San Francisco man lost 85 pounds in a bid to get Taco Bell to revive his favorite menu item

When Taco Bell eliminated the “Grilled Stuft Nacho” from its nationwide menu in 2015, Chris Sandberg was crushed.

The specialty merchandise – a triangle-shaped tortilla full of beef, crunchy purple strips, bitter cream and tacky jalapeño sauce – was “one of the best factor I ever had at Taco Bell,” Sandberg stated.

The day he found the dish, he favored it a lot, “I had it day-after-day for every week,” Sandberg stated. “The next week, it was discontinued.”

After it was taken from the menu, he moved on and tried different objects, however none measured up for him. It stayed contemporary in his thoughts. And on Jan. 4, 2021, he determined to start out a each day train problem on TikTok, within the hope of getting Taco Bell’s consideration.

Sandberg shared a video of himself, breathless in his lavatory mirror, saying, “Day certainly one of exercising day-after-day till Taco Bell brings again the Grilled Stuft Nacho.”

The seven-second clip went viral with a whole lot of hundreds of views. Sandberg doubled down on his uncommon – and considerably illogical – effort to use strain to the restaurant chain by means of bodily exercise. He posted one other mid-workout video the next day, and each single day thereafter. Within the roughly 470 days since he began chronicling his each day train routine on TikTok, Sandberg has shed greater than 85 kilos.

“I’ve put in an unbelievable quantity of bodily work,” stated Sandberg, who lives in San Francisco, is self-employed, and produces social media movies and brief movies. He emphasised that he doesn’t work for Taco Bell and by no means has.

The objective of his exercise antic is twofold: Whereas his major goal is to deliver again his beloved Grilled Stuft Nacho, when he started his Taco Bell problem a couple of yr in the past, Sandberg – who weighed near 300 kilos earlier than the pandemic – was additionally looking for to drop a few pounds. He determined to merge the 2 missions.

“I do perceive the irony in exercising day-after-day for a fast-food merchandise,” he stated. “It began as a joke that has clearly gone method too far, however I can not cease now.”

Though Sandberg initially executed the concept in jest, he shortly realized “it resonates for individuals,” as losing a few pounds is usually a disturbing wrestle for a lot of. He needed to discover a solution to make his expertise lighthearted.

Sandberg grew desperate to get in form after “I learn that individuals who have been chubby have been extra weak to COVID, in order that had been in the back of my head for some time,” he stated, including that he was 275 kilos when he began the train problem, after shedding 15 kilos over the previous few months.

Sandberg thought that publicly sharing his weight-loss journey on social media would possibly assist maintain him accountable whereas additionally probably motivating others. He needed one thing to set himself aside, a trigger that is likely to be comical sufficient to compel Web strangers to cheer him on.

“I did not need the journey to be a few quantity on a scale,” Sandberg stated. “I needed it to be enjoyable. I needed the objective to be one thing that had nothing to do with my weight.”

Enter the Grilled Stuft Nacho.

“Everybody loves Taco Bell,” Sandberg stated in a daring culinary assertion. “That is simply what got here to me.”

Plus, he believed his efforts would possibly truly work.

“Doja Cat needed them to deliver again the Mexican Pizza, and look what occurred,” Sandberg stated. “The Grilled Stuft Nacho is healthier than the Mexican Pizza, and the world must know that.”

In accordance with the Taco Bell Fandom Wiki, the Grilled Stuft Nacho first appeared on the menu in 2013 however was discontinued in March 2014. It made a quick reappearance in 2015 earlier than it was pulled for good. Some individuals have been peeved, although most likely nobody as a lot as Sandberg.

“There’s a widespread perception that the whole lot at Taco Bell tastes the identical, however the Grilled Stuft Nacho is the exception,” Sandberg stated, explaining his appreciation for a selected sauce.

“I wish to make this clear,” he stated. “The tacky jalapeño sauce is completely different than their creamy jalapeño sauce. With out the tacky jalapeño sauce, it’s simply not the identical.”

Sandberg discovered a web-based neighborhood that shared his style in quick meals. Somebody began a web-based petition 4 years in the past pleading with the chain to deliver again the specialty merchandise. The petition collected 792 signatures – together with Sandberg’s. The attraction was not sufficient to revive the dish, so Sandberg determined to take issues into his personal palms.

First, he started with at-home exercises, then integrated weightlifting, high-intensity interval coaching and long-distance working into his common health routine.

“There are days that you just wish to quit,” Sandberg stated. “On the times that you just do wish to work out, that is while you push your self bodily, however on the times that you do not wish to work out, that is when it’s a must to push your self mentally.”