Matt McClellan’s month-long Tour de Pizza cycling trip to promote the health benefits of pizza is scheduled to wrap up on July 5th in New York City.

The trip, which started in McClellan’s home, St. Petersburg, Fla., took the pizzaiolo on a tour up the east coast to visit more than 25 pizzerias in more than 20 cities. In addition to several small-town publications, McClellan was featured on Fox News and NBC.

McClellen, an independent pizzeria owner, is the creator of the 30-day pizza diet, a plan that involves eight to 10 slices of pizza throughout the day combined with exercise and supervision of a physician. Over the course of a month, he lost 24 pounds, raised his good cholesterol and lowered his bad cholesterol.

“I created the pizza-only diet to prove that pizza is the healthiest fast food on the market,” he says. “My approach was simple: Take one large pizza, eat one slice every three hours, change toppings accordingly, and exercise. This bike tour is a way to educate and inspire people to change their lives.”