Chipotle is riding a wave of popularity — everyone, including Big Sean, seems to love the burrito chain. But one man has taken his passion for Chipotle to new depths: 106 days ago, Mark Rantal, a graphic artist and improv comedian based in Colorado Springs, Colo., decided to eat Chipotle for lunch every single day.
"The whole thing was totally an accident. On Monday I decided to get Chipotle and on Tuesday I made the same decision, then got lunch with my friend there on Wednesday," Rantal explained the streak to ABC News. The two friends laughed about it, but not long after, over another lunch at Chipotle, Rantal made up his mind. He'd just keep doing this for a week, and then a month, and then another month... "Every time I hit a milestone it was very easy and convenient to imagine hitting the next," he said. "Plus, it's a little ridiculous."
My brain found the consistency of the experiment to be 95% delicious.
Some people believe variety is the spice of life. For Rantal, "food is one of those things [that's] fuel instead of celebration. I've just never really gotten so into it." He orders the same thing every day for lunch: A burrito bowl with white rice, pinto beans, fajitas, sofritas, mild salsa, corn, medium salsa, cheese and lettuce. "Then I shake the whole thing up, and eat it with a bag of chips and a cup of water," he elaborates. It may sound boring, but it's important to note that Rantal still has breakfast and dinner to play around with.
He does enjoy being a regular at his local Chipotle though. He says of Chipotle's staff, "They really do cheer up my day, and I try to do the same for them." The staff give him a free meal for "about" every 10 visits. Rantal also noted that sometimes his bag of chips has a heart drawn on it. Unlike Morgan Spurlock — also known as the guy who ate McDonald's for 30 days until he fell ill — Rantal says he feels great. He's gained 14 pounds, which he said was his goal after losing weight recently when he became a vegetarian.
Last Wednesday, on the 100th day of Chipotle, Rantal hosted a Reddit AMA (which was later taken down by Reddit because it didn't meet their requirements). He noted, when commenters questioned his desire to eat the same thing every day, "My brain found the consistency of the experiment to be 95% delicious."
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