A Big Mac fanatic's record-breaking 25,000 burgers: By the numbers

Don Gorske's queasy quest to consume the most Big Macs ever hits a gut-wrenching milestone

Don Gorske bites into his 25,0000 Big Mac, defying all nutritional odds by living on a nearly all-burger diet that he doesn't see ending any time soon.
(Image credit: Screen shot, CNN.com)

Retired prison guard Don Gorske dedicated his professional life to the penal system, but his (shockingly) still beating heart belongs to the McDonald's Big Mac. The 57-year-old Wisconsin native broke his own Guinness World Record Tuesday when he consumed his 25,000th Big Mac. Gorske, who was featured in the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, says he likes counting things, and is "probably obsessive compulsive." And the burger fanatic has no intention of stopping: "I plan on eating Big Macs until I die." Here, a look at Gorske's dietary milestone, by the numbers:

25,000

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39 years

Time that has elapsed since his first McDonald's patty

9

Number of Big Macs he ate on his first day: May 17, 1972

23,000

The previous Guinness World Record for number of Big Macs consumed, set in 2008 by Gorske himself

8

Longest stretch of days Gorske has gone without a Big Mac

2

Average number of Big Macs Gorske consumes per day

16

Number of bites he takes to finish one burger

90 percent

Estimated share of Gorske's diet reserved for Big Macs

540

Number of calories in one Big Mac

13.5 million

Number of Big Mac calories Gorske has ingested over the last 39 years

725,000

Grams of Big Mac fat Gorske has eaten over the last 39 years

More than 630,000

Number of Americans per year who die from cardiovascular disease

Sources: CBS News, MSNBC, The Consumerist, Death + Taxes, OC Weekly