When did you start juicing?
“I started in earnest more than seven years ago when I decided to “reboot” my life. For years, I had been working in pursuit of wealth — and the way I compensated for the stress and pressure of my career in finance was to eat, drink, smoke and generally squander the natural good health I was blessed with.
“Now, if I damaged my health by turning away from Mother Nature, perhaps by turning toward her I could restore my vitality. So I decided to consume nothing but the fresh juice of fruits and vegetables. Now, I’m an ”all in” kind of bloke, so I figured I would do it for 60 days and film it. The result was my movie Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead which has been seen by almost 21 million people worldwide — and no one was more surprised by the film’s success was me.”
What health problems did you have before?
“In addition to being almost 100 lbs. overweight, I was pre diabetic. But worse I had developed chronic urticaria, a chronic autoimmune disease that meant that I was taking powerful steroids every day.”
What made you want to change your diet? Did you have a eureka moment?
“My eureka moment the real turning point in my life - was my 40th birthday. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t recognise the exhausted, overweight bloke staring back at me. And I realised that I was in such poor health that my life was actually endangered. It was hard, but I accepted in that moment that the state I was in was my fault. That led to my reboot, the movie and the creation of Reboot with Joe (www.rebootwithjoe.com) where a community of almost 1.5 million people worldwide get the information to transform their lives.”
What's been the most amazing story you've heard from people who have tried to juice fasts?
“The “rebooters” I meet share such inspirational stories that keep me motivated to spread the word. I recently did an appearance in New York for my book, Fully Charged. A woman approached me who had taken a four hour bus ride and walked three miles in a snow storm to tell me that she had manned to get off all of her medications and had lost 80 lbs by rebooting.
“She worked in a centre for the developmentally disabled, and had bought a juicer to pay it forward. In my new movie, I meet a family whose son had developed severe arthritis but by flooding his body with the micronutrients that juicing delivers, had returned to a completely normal life.”
What sort of health problems have you seen 'cured' or treated?
“Well, I’m not a doctor but our rebooters write in constantly about reversing their diabetes, stopping migraines, ridding themselves of acne and psoriasis, sleeping more soundly and just generally feeling more alive. I call it ‘Human 2.0’.”
Did you expect the success of the films and the impact to be felt so widespread?
Not at all. I was gobsmacked. I thought if I was lucky, maybe it would get shown in a few schools.
How do you keep up your healthy diet/ juicing on the road?
I find juice bars everywhere I go. When I travel, I make sure there is always a juice bar within walking distance from my hotel. And as people grow more away of the incredible benefits of a plant-based diet, juice bars are popping up everywhere.
Starting a juice fast what can we expect?
Well, you should expect to feel out of sorts for the first few days as you detox. The more extreme your lifestyle, the more you may have to detox from. But on about the 4th day, a tremendous clarity sets in and you start to feel fantastic.
Will I be hungry? What will my mood be like (will people hate being around me for a while?!)?
A bit at the beginning — which is why we always recommend that you plan and prepare ahead. And that doesn’t just mean getting a juicer and stocking the fridge! Line up a community to support you — friends, family co-workers or online. Support is the key to a successful reboot.
What can we expect from the book?
Fully Charged is a blueprint for how to be healthy in an unhealthy world. I share the 7 keys I’ve learned from the hundreds of experts I’ve met with in the past few years. My goal is to help people live a healthier, happier life by presenting them with tools and information — and hopefully do it in a way that is fun and engaging. At Reboot, we think that there is no reason why choosing a healthy path has to be punishing or tedious. Because if we can help you reach your 2.0, you’ll be amazed at how vital and happy you’ll be. Juice on!
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead 2 will be airing on Channel 5, 7pm, Tuesday 21st April
'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'