Before you all turn up your noses, a necessary premise: this is not the first time that a nutritionist or researcher has experimented with McDonald’s food for one or two months (or even more) and it is not simply a provocation. There have been experiments that have shown that it is also possible to eat healthy and even lose weight by choosing typical fast food dishes: an American professor , for example, made it a study subject for his students, acting as a guinea pig and losing several kilos. You may ask: yes, but given that fast food is not healthy, why do such a thing? Why stop eating McDonald’s or other fast food chains to lose weight, when that food is anything but healthy?

There are two very good reasons. The first:
– most people, especially poor people, eat fast food regularly . It is a fact. It is useless to ignore it. For economic reasons (a hamburger costs a dollar or a euro), for practical reasons, for a lot of reasons. It is easier to teach that there are healthy diet options at fast food too than to keep telling these people they shouldn’t eat fast food. Also because, let’s face it clearly, it doesn’t attack. The statistics say so. The cost of fruits, vegetables and healthy foods is higher than that of fast food offerings. As long as this is the case it is useless to lecture people and look into their wallets. It does not work. Point.
– even those who do not regularly eat fast food can make poor nutritional choices: versions of rich but poor foods fill the shelves of supermarkets. Snacks, snacks and biscuits if you buy them at the supermarket are no more harmless than fast food. Same thing for packaged ice cream, baked goods, frozen products. If you eat pre-fried fish sticks you certainly can’t lecture those who eat in fast food restaurants. It is scarce food either way. Except that we talk about fast food, less packaged products from supermarkets. Yet they are no less harmful. 

Based on these reasons, an American nutritionist proved that you can stay fit and eat well (all things considered) even with McDonald’s foods. And  Nyree Dardarian is no ordinary nutritionist, but she heads the  Center for Nutrition and Performance at Drexel University.  Again, the experiment served her students.
The nutritionist managed to have a balanced and sensible 1400-calorie diet while eating McDonald’s every day and leaving only 200 calories of extra headroom for non-fast food.

In particular, for 1560 calories a day, the doctor ate for example:
a yogurt parfait with McDonald’s fruit for breakfast + an English Muffin (450 calories in all)
a McDonald’s chicken salad for lunch + a small fry (680 calories)
six pieces nigiri with salmon (non-fast food extra: 260 calories)
a small vanilla cone at McDonald’s (170 calories)

With one difference: he has always chosen small portions, and never double. For example, small burger and never double.
He did not add sugary drinks to the dishes on the menu. He only opted for fried food once or twice a week. 
The only drawback, she explains, was boredom.
Were there any contraindications?
Absolutely yes. The salt was too high, so she had to take a potassium supplement. She explained that if you eat all of your fast food meals every day, a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables can create a sodium imbalance. But I don’t think any of us want to eat fast food every day, right?
On the other hand, with her experiment, the doctor showed that even in a fast food restaurant and with little money in your pocket you can make healthier choices. As long as the portions are small and other menu options are also chosen (fruit bags, yogurt parfaits, salads), avoiding adding sugary drinks and sauces to the meal.