Joe Cross – Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead – An Interview with Joe Cross
by Marlise Karlin
Marlise Karlin is a rare combination – a pioneering researcher, author, and Founder of the Simplicity of Stillness® Method. Om Times brings Marlise’s unique perspective, which inspires compelling conversations with some of the world’s most fascinating and thought-provoking leaders, visionaries and authors. Each show has a Stillness Session, the evolutionary technology that connects you to the sweet spot of life, even in a busy day. In this first CONNECT show, the star of the award-winning documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Joe Cross joins Marlise to talk about his role as a leader in the wellness community.
Marlise: Tell us how Fat Sick and Nearly Dead came about and how you, a self-described overweight Aussie trader on the stock exchange managed to transform into the man behind a worldwide ‘eating movement’?
Joe Cross: I would say that it started back on my 40th birthday when I effectively looked in the mirror and had what I would call a very honest conversation with myself. I call it I got into the house of mirrors and had a good, hard look at myself. And what ended up from that little moment that catalyst of realizing that I was fat, sick and nearly dead is that my ears were open and I was ready to listen. And the very first thing that I heard was that 70 percent of all disease is caused by lifestyle choices.
I was 325 pounds and loaded up on medication. I’d been taking pills every day and every night for eight long years. And so that little bit of hope that 70 percent of disease is caused by us – that got me excited. I know it’s a pretty bad number, but I got excited about it, Marlise. And I just thought, you know what? There’s a chance here that I might be able to get myself healthy by changing some of these habits, these lifestyle choices — what we eat, what we drink, whether we smoke, what sort of exercise we do, our approach to anger and stress and sleep, and so on.
