Why I Ate 42 Rotisserie Chickens in 42 Days

“Why are you eating so much chicken?”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked that question in the last month I could afford 42 more chickens.

For those of you who listen to the Q Morning Show on Q97.9, Lori shares Daily Distractions filled with pop culture news that is shocking, hysterical, and entertaining. Two months ago, she shared the story of the Philly Chicken Guy who ate 40 chickens in 40 days.

In the video, you can see the crowd gather in awe, fans holding signs, and one man even shouts, “YOU’RE AN INSPIRATION”. That is all I needed to hear. That one sentence sent me on my journey

Meghan’s Chicken Challenge

I told Lori and Jeff that the whole thing was silly because it was easy. I proudly exclaimed that I would eat 41 chickens in 41 days just to beat this guy.

Being the supporter and antagonizer that she is, Lori proceeded to bring me daily chickens into the studios and I would hit the poultry aisle of Hannaford on my days off of work. Together, we made sure that I would consume the dozens of chickens in order to be an inspiration.

At first, I thought I would eat the entire chicken in one sitting every day. I ate the very first chicken in the studio at 8 a.m. in its entirety, went home, and fell asleep for 5 hours. I quickly knew I would not be doing that again.

For the rest of the long and slowly-moving days, I divided the whole rotisserie chicken into different meals and just made sure I ate an entire rotisserie chicken every day, just not in one sitting.

I’d add some to my egg and cheese bagel, then make a sandwich out of it for lunch, then add it to my usual dinners, like tossing it into some veggie pad thai.

The absolute best day was when Disco Jalisco rocked my world with chicken tacos. I brought my rotisserie chicken to them at Tomaso’s Canteen and they whipped up the best tacos I’ve ever had and spiced up my world. That was the day I knew I could do this, I just needed to keep going.

Eating 42 Chickens in 42 Days

Was it hard? The eating part wasn’t. Chicken is extremely versatile and it was a breeze to add it to different foods and pair it with meals. The annoying part was securing a chicken every day and disposing of the carcass. It just got annoying to carry around chicken, have to put it into consideration, and toss away the packaging and bones. I threw so many in my nana’s and boyfriend’s backyards…

It just felt like a rotisserie chicken had complete control over my life and in some way it did. I slowed down in the beginning but was too prideful to stop. I kept going, one foot in front of the other, one chicken at a time, and beat the Philly Chicken Guy.

I surpassed my goal of 41 chickens and proudly ate 42 chickens in 42 days. Tomaso’s Canteen was kind enough to let me eat the final chicken at their spot and in order to finesse that, I had to push my goal back one day. But hey, 42 is better than 41.

The Most Surprising Part

My whole thing is that I love to commit to bits. I love to find something new or a goal to set and just get after it. The more random it is, the better.

My last “bit” was finishing a triathlon when I absolutely despise cardio. The funniest and most surprising part of this whole chicken thing was that eating 42 rotisserie chickens put me in better shape than the triathlon ever could have dreamt.

Consuming that much protein and getting after it at the gym lifting weights was an unstoppable combo. For everyone who told me this was unhealthy: suck on that.

On a Friendlier Note

Thanks, everyone. Thank you for the chickens, the support, for my mama serving me rotisserie chicken on Thanksgiving, and for all the homies, strangers, lovers, and supporters who cheered me on throughout my journey.

This is another success story I can add to my belt.

I am an inspiration.