Living the Chipotlife: Man eats Chipotle for 154 days straight
Remember that movie called Super Size Me — you know, the one where Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald’s for an entire month? Well, Spurlock has officially been one-upped by 23-year-old Andrew Hawryluk, who has eaten at Chipotle Mexican Grill once a day for the past 154 days.
Although a different man, Mark Rantal, made headlines recently for his own weeks-long Chipotle conquest, Hawryluk has been chowing down for approximately 50 days longer than Rantal.
The challenge started when the 23 year-old, Los Angeles-based animator decided to not give up eating Chipotle for Lent — in other words, he made sure to eat Chipotle every day for 40 days straight. He dubbed his anti-fasting holiday “Chipotlent.” And once Lent ended, he decided to continue the experiment, renaming it “Chipotlife."
Haryluk said he has always loved Chipotle and has been a regular customer for past few years. As a fitness fanatic, he said Chipotle’s transparency about it ingredients and processes — coupled with its current GMO-free policy – are big selling points.
“Chipotle tastes the best and feels the cleanest/freshest to me,” Haryluk told USA TODAY Network in an email statement. “Plus, I think there are a lot more Chipotles than any of their direct competitors. But it has more to do with the ingredients, vibe, and food.”
Hawryluk said he usually orders the same thing every day from Chipotle: a burrito bowl with white rice, chicken, lettuce, guacamole and Tabasco chipotle sauce. He has dubbed the dish “The Impeccabowl” — a meal that he said he never gets tired of eating. He said “it tastes kind of like Mexican sushi.”
And while some might argue that eating out every day could lead to a larger waist-line, Hawryluk said eating Chipotle every day hasn’t negatively impacted his health. Instead, he said his cholesterol has actually gone down since he started living the Chipotlife. His weight has reportedly stayed constant and his stomach is so toned that he said he has six-pack abs.
But Hawryluk realizes not everyone would see the same results.
“I’m 23 years old, exercise daily, and do my best to maintain a ‘normal,’ balanced diet outside of eating Chipotle once per day,”Hawryluk said. “These results are only relevant to me personally, and I don’t necessarily recommend anyone else attempt this diet without first consulting their physician.”
To prove that he’s eating Chipotle every day, Hawryluk posts a daily photo to his Tumblr, including his receipt and a picture of his meal.
Hawryluk’s family and friends, he said, have been supportive. He even eats about one third of his Chipotle meals with his roommates and brother — it has become a family dinner of sorts among them, Hawryluk said.
“It’s like the weirdest thing to ever come to prominence over, and I think it’s fun to have everyone along for the ride,” Hawryluk said. “If they weren’t supporting me/didn’t think this experiment was as funny as I think it is, I doubt I would’ve gotten this far.”
And his project has come with perks. He said one of his friends let Chipotle know about the challenge, and the company sent Hawryluk a goody bag on his birthday.
While Hawryluk said he will continue to eat Chipotle for as long as he can, he also acknowledges that the challenge logistically cannot last forever — if he were to travel outside of the country, for example, he would likely not have access to a Chipotle. But even when he finishes living the “Chipotlife,” Hawryluk said he won’t ever give up on his “Impeccabowl.“
“Once I finish Chipotlife, I’ll undoubtedly keep eating Chipotle as often as I did before this all started.
Michael Schramm is a student at the University of Michigan and a summer 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.