Tuesday, 12 December 2006

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Gillian McKeith: I used to eat junk food

The nutritionist was so ill doctors thought she had a brain tumour

Dr Gillian McKeith has helped everyone from celebrities to the nation's couch potatoes eat healthier and lose weight. But what few know is that she too used to struggle with her weight and ill health, just like the people she now helps on her hit TV show You Are What You Eat.

My fridge used to be full of junk food

'I never went down the fresh fruit or vegetable aisle and lived on bags of crisps, salty chips and frozen food,' she says. 'I thought I was healthy simply because I shopped at a health food store!'

The Scottish-born nutritionist, who has treated stars including Demi Moore and Brian McFadden, reveals that at 23 she was 2.5st overweight and yet still thought she was healthy. Ironically, she was working as a journalist, interviewing experts about health and diet.

'It's like when you watch chefs on TV. You think it's entertaining, but you don't think it has any relevance to your life. I was the same with people I interviewed,' she says. She believes she may well have ended up like her TV clients had she not fallen seriously ill, which set in motion a series of life-changing events.

'I started getting dreadful migraines with blinding flashes of light and throwing up violently, as well as having lots of other niggling health worries.' At one point she was seeing 10 different doctors for her health problems. 'Not one knew what was wrong with me, but I was given medication by them all,' she says.

I thought I was going to die

Things worsened when a neurosurgeon suspected that her migraines might be due to a brain tumour. 'I was terrified because I had exactly the same symptoms as my brother's girlfriend, who'd been diagnosed with a tumour, too,' she explains. 'By that point I was convinced I was going to die young.'

But the day before she went for a CAT scan, Gillian interviewed an alternative health practitioner who claimed to be able to diagnose health problems by touch alone.

'She told me I didn't have a tumour but that I had a mould allergy, sensitivity to mushrooms and lots of other deficiencies. I thought she was barking mad!' she laughs. 'But I had the diagnosis checked and she was 100 per cent correct.'

As hard as it is to imagine now, she still didn't believe that changing her diet would solve all her health problems. It was only when her then boyfriend Howard – who she's now been married to for 10 years – packed her off to a diet camp that her scepticism was banished.

I turned my life around

Unable to escape from the macrobiotic fare – an organic diet rich in whole grains and fresh vegetables but which bans meat and all dairy products – Gillian admits that she behaved in much the same way as the people on her show.

'I refused to eat one meal and cried when I was given another of seaweed mixed with beans,' she says. 'I thought the food looked disgusting, but when I eventually tried it I found it was really nice.'

When she went home after three days, she decided to keep up the diet. Within two months she was a changed person. 'I remember waking up and realising that, for the first time in years, I didn't feel like I had a hangover. That's when I knew I'd never go back to how I used to be.'

Looking back, Gillian says it's difficult to put into words how dramatic her transformation was. 'It was like the difference between night and day. I was in a dark place and was so grumpy, but didn't even realise it.'

I never crave chocolate

Nearly 20 years on and now the mother of two daughters, Skylar, 10, and Afton, five, does Gillian occasionally feel tempted to reach for an unhealthy snack? 'Never, because I know how awful it would make me feel,' she says. 'Besides, you only have a craving when you have a mineral deficiency or blood sugar imbalance.'

Gillian says she maintains her fantastic shape by starting the day with a cup of warm water, to aid digestion, followed by a fruit smoothie. Lunch is then leftovers from the night before, such as millet mash and gravy and a veggie juice, followed by a hearty salad or soup for dinner.

Even when she's away from home, she prepares everything the night before and takes it in a lunchbox, which she's nicknamed Rolla. 'I take Rolla everywhere with me – on trains, planes and even to hotels – and pack it with my lunch and snacks like hemp seeds or nuts.'

My daughters love the show

Her children and husband are also firm fans of her way of eating – Skylar even invented one of the smoothies, Yum-Yum Delight, in her latest book You Are What You Eat Cookbook.

The girls also love her show – particularly the bits when their mum examines clients' faeces. 'They always laugh when I'm discussing poo on the programme, although they often feel sorry for the person involved!' Gillian laughs.

Although her show is aimed at helping people to lose weight, Gillian doesn't believe in getting hung up on numbers. 'I don't worry about my weight but about whether I feel good and am operating at maximum energy.'

Exercise is essential

She exercises every day, although for Gillian exercise is vital as she suffers from scoliosis, a condition in which the spine curves from side to side. 'If I don't exercise I'd be in constant pain, so it's a necessity for me,' she says.

She credits Pilates with working miracles in helping her manage her condition and practises every morning. 'I started doing it five years ago and it's changed my life by helping build strength in the muscles in my stomach to help support my back.'

For burning calories and keeping her figure slim, Gillian cycles and ice skates. But the thing she swears most by is dancing with her children.'The other day I came home from work and we put on the Scissor Sisters' Take Your Mama. We must have danced round the room to it 10 times!'

Rachael Woolston