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You Are What You Eat
Episode 7 - Joseph Heyburn

40-year-old Joseph Heyburn lives with his wife Tracey and their daughter Elizabeth, 12, in Kent. Joe weighs 19st 4lbs and is growing. He has gained 5 stone in as many years, is clinically obese, and as well as a sizeable belly, has ample ‘man boobs’.

Joe’s proportions are the result of a diet of takeaways and booze. Ironically, he owns and runs a healthy fat-free frozen yoghurt franchise in his local shopping arcade with his wife. He spends most of this time in his van on the road, however, and this is where the majority of Joe’s diet-damage is done.

Joe starts the day with a fast food breakfast and then spends most of the day in his van snacking, picking up food from drive-thrus, takeaways, and garages. He doesn’t do any exercise, and even when he takes the dog for a walk, he’ll find somewhere to sit and have a cigarette.

When Gillian arrives at the Heyburns, she heads straight for the fridge. To her surprise, she finds carrots, cabbage, and other healthy fresh produce. Joe confesses that he doesn’t really eat from the fridge, and takes Gillian to his van which she is horrifed to see is full of the remnants of half eaten and empty takeaways. As Gillian picks through the stinking remains, she tells Joe that this is the lifestyle of a man in crisis. She is not amused.

To demonstrate the extent of Joe’s bad eating habits, Gillian shows him his weekly intake. It includes 22 ½ pints of lager and 28 coffees with 56 sugars. It also includes seven Indian takeaway dishes, which Joe ate in one sitting. Gillian tells him that there are enough weekly calories here for three men, and warns him that as he only has one heart, he is storing up trouble.

Next Gillian takes a closer look at Joe’s physique. She is shocked to see he has spots and rashes, and even a bruise, around his middle as a result of wearing his trousers too tight.

Joe after
Dr Sanjiv Patel analyses Joe's blood test and tells Gillian that he is deficient in magnesium, which is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system, muscle function, as well as a healthy heart. Gillian tells Dr Sanjiv that it is Joe's heart that she is particularly concerned about, and she is going to design an eating plan to max his magnesium.

After Joe has consulted his GP, Gillian introduces him to his new diet, full of fish, nuts, seeds and leafy greens. Joe is not sure about the seeds, but Gillian tells him that he needs good fats to have a good heart. She tells him the diet is about abundance, not deprivation.

A week in to the diet, and Joe is finding it difficult to manage his time. As a result, rather then sticking to Gillian’s diet, he is living off fast fix smoothies and juices. Variety and balance is the key to Gillian’s diet so she tells him that this won’t do, and shows him how easy it is to make a balanced and nutritious meal. After Joe also confesses to having drunk more than 2 bottles of red wine, Gillian shows him the equivalent of the 5 stone of extra weight he is carrying in car tyres, to stiffen his resolve. She also gives him a pedometer and sets him the target of walking 10 thousand steps a day.

But will Gillian’s hectoring pay off? When she makes her 8-week return visit to Joe, she is delighted to find that he has lost 2 ¼ stone, and his waist has shrunk from 40 inches, to a svelte 34 inches. His trousers are now comfortable and his ‘man boobs’ are shrinking.

The programme end with the new slimline Joe, happily serving customers behind the counter at his fat-free yoghurt franchise.


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