Tim Donahue, a 27-year-old from Hoboken, New Jersey, conducted an experiment by eating only at the fast-casual chain Sweetgreen for 25 days. He lost nine pounds and found that his favorite dish was the hot honey chicken bowl. While he enjoyed the variety of meals, the challenge primarily involved logistical difficulties rather than the food itself. Donahue noted that the experiment was costly and not sustainable over time, emphasizing the financial burden compared to cooking at home.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A New Jersey man ate nothing but certain foods from a fast-casual chain for 25 days — an experiment that left him nine pounds lighter and craving a slice of pizza.
asserted
that → eat → pizza
Tim Donahue, a 27-year-old Hoboken resident who works in advertising in New York City, documented his challenge as a modern-day spin on Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," he told Fox News Digital.
asserted
he → work → Digital
But instead of eating McDonald's for a month, Donahue wanted to see what would happen if he exclusively ate at a chain on the opposite end of the fast-food spectrum.
asserted
he → eat → spectrum
"I think it felt the furthest possible opposite of McDonald's," Donahue said of choosing Sweetgreen.
asserted
Donahue → think → Sweetgreen
The idea also came from watching his health-conscious co-workers routinely order Sweetgreen for lunch while he showed up with fast food.
asserted
he → come → food
"Everyone inside my office is very healthy, and they were getting Sweetgreen bowls every single day for lunch," Donahue said.
asserted
Donahue → get → lunch
"I myself would go pick up a fast-food burger and everyone would razz and make fun of me."
asserted
everyone → go → me
Donahue originally intended to make his experiment last for 30 days, but there was a practical problem.
asserted
experiment → intend → days
"I wanted to do 30, but if you try to look at your calendar and try to fit [it into] any 30-day window, there was always a wedding, a work trip, a reason why I couldn't do 30," he said.
asserted
he → want → 30
"I said, 'You know what, it's either going to get done with 25 days or I'm never going to it done.'
asserted
it → say → days
"
His primary rule was simple: Whatever he consumed had to be available on Sweetgreen's menu, although he made an exception for black coffee.
asserted
he → consume → coffee
And while Sweetgreen offers more than salads, Donahue tried to keep the experiment centered on its bowls.
asserted
experiment → offer → bowls
By the third day, he said, there was little chance of turning back.
9 pounds down as a favorite emerges
asserted
he → say → favorite
Donahue didn't begin the challenge expecting to lose weight, but by the end, the number on his scale had dropped by about 9 pounds.
asserted
number → begin → pounds
He also found a clear favorite on the menu.
asserted
He → find → menu
"I was rocking with the hot honey chicken bowl," he said.
asserted
he → rock → bowl
"I was getting that all the time."
asserted
I → get → that
Donahue said the variety made eating from the same restaurant for nearly a month easier than one might expect.
uncertain
one → say → month
The bigger challenge, he said, was arranging his life around the experiment.
asserted
he → say → experiment
"The most challenging aspect of the project was not the food, it was the logistics," he said.
asserted
he → say → project
Meals had to be planned around the store's operating hours.
asserted
Meals → have → hours
Going out with friends meant skipping drinks and potentially bringing a salad along.
asserted
Going → go → salad
Even dates with his girlfriend took a back seat.
asserted
dates → take → seat
One thing Donahue doesn't recommend about his experiment today is the price tag.
asserted
Donahue → recommend → experiment
"You can cook at home and make a salad at home and spend a significantly smaller amount of money," he said.
asserted
he → cook → money
Donahue said he offset some of the expense by deciding not to spend money on alcohol or other restaurant meals during the challenge.
asserted
he → say → challenge
But, he admitted, it was a "very expensive" project.
asserted
it → admit → ?
"Out of pocket, this is not a sustainable thing to do over groceries," he said.
asserted
he → do → groceries
Donahue also emphasized that Sweetgreen didn't pay him to conduct the experiment.
asserted
Sweetgreen → emphasize → experiment
The company subsequently embraced his idea, Donahue said.
asserted
Donahue → embrace → idea
"His video inspired us to launch our own 30-day Sweetgreen challenge," Nicolas Jammet, Sweetgreen's co-founder and chief concept officer, told Fox News Digital.
asserted
Jammet → inspire → Digital
"We put out an open call for 30 participants to eat only Sweetgreen for 30 days and document how they feel throughout, and we already received hundreds of applications.
asserted
we → put → applications
After 25 days of salad bowls, Donahue headed to his favorite neighborhood pizzeria.
asserted
Donahue → head → pizzeria
"A cheese pizza after a month of salads was incredibly well-deserved," he said.
asserted
he → deserve → salads
The sudden return to heavier food didn't sit particularly well.
"It did make me feel quite sick because it's a shock to your system," Donahue said.
asserted
Donahue → sit → system
Despite dropping weight and saying he experienced benefits, including more energy, Donahue isn't presenting his experiment as nutritional advice.
asserted
Donahue → drop → advice
He stressed that he isn't a doctor or nutritionist and didn't undertake the challenge to tell others how they should eat.
asserted
they → stress → others
"The experiment was largely a fun filmmaking journey for me," he said.
asserted
he → say → me
"I would never prescribe this to someone."
asserted
I → prescribe → someone
The Aporia
