eat the whole thing," Maginnis says.
"If it's working for him, kudos to him," says Dr. Gitanjali Srivastava, a weight-loss doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
She says Maginnis' diet isn't for everyone and people should focus on eating unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
"There are harmful effects for a long term processed diet," says Srivastava. "It can have detrimental effects on our cholesterol, our glucose, all of those levels."
"I have a lot of people who say this isn't healthy, don't believe that it's good, you're going to kill yourself, rest in peace," says Maginnis. "For all of them I say 'follow along, let's find out.'"
He says he doesn't care what some doctors have to say. He is down 18 pounds already by eating half his meals and taking the rest home for dinner.
That's something Maginnis will be doing for the next 83 days.
"Can we just fast forward to the end?" he says. "Can we just go right there and see what it turns out to be?"
Maginnis says he checked in with doctors and cardiologists. They say he is in good shape right now.