Man who has vowed to work out EVERY DAY until Taco Bell brings back his favorite menu item loses 87LBS in 16 months thanks to the viral challenge
- Chris Sandberg, 37, from San Francisco, weighed nearly 300 pounds when he started his weight loss journey during the pandemic
- He was looking for a way to keep himself accountable when his love for Taco Bell’s Grilled Stuft Nacho inspired the daily fitness challenge
- Sandberg weighed 275 pounds when he began documenting his workouts on TikTok on January 4, 2021, in the hope of getting the fast-food chain’s attention
- He vowed he wouldn’t stop until Taco Bell brought back the Grilled Stuft Nacho, which has been discontinued since 2015
- The chain has yet to revive the specialty menu item, but he’s down to 188 pounds after nearly 500 days of working out
A man who has vowed to work out every day until Taco Bell brings back its Grilled Stuft Nacho has lost 87 pounds in 16 months.
Chris Sandberg, 37, from San Francisco, weighed nearly 300 pounds when he started his weight loss journey during the pandemic. He was looking for a way to keep himself accountable when he came up with the idea for the challenge.
‘I do understand the irony in exercising every day for a fast-food item,’ he told The Washington Post. ‘It started as a joke that has clearly gone way too far, but I can’t stop now.’
Before and after: Chris Sandberg, 37, from San Francisco, has lost 87 pounds in 16 months after vowing to work out every day until Taco Bell brings back the Grilled Stuft Nacho
Dedicated: Sandberg weighed 275 pounds when he began documenting his workouts on TikTok on January 4, 2021, in the hope of getting the fast-food chain’s attention
Sandberg hasn’t stopped thinking about Taco Bell’s Grilled Stuft Nacho — a triangle-shaped flour tortilla stuffed with beef, cheesy jalapeño sauce, sour cream, and crunchy red strips — since it was discontinued in 2015.
He said he ate the specialty menu item every day for a week after he tried it for the first time that year, but in a cruel twist of fate, it was pulled from the menu the following week.
Sandberg hasn’t been able to find a suitable substitute menu item at Taco Bell since, saying the Grilled Stuft Nacho was the ‘best thing’ he ever had at the chain.
‘The cheesy jalapeño sauce is different than their creamy jalapeño sauce,’ he noted. ‘Without the cheesy jalapeño sauce, it is just not the same.’
Sandberg explained that he was motivated to get in shape after reading that ‘people who were overweight were more vulnerable to COVID.’
He had already lost about 20 pounds when he tweaked his fitness goal to include the return of the Grilled Stuft Nacho.
‘I didn’t want the journey to be about a number on a scale,’ he said. ‘I wanted it to be fun. I wanted the goal to be something that had nothing to do with my weight.’
Sandberg weighed around 275 pounds when he began documenting his daily exercise on TikTok on January 4, 2021, vowing that he wouldn’t stop until Taco Bell brought back the Grilled Stuft Nacho.
Rooting for him: A number of commenters told him that they don’t want Taco Bell to bring back the Grilled Stuft Nacho because they want him to keep going
Surprise: A year into the challenge, Taco Bell reached out and offered to make him a few Grilled Stuft Nachos to enjoy
Happy: Sandberg shared footage of himself chowing down on the discontinued menu item he loves so much, but Taco Bell doesn’t have any plans to bring back the Grilled Stuft Nacho
The challenge may have started as somewhat of a joke, but he soon found that it really resonated with viewers who were rooting him on.
In his early videos, he was often out of breath after doing an at-home workout. As his endurance increased, he started incorporating weightlifting, high-intensity interval training, and running into his routine.
In two months, he lost 20 pounds, and his hope of getting the fast-food chain’s attention kept him double motivated. Four months later, he was down another 40 pounds.
Sandberg increased his weight loss by trading the fast food he ate ‘all the time’ for fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbs. Once a week, he allows himself to eat whatever he wants.
A number of commenters told him that they don’t want Taco Bell to bring back the Grilled Stuft Nacho because they want him to keep going. However, he has gotten the chain’s attention.
Not giving up: Sandberg has continued the challenge and has done nearly 500 consecutive workouts since he started
Then and now: Sandberg has lost a total of 87 pounds and is now down to 188 pounds
In February, Taco Bell reached out and offered to make him a few Grilled Stuft Nachos. He was also gifted a jar of the cheesy jalapeño sauce he raved about.
‘We’ve been watching and cheering on Chris since day one. When we saw his one year approaching, we wanted to recognize him and all he’s accomplished. And what better way to do that than bring the Grilled Stuft Nacho back, just for him, just for one day,’ Nicole Weltman, Taco Bell’s head of social, said in an emailed statement to The Washington Post.
There are no plans for the specialty menu item to be brought back, but Sandberg hasn’t given up hope just yet, and he has continued to stick with his daily exercise regimen.
After nearly 500 days of working out, he has lost a total of 87 pounds and is now down to 188 pounds.
‘I never imagined that I would inspire so many others to want to live a healthier life,’ he said. ‘That’s reason enough to keep going.’
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