This is what I have become.....

So another day of McDonalds Monopoly ticks by and another two large cheeseburger meals down the hatchet.

Scarily, events today have shown I am horribly addicted to this game already.

What started out as a bit of fun is now serious business.

I grabbed my first large cheeseburger meal of the day at lunchtime.

I’ve given myself a strategy that I can only go to a particular McDonalds once in this game.

Today, I decided to visit the McDonalds closest to my workplace. 

To offset the damage I was about to consume, I chose to walk.

I don’t know if it actually did much, but at least it will help.

My large cheeseburger meal comes in pretty quick time and I find myself ripping off the stickers before I even take a bite of my food.

I quickly uncover Northumberland Avenue, Whitechapel Road, Mayfair and another Instant Win, my third in three meals, this time a $10 voucher for OzSale.

I polish off my meal and make the walk back to work.

I inform a couple of colleagues at my lunchtime success and I can see them instantly judge me, yes this is what my life has now become.

Anyway, they will be getting zero lifts when I win the jeep.

I mentioned earlier my strategy regarding only going to each McDonalds once, but I’m also trying to look after my health at the same time.

Clearly what I’m doing isn’t great for my body, so I’m trying to offset that as much as possible. 

That includes walking to each restaurant, when possible, and choosing the large cheeseburger meal, as it’s the smallest item I can purchase, whilst still giving me the maximum amount of stickers and the greater chance of winning one of the grand prizes.

Now, I’ve had a number of people having a crack at me, which is fine. This whole thing is a bit of fun at the end of the day, but at the same time, I’m investigating just how possible it is to actually win something decent.

Clearly, McDonalds use this to boost sales and leverage advertising, whilst minimising the chances of winning. It’s smart, but is it ethical?

Using promotions to encourage unhealthy eating and giving customers greater benefits for consuming bigger portions, is something that is certainly a grey area.

The problem is I can already see how people can get hooked. I mentioned above, how keen I was to rip the stickers off. I didn’t care about the food; it was simply what was required to fuel my chances of winning.

But more on that in a second.

Dinner was up and that meant another trip to McDonalds and a 10 minute journey to the next restaurant on my list.

I had to wait 10 minutes in the drive-thru for my order, but when it came, the satisfaction of four more stickers meant that frustration dissipated.

Anyway, this time I uncovered Pentonville Road, Pall Mall, Kings Cross Station and another ‘Instant Win’, a Chicken and Aioli McWrap.

That means I’ve now won something every time I’ve bought a meal.

So far my winnings include, a McChicken Burger, Three month Zinio Digital Magazine Subscription, $10 OzSale voucher and Chicken & Aioli McWrap.

‘1 in 5’ wins instantly; I’m currently shooting 4 from 12.

On the flip side, I’m also getting more duplicates.

I now have three Kings Cross Station stickers, two Pall Mall and two Oxford Street.

Looking at prizes, I need just Whitehall to win a $5000 OzSale voucher and Parklane to win a UK Holiday, plus Old Kent Road to win a ski holiday at Falls Creek.

I can already see myself getting addicted. I’d been storing my tickets in a compartment in my glove box and after taking them out, I noticed one was missing!

Queue panic and numerous swear words. I was soon back with a torch ripping the car apart.

Some minutes later, I realised that it had fallen down the back of the compartment and I was soon reunited with it, thank god.

My neighbour saw me in my distress and asked if they could help.

Thank god I didn’t have explain what I was looking for, as I waived his assistance away.

This is what I have become.....

#FatMonopoly