# Would I lose weight eating nothing but McD breakfast? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067 "2013-06-03T20:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/1 "2013-06-03T20:20:22Z")
Three times a day? I am talking an egg mcmuffin (300 calories) and a Mexican coke (120 calories). This is my regular breakfast at work and it is delicious and filling and since McD is talking about serving breakfast all day I am wondering how harmful eating this three times a day would be. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/2 "2013-06-03T20:25:08Z")
_Nothing_ but? No Vit C in either, so hope you enjoy scurvy. No Vit E either, so [yeah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_E_deficiency). Those are just the obvious ones. There’s got to be easy ways of losing weight than intentional malnutrition and starvation. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/3 "2013-06-03T20:32:49Z")
The OP isn’t stranded on a desert island, he can go get some multivitamins and a fiber supplement easy peasy. Given a multivitamin, and assuming OP’s daily caloric needs are above 1500 calories, he’ll lose weight, like that Twinkie diet guy. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/4 "2013-06-03T20:37:46Z")
IANAD or nutritionist, but I think if you did this you would eventually up malnourised and overweight. And very likely diabetic, to boot (if you are not already). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/5 "2013-06-03T20:44:36Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > IANAD or nutritionist, but I think if you did this you would eventually up malnourised and overweight. And very likely diabetic, to boot (if you are not already). Why overweight? I guess it depends on the OP’s starting weight, but at those caloric levels, most people would certainly lose weight on that diet at a decent clip. I would worry about the nutritional aspect of it, but in terms of weight reduction, yeah, you’ll lose weight unless you’re already pretty darned thin and sedentary (I’d guess around 120 pounds or less.) ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/6 "2013-06-03T20:47:38Z")
Egg McMuffin’s aren’t even that unhealthy. It’s an English muffin, an egg (a real cracked egg), a slice of Canadian bacon and a slice of American cheese. That’s it. With a multi-vitamin, I don’t think the diet would have any adverse affects on his health at all. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/7 "2013-06-03T20:52:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Why overweight? I guess it depends on the OP’s starting weight, but at those caloric levels, most people would certainly lose weight on that diet at a decent clip. I would worry about the nutritional aspect of it, but in terms of weight reduction, yeah, you’ll lose weight unless you’re already pretty darned thin and sedentary (I’d guess around 120 pounds or less.) I don’t know. We’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of documentaries about health, nutrition and diet, and one of the recurring themes is the combination of overweight and malnourished. The condition comes from a ingesting a diet high in processed, sugary foods, stuff made with white flour and high-fructose corn syrup. The meal the OP describes is high in calories, but has almost no actual nutritional value, so eventually the body thinks there’s a famine and shifts into starvation-prevention mode by building as much fat as possible. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/8 "2013-06-03T20:53:07Z")
You can even get an egg white version now. Runs you about 250 calories. Just on terms of calories you could probably do worse. But is it filling? Would you eat this three times a day and nothing else? With a little work you can craft 500 calorie or under meals at most fast-food places. Having the calories posted on the menus is starting to help. Of course, you may be missing out on many other nutritional aspects. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/9 "2013-06-03T20:56:23Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I don’t know. We’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of documentaries about health, nutrition and diet, and one of the recurring themes is the combination of overweight and malnourished. The condition comes from a ingesting a diet high in processed, sugary foods, stuff made with white flour and high-fructose corn syrup. The meal the OP describes is high in calories, but has almost no actual nutritional value, so eventually the body thinks there’s a famine and shifts into starvation-prevention mode by building as much fat as possible. The OP’s meal is hardly “high in calories.” 420 calories for a meal isn’t a lot at all. The only thing I personally would complain about is the empty calories of the Coke, but that’s just me. When I slimmed down 30 pounds, McDonald’s lunches were part of my plan, since they’re cheap, I knew exactly how many calories they were, and they’d tide me over to dinner when I’d cook up something a bit better for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/10 "2013-06-03T20:58:08Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Egg McMuffin’s aren’t even that unhealthy. It’s an English muffin, an egg (a real cracked egg), a slice of Canadian bacon and a slice of American cheese. That’s it. > > With a multi-vitamin, I don’t think the diet would have any adverse affects on his health at all. It’s a skewed measure by which an Egg McMuffin isn’t considered all that unhealthy. The english muffin is all chemical preservatives and sugar. The butter flavoring they put on it is butter-flavored chemical preservatives and sugar. The “cheese” has more in common chemically with a plastic gas can than a block of real cheese. The ham is chemical preservatives, fat and sugar. The egg is probably not as bad as the rest, but I don’t think eggs are really regarded as healthy, nutritious foods. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/11 "2013-06-03T20:59:04Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Egg McMuffin’s aren’t even that unhealthy. It’s an English muffin, an egg (a real cracked egg), a slice of Canadian bacon and a slice of American cheese. That’s it. > > With a multi-vitamin, I don’t think the diet would have any adverse affects on his health at all. You would think, but I heard from a friend that McDonalds has huge factories in China that employ thousands of children to secretly inject eggs with ground jellyfish fat. It saves them billions a year. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/12 "2013-06-03T21:14:30Z")
I don’t know if you’d end up overweight, but you might end up gettig tired of the food. There are some foods that I really like, but I don’t usually like to eat the same food even twice in a day. And I don’t know if drinking any kind of Coke 3 times a day is too healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/13 "2013-06-03T21:22:39Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > IANAD or nutritionist, but I think if you did this you would eventually up malnourised and overweight. And very likely diabetic, to boot (if you are not already). I don’t know much about diabetes, but according to [this site,](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-mcdonalds/6262/2) the glycemic levels for an egg McMuffin are low. You could eat three a day and be way under the recommended target. The coke might screw things up. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/14 "2013-06-03T21:22:52Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > It’s a skewed measure by which an Egg McMuffin isn’t considered all that unhealthy. The english muffin is all chemical preservatives and sugar. The butter flavoring they put on it is butter-flavored chemical preservatives and sugar. The “cheese” has more in common chemically with a plastic gas can than a block of real cheese. The ham is chemical preservatives, fat and sugar. The egg is probably not as bad as the rest, but I don’t think eggs are really regarded as healthy, nutritious foods. This is ridiculous. I don’t even like McDonald’s but there’s no need for a hatchet job. The english muffin is a piece of bread. Most of the sugar in the muffin comes from that, and bread is not in any way bad for you. Butter flavoring may be a chemical, but who cares? Vitamin C is a chemical too. The cheese is common american cheese, which means it actually comes with things like calcium. The ham is mostly protein, not fat, and that preservative you’re bitching about is called salt. And who doesn’t think eggs are healthy for you? Not most nutritionists. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/15 "2013-06-03T21:30:25Z")
I guess the Mexican coke is not strictly necessary, it’s just freaking delicious. Could always substitute some juice. The only reason i thought of it is because an egg mcmuffin even though it’s tiny is very filling, and not terribly unhealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/16 "2013-06-03T21:55:41Z")
> [@howye](#): > > You can even get an egg white version now. Runs you about 250 calories. And apparently the muffin is whole grain bread, the cheese is white cheddar and the bacon is leaner. It’s only seven grams of fat instead of the twelve of the regular Egg McMuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/17 "2013-06-04T00:12:22Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > This is ridiculous. I don’t even like McDonald’s but there’s no need for a hatchet job. > > The english muffin is a piece of bread. Most of the sugar in the muffin comes from that, and bread is not in any way bad for you. Butter flavoring may be a chemical, but who cares? Vitamin C is a chemical too. The cheese is common american cheese, which means it actually comes with things like calcium. The ham is mostly protein, not fat, and that preservative you’re bitching about is called salt. And who doesn’t think eggs are healthy for you? Not most nutritionists. Your position in a discussion of nutrition is to defend McDonald’s? Did I just wander into the Bizarro World version of the SDMB? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/18 "2013-06-04T00:16:50Z")
Compared to like, real food, an Egg McMuffin is crap, but as far as fast food fare goes, it’s probably one of your better options. How much do you weigh, OP? Do you know your basal metabolic rate? These are factors in whether or not you will lose weight. ETA: Diabetes may not be as big a risk as some might think, if the sugar is being consumed with protein and fat, it should level out the blood sugar spike, right? ETA2: Mexican coke? Are you in Mexico? Because if you can get a Mexican coke at some McDonalds’ in the U.S. I’d like to know. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/19 "2013-06-04T00:33:15Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > Your position in a discussion of nutrition is to defend McDonald’s? Did I just wander into the Bizarro World version of the SDMB? There’s nothing wrong with an Egg McMuffin, it’s a fairly reasonable morning meal. It’s no more Bizarro to defend McD’s than to blindly attack them. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067/20 "2013-06-04T00:45:22Z")
I would just like to know what a “Mexican coke” is. And where I can get one. ETA: _Other_ than the obvious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-lose-weight-eating-nothing-but-mcd-breakfast/660067.md?page=2)