How i lost six stone in 60 days

He had everything most people ever want. Except for his health. At 27 stone Joe was clinically obese. He was plagued by a plethora of long-term health problems; high blood pressure,

cholesterol and most debilitating of all a rare skin condition known as chronic urticaria angioedema. In layman's terms this translates as severe hives that were triggered by any sort

of physical pressure. "Anything could cause an attack," says Joe when we meet to discuss his film Fat, Sick And Nearly Dead which chronicles his journey back from the brink of

despair and airs tomorrow on Channel 5. "Shaking hands with people, carrying groceries, sitting in an aeroplane seat. I couldn't walk on sand barefoot for eight years. "I had

to wear shoes on the beach. My feet would swell up and I wouldn't be able to walk. "I took 70mg of the steroid prednisone every day. Even when I didn't feel sick the fact I

was constantly reaching for the medicine cabinet reminded me I was ill, not to mention the many side effects taking steroids long term can cause. Hunchback, moon face, weight gain,

osteoporosis and liver disease to name a few." After eight years of contending with the condition he took matters into his own hands. "I had been outsourcing my health to someone

else for all that time, from conventional western doctors to witch doctors, I'd tried it all. I wanted to be fixed but I hadn't admitted it could be my fault. "So when I

turned 40 I had an awakening and thought I should take responsibility and I started doing some research." Joe's diet was not good. He smoked, drank alcohol and copious amounts of

sugary drinks, and the majority of food he consumed was either meat products or processed and out of a packet. Eating fruit and vegetables on a daily basis was an alien concept. He explains:

"When I developed this condition in my 30s I said I would give a million dollars to be cured. So then I thought what if I put a million dollars into investing in trying to cure myself?

I spent a year researching the best way for me to approach this and make this change. "Something had to be done. In the mirror I saw someone who was 100lb heavier than they should be,

on medication every day and on the road to dying prematurely. My diet was terrible but the fact is, it was average. "What I've learnt is that the average person is getting five per

cent of their energy from fruit and vegetables but it's the micronutrients in plants that fight disease. This is why we have epidemics of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, strokes;

these diseases are chronic around the world. "They're largely preventable. Back then I was the poster boy for what not to do." Today at 47, he is a fit, healthy man. He is

free from medication, cured of any sign of his skin condition and rarely falls ill. So what has caused this turnaround? The answer is simple. Juice. There's barely a day in the past six

years when Joe Cross hasn't drunk juice. And that's not the cartons of "fresh" products you might find in a supermarket but freshly pressed fruit and vegetables made in

a juicer. "I decided I was going to survive only on plants. I looked at why people get fat. Why do our bodies have the ability to store so much weight? "The answer is survival. We

store fat for lean times but there's no famine in affluent societies, there's a feast on every corner. I had to create my own famine. "So I put my knowledge of plants and the

idea of fasting together and came to juicing. Obviously then I realised it had been around for years but that's where the idea came from." Joe decided to travel across America

while on a juice-only diet with a film crew in tow to document his progress. The results were astonishing. "After 60 days of just juice and a further 90 days of eating only fruit and

vegetables I was off all medication. It was five months of hard graft but it cured me. In the end that lens was my community. "It was very helpful to have the cameras there when the

going got tough. It was a huge incentive to carry on when I felt like buckling." In 60 days he lost six stone. His blood pressure and cholesterol levels went from being dangerously high

to being well within the normal limits. But there's no denying his approach was extreme. And what of the sceptics who say you can't possibly gain all the nutrients you need from

juice? "I consulted doctors before the fast. In the three litres of juice I was consuming each day I was getting about 14g of protein.The average recommendation is 70g a day therefore I

don't ever call this a diet. It's a fast. "This is a moment in time where I decided to create a nutritional famine and use up the excess energy in my body. I also had regular

blood tests throughout to check up on my electrolyte levels." Since filming ended in 2010 Joe has changed his life. He has relocated from Sydney to New York, quit the world of finance

and has founded a media company which provides content to inspire people to lead happier and healthier lives. "The juice fast was only the beginning. For the most part it has been about

maintaining a healthy lifestyle. One thing I know for sure is that if I go back to my old ways I'll go back to what I was in no time and I can't ever let that happen." FAT,

SICK AND NEARLY DEAD, CHANNEL 5, TOMORROW AT 8PM. For more information, tips and recipes go to rebootwithjoe.com