“Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” – Two Years On

Have you seen the juicing documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? It is now just over 2 years since the film had its theatrical premiere and according to a new video from the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead team it has now been seen by over 5 million people worldwide. You can currently watch the full length film for FREE on YouTube: http://youtu.be/gpLQwWKb3l8

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead follows Joe Cross on 60 day journey to regain his health. At the start of the film, Joe Cross is 100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease (urticaria). With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long-term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body’s ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.

While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health and longevity, it’s at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare autoimmune condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well. What emerges is nothing short of amazing – an inspiring tale of healing and human connection.

The film follows Phil Staples as he also embarks on a juice fast. I personally started juicing back in 2010 and have many debates since then with people concerned that juicing is dangerous or unhealthy. So what happened to Phil Staples as a result of his juice fast?

After 30 days:

• Phil Staples lost 61 pounds in weight (over 4 stone!)
• Phil Staples’ blood pressure went from 160 over 84 (high blood pressure) to 136 over 70 (normal blood pressure)
• Phil Staples’ triglycerides, which measure fats in the body went from 216 to 161. 161 is almost in the normal range.
• Phil Staples also was able to lower the medication he was taking for urticaria, a skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps.

Phil Staples continued his juice fast for 60 days, after which Phil has mainly eaten a plant based diet with the occasional treat. Phil Staples’ urticaria is in remission and he’s no longer taking any medication for it. After just 10 months, Phil Staples had lost 202 lbs and was down to a much healthier weight of 227 lbs (16 Stone 3 lbs). Before Phil Staples started the juice fast, he weighed 429 lbs (30 Stone 9 lbs).

The new video from the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead team says how the film has inspired those who’ve seen it to collectively drink 93 million juices, the result of which being approximately 6 million pounds of weight loss and around 55,000 people free from medication.

Whilst juicers still remain a niche kitchen appliance, sales in the US are surging, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. In a new article about juicing, the WSJ says sales of juicer hit $215 million for the year ended in November 2012, up by 71% over the year before!

The Huffington Post published the following 10 lessons learned from the film:

1. While most people have a hard time doing the three days most juice cleanses recommend, Joe did 60 days of all green juice, so next time you think three is impossible…

2. You don’t need to drive yourself crazy scheduling gym time, you can radically improve your health for the better simply by altering your diet.

3. Changes in diet can have way more of an impact than pills when it comes to treating a host of diseases.

4. Many health problems can be reversed with dietary changes.

5. The key is to make sustainable changes.

6. Juice cleansing can be a useful tool to reset your taste palette.

7. Make sure to consult a doctor if you have any medical conditions before going on a juice cleanse — especially if you plan on doing it for more than one day.

8. In 60 days Cross managed to shed 90 pounds and alleviate the effects of an autoimmune disease… just 60 days!

9. Cross makes it a point to shop at local food markets, which we love because many people, sadly, can simply not afford to eat as many healthy foods as they wish because of price. If you buy locally and in-season prices drop dramatically.

10. What we loved most about this documentary is that it shows that when push comes to shove, the only person who can get you to change is you. Luckily if you’re willing to do the work, miracles are truly possible.

In Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Joe Cross and Phil Staples both lost weight and improved their health. One of their key weapons to helping their bodies heal was this mean green juice.

This is the official recipe used by Joe Cross and Phil Staples according to the Reboot Program.

6 Kale Leaves
1 Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
2 Green Apples
1/2 Lemon
1 piece of ginger

When making this I suggest sandwiching the kale between the 2 apples as this will help get the maximum juice.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Inspired and want to start juicing , but need to buy a juicer? Click here to get a 5% discount at Juice Master!

Note: discount is applied at check out.

2013 Miles in 2013

I am doing my 2013 miles in 2013 challenge in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as I have been surprised since I started fundraising for the CF Trust just how many people are unaware of this disease and so I hope my efforts will not just raise money, but also awareness of the UK’s most most common life-threatening inherited disease.

The first person to commit to sponsoring my 2013 mile challenge has committed to 1p per mile (£20.13 in total) and this got me thinking. I am hoping that as many as possible of those reading this will commit to do the same and the best thing is, if each person does this on a “pay as you go” type approach all you will need to part with is approx £2 just after each pay day. In January I completed 205.9 miles, in February I completed a further 200.9 miles and in March I completed 185.7 miles. If you can please spare £5.93 to help the Cystic Fibrosis Trust it will be greatly appreciated.

The easiest way to give your sponsorship is to visit my Just Giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/2012-AYearWithoutBeer-CF.

2013 Miles in 2013 – The rules

The rules for my 2013 miles in 2013 challenge are quite simple:

1. All miles must be completely self powered (no motors, sails, etc)
2. I must be able to evidence all miles, either via GPS or with a picture of any static gym equipment

To complete my 2013 miles I will be running, cycling, rowing and who knows, I might even try a few other self powered methods along the way.