Man celebrates 50-year anniversary of eating McDonald’s Big Mac every day

A man has celebrated 50 years of eating a McDonald’s Big Mac nearly every single day.

Donald Gorske, a 68-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, celebrated the record-breaking streak on Tuesday, after enjoying his first Big Mac 50 years earlier on 17 May 1972.

According to Gorske, who set a Guinness World Record in 1999 for the most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime with 15,490, before breaking it with a new record of 32,340 Big Macs last August, there have only been eight days in the last 50 years that he hasn’t enjoyed one, or two, of the fast-food chain’s burgers.

“I’ve only missed eight days in 50 years, which is phenomenal. And like I say, I count every Big Mac. I’ve counted every Big Mac I’ve eaten my whole life,” Gorske told Spectrum News Milwaukee..

Most days, Gorske eats two Big Macs a day, with the Wisconsin native telling the outlet that he hasn’t tired of them in the years he’s spent eating them daily.

“A lot of times people say: ‘You look like you’re eating a Big Mac for the first time,’ and I guess that’s how I feel sometimes. They’re that good to me, and there’s really nothing else I’d rather eat,” he said.

McDonald’s Big Mac consists of two beef patties, which are “sandwiched between a sesame seed bun” and topped with pickles, shredded lettuce, chopped onion and American cheese. According to the fast-food chain, each Big Mac is 550 calories and has 11 grams of saturated fat and 1,010 milligrams of sodium.

According to Gorske, he’s been told throughout his life that he wouldn’t make it to his goal of 50 years of eating Big Macs, but told Spectrum News Milwaukee he’s proven those who doubted him wrong.

“All through life here, a lot of people said: ‘You’ll be dead before you reach 50 years of eating Big Macs.’ I guess I proved them wrong,” he said.

To celebrate 50 years of Big Macs, Gorske returned to the McDonald’s location of his first Big Mac, which featured a sign outside which read: “Congrats Don on 50 Years of Macs,” according to Newsweek.

According to Guinness World Records, Gorske, whose quest has been documented over the years by both news organisations and the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, had his first Big Mac shortly after receiving his first car.

The McDonald’s conessueir, who ate three of the burgers in his car that day, said it was a pivotal moment, as it marked the first day he began keeping track of his Big Mac intake.

“I drove straight to McDonald’s, got my first three Big Macs, then got in the car and ate them. In that moment I said ‘I’m going to probably eat these for the rest of my life’. I threw the cartons in the back of my seat, and started counting them from day one,” he previously recalled to the record-holding database.

Since that day, Gorske has kept detailed documentation of every Big Mac he has consumed, including every container and every receipt.

The fast-food fan also shared his love with his family, as his son Gideon recalled growing up going to McDonald’s with his father while speaking to Spectrum News Milwaukee.

“We always went to McDonald’s with my dad and had happy meals. I always loved my chicken nuggets, and my brother always loved his hamburgers. It’s how we grew up. It’s just an everyday life kind of thing for us,” he said, adding that he used to eat chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers “every day” but eventually got sick of the food. “I don’t know how he does it, but he certainly does,” he said of his father’s tireless dedication.