Lose 86 Pounds...Eating Mickey D's?

If someone asked you how to lose weight, you'd probably come up with tons of great suggestions...none of them including a six-months diet comprised solely of food from McDonald’s. But ask Chris Coleson and that would be his advice. After all, the Richmond, VA, businessman who started at 281 pounds in December 2007 has now lost 86 pounds.
 
Before you go running for a Big Mac, health experts—even Mickey D’s itself—say to hold off on the fast food parade. Coleson didn’t go all McCheesy to lose weight. Instead, he stuck to the restaurant's healthier fare and ate lots of salads, wraps and fruit with the occasional cheeseburger. In fact, dietitians are going so far as calling Coleson’s plan of 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day a "starvation diet."

McDonald’s is clear that the company is not looking for a new spokesman, ala Jared from the Subway commercials. But the restaurant is quick to point out that their menu’s healthy options have given numerous people the option of including their foods as part of a weight loss plan.
 
Dietitians have recommended that Coleson begin to add more variety into his diet because of the fact that he has probably lost muscle mass. Happy to oblige, Coleson said he will begin to add lean steaks and tuna into his diet as he moves forward, but he will keep using the chain's portions as a guide.
 
The bottom line: Health experts say Coleson’s experiment proves losing weight is not a matter of where you eat, but what you eat and, most importantly, how much you eat.
 
All that McDonald's talk is making us wonder—what are your favorite healthy fast-food options? [AdAge, image via inRich]