Chris Coleson is gaining national attention for his McDonald's weight-loss diet.

The New Kent County businessman, who was profiled last week in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said last night that he and his wife were about to fly to New York for an appearance today on "Good Morning America." He is set to appear on several other national TV shows.

The New York Post ran a story yesterday about Coleson, who lost about 80 pounds in 200 days eating almost nothing but McDonald's. The Wall Street Journal has a video story about Coleson on its Web site.

Coleson, 42, of Quinton, spent most of yesterday on the phone with radio stations across the country. He said he received 635 e-mails in less than two hours.

"It's been like a shark feeding today," Coleson said.

The 5-foot-8 Coleson weighed 278 pounds on Dec. 3 when he started his diet of almost nothing but McDonald's -- primarily salads, wraps and apples. He dropped to 199 pounds.

Coleson said he was surprised by all the media interest. He said it might be because it's almost summer and people want to lose weight, or because people are worried about their hearts after Tim Russert's death.

"It's unbelievable," Coleson said. "I didn't realize there was this much interest in a story like this. I'm just shocked."

Today is the last day of his diet. He said he might hit a McDonald's for lunch today in New York.

Saturday is his 10th wedding anniversary. He said he plans to take his wife, Tricia Sumner, to a nice dinner in downtown Richmond.

"I'm not going to stuff myself," Coleson said.
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.