"I Lost Weight on a Fast-Food Diet"

The 7-Day Fast Food Diet

When the nutrition director of Fitness called and asked me to eat nothing but fast food for a week, I thought maybe I was being filmed for an episode of Candid Camera. Or Survivor: The Drive-Through. I've never been a big fan of fast food. I'm more likely to be seen in the express checkout lane at Whole Foods Market than in the drive-through. Sure, like everyone, I enjoy the occasional pizza, but fast food for seven days? I saw what happened to that guy in the movie Super Size Me. I've read the research -- eating fast food just twice a week can cause you to gain 10 pounds over 15 years, according to one recent study.

It could also up your risk of diabetes. So I wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea. But as it turned out, my assignment was to lose weight. Now this intrigued me. Although I'm technically at a healthy weight, I'm always interested in dropping a few from my five-foot-four, 136-pound frame. Isn't everyone? I signed on the dotted line.

With the help of Nelda Mercer, RD, a dietitian based near me in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I figured out that eating 1,500 calories a day would have me losing one to two pounds a week based on my level of activity, which consists of running and walking three days a week. Mercer and her assistant, Rebecca DeKeyser, then pored over menus to come up with a week's worth of meals. After a lot of calculating, they gave me a plan that satisfied most of my nutritional requirements. Calcium and fiber were low, however, so Mercer suggested that I take a multivitamin.