It's about choices

In a complete rebuttal of Morgan Spurlock's over-hyped and exaggerated (pun intended) Super Size Me, Merab Morgan of Raleigh, North Carolina, proves that it's possible to lose weight eating at McDonald's.

Merab ate at McDonald's 3 times a day for 90 days and lost 37 pounds by limiting herself to 1,400 calories a day. She essentially skipped eating fries and mostly ate salads and burgers. She said that she "had to think about what [she] was eating", and that she understands that people don't like watching what they eat, but "that's part of the problem." Congratulations, Merab for striking a blow against our growing culture of victimhood.

And she's not alone. I, myself, used to be extremely overweight. At my worst, when I was between 10 and 14, I stood 5'1" and weighed over 160 pounds. I lost some of that weight because of puberty, but during my senior year at college, I hit my peak at 5'7" and 185 pounds, significantly aided by alcohol. During that time, I would say that I had rolls of fat on my stomach (I was a size 34 pants, large shirts), and early on, I was working on a double chin. When I turned 22, I changed jobs and moved to Boston. At that point, I made a promise to myself that I would lose that weight. At first, I started by eating less and using my company fitness room. I still drank, but drank less (albeit still a significant amount). In the first year, I was down to 163 pounds. When I realized that my company fitness room wasn't good enough, I joined a neighborhood gym and worked my way down to my present weight of 147 pounds, where I've been for the past 3 years.

It's about personal responsibility, focus of mind, and dedication.