Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead: A Review

I know, I know, this documentary is seven years old. I guess I am a bit behind in my Netflix watching.

My wife started watching this documentary and I came into it a few minutes in. I was hooked almost immediately. Why? Not because I think a juice fast is the answer to everyone’s health problems, but because the author and subject of the documentary, Joe Cross, was preaching personal responsibility.

We don’t get enough of that unfortunately. As a personal trainer, I hear it all. The list of reasons, i.e. excuses that people provide to avoid personal responsibility is almost endless and often surprisingly creative. If people were half as creative in looking for solutions to problems as they were in coming up with ways to defer responsibility, the world would be an interesting place. But enough of that rant, that is a subject for a future blog. Where was I?

Joe Cross emphasizes his own choices in accepting how he got into his health predicament. And he emphasized that it will be his choices which help him to move in a healthier direction. Surprisingly, for both Joe and someone he meets on his journey, Phil Staples, the doctor’s in this documentary are very supportive of the idea of Joe and Phil modifying their lifestyle in an attempt to get off of their medications. This was so encouraging to see! Long before “there’s an app for that”, there was a medical and pharmaceutical community telling us “there’s a pill for that.”

Please, do not misconstrue what I am writing as a blanket condemnation against all medication. I understand there have been incredibly medical breakthroughs which I am thankful for. Further, I understand there are complex diseases that likely require very careful monitoring of an extensive list of medications. However, the recent rise in people consuming pill after pill is terrifying. It makes sense to back up a few steps and evaluate how we got to this place. Rather than treating the symptoms with a pill, maybe we should address what caused the symptoms in the first place.

And that is what makes this documentary so refreshing. Not only do Joe Cross and Phil Staples both take a very serious and objective look at the lifestyle choices which lead to their poor health but, the doctors which monitor Joe and Phil are also completely on board with reducing their medication dosage and encouraging responsibility from their patients. Together, they take steps to move in the direction of better health. This involves reducing sources of stress in their life, increasing exercise and specifically related to the documentary, doing a prolonged juice fast where they only consume the juiced fruits and vegetables.

I do not specifically support a juice fast, but if we remove “juice fast” and replace it with “healthy eating” you may see why I am excited. We have a documentary telling people to exercise and eat healthier. As Joe and Phil do their juice fast, they specifically talk about how harmful it was to their bodies to be consuming excessive amounts of processed foods. Joe, in particular, talks about the importance of transitioning from the juice fast to a diet still high in fruits and veggies, but also high in lean proteins and moderate in quality carbohydrates as close to their natural state as possible. Very sensible.

How could Joe have done better?

Instead of juicing his fruits and veggies, he could have blended them to still benefit from the fiber and other micronutrients missed out in the non-juiced parts of the fruits/veggies. [Interestingly, Joe emphasizes the importance of micronutrients so I found it odd that they initially were not using the pulp. However, it appears they are recognizing the benefits now] Also, he could have added a source of protein to the blender for flavor and to maintain lean body mass. Whey protein, cottage cheese or greek yogurt would all be good options.

Joe and Phil lost massive amounts of weight, however they both likely lost significant muscle mass as well due to being on a diet almost completely void of protein for 60 days. Also, drinking only juice means your body is experiencing some decent spikes in blood sugar since there is no fiber or protein to slow down digestion. Generally, speaking we do not want to keep spiking blood sugar from large infusions of sugar into our bodies. Thankfully, their low calorie intake and weight loss hopefully offset any issues from the constant sugar infusion. Also, they were both under medical monitoring during the juice fast so a doctor could have warned them if certain health markers began to go awry.

If you are inspired by the documentary and try to make drastic changes, please heed my advice and do not try to replicate exactly what Joe and Phil did.

The take home message?

I hope you come away from the film with a greater appreciation of personal responsibility for your health and wellness.