Freaky Eaters (2007) s03e06 Episode Script
Addicted to Diet Cola
'28-year-old Richard Smart has a successful career | as a hairdresser and a marriage to a loving partner.
But behind this picture of domestic | bliss lies a dark secret.
Richard is addicted to meat.
' I just love meat, really.
Either on its own | or with a white roll.
For my lunch, have it for dinner, | have it all the time.
That's so nice.
'Since the age of three | he's eaten little else.
Fruit and veg | are strictly off limits.
' The thought of it | just makes me want to gag.
I just want to throw up, | spit it out.
Horrible, really horrible.
'But Richard's meaty diet is starting | to take its toll on his health.
' There is great evidence to show | that diet increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
'Helping him to beat his addictions will be the job of our experts.
Nutritionist Charlotte Watts will encourage Richard | to get beyond gristle' There's a lot of strong | flavours here.
(COUGHS) '.
.
while psychologist | Felix Economakis gives Richard's food phobias | the chop.
' When you put your mind to something | you will achieve it.
'In just four weeks can they reverse a lifetime | of dangerous eating habits?' Are you OK? | No.
I just don't want to be here.
I just need to do | something about it.
'Richard Smart lives in Norfolk, and has found lifelong love | and marriage with 25-year-old Matt who works in IT.
They've been together for five years | and live with Richard's parents while they build their ideal home.
Next door.
But their dream life | could soon be shattered by Richard's all-consuming | love affair.
' I love pork, I love crackling | with it.
Love burgers.
Steak's always good.
| One of my favourites.
I love steak.
Lamb is probably my very, very | favourite thing.
Yum.
(LAUGHS) 'Richard porks out on | a pound and a half of meat every day, and doesn't eat much else.
' I just love meat.
I have it all the time, | for my lunch, dinner.
I love the flavour of that, | the way it feels in my mouth.
It's just fantastic.
I could just eat nothing but that | all day long.
As long as it's on its own.
I wouldn't have it if there was | anystuff with it, likes herbs or spices or things.
'Richard's meaty diet | is made worse by the fact that he can hardly bear to even touch | fruit or veg.
I just kind of don't like them | at all.
It just makes me feel really tense | and a bit worried.
Eugh, no.
It just feels really horrible.
Look, I'm wiping my hand now.
| (LAUGHS) I don't, no, I don't like | that at all.
When he gets near foods that he | doesn't like sometimes, you can see the panic in his face.
It's really, | it's just so irrational.
It's almost like it's going to | attack him somehow.
No.
Oh! 'The only other thing Richard's | prepared to swallow is chocolate, a staggering 25 bars of the stuff | every week.
It's a diet that's taking its toll.
' I've been getting migraines, | I've never got any energy.
If I haven't a full night's sleep, I wake up the next morning and I could probably go back to | sleep an hour later.
I'm sure that's cos of my diet.
'But when he does find the energy | to go out, socialising with friends | is near impossible because of Richard's obsessive | food issues.
' Hello.
We get instances where I'll invite | Matt and Richard for a meal, and Matt will turn up and say | Richard's not very well.
And I know full well that Richard's | not coming out because he won't be able | to eat anything.
Did you want to come through to | the kitchen? I've got some burgers.
What could possibly be wrong | with those? Black pepper, mace, oregano, cumin, garlic, bay, rosemary, thyme.
Sorry.
So no, really, | is what you're saying.
I'm sorry.
I do feel quite bad now.
'Conquering 25 years of freaky eating | is not going to be easy.
' I have great hopes that Richard | will succeed with this, butI really can't | imagine it happening.
The habits are so ingrained | into him.
Much as he wants to, I think he's going to find it very | hard to overcome it.
He's definitely got worse over | the time that I've known him.
He's got moodier, um, bigger.
Just everything about him | has got worse, really.
If this doesn't work, I don't know | what the future is, really.
Probably not a very long one.
It's affecting every bit of my life.
It's affecting how I feel | in terms of my health, it affects my relationship | with Matt.
There's no part of my life that it | doesn't cause problems with.
I just really, really want | to change.
'It's day one of Richard's | dietary makeover, and he's been summoned to London | for his first meeting with nutritionist Charlotte | and psychologist Felix.
He's desperate to begin the long road | away from meat and towards healthier living.
Hey! | Hi there.
Hello! I'm Charlotte.
| I'm Richard.
Hi, Richard, I'm Felix.
| Lovely to meet you.
We've got a lot of work to do | with you.
Firstly we're gonna | show you something.
So if you want to come with us? | Yep, okey-doke.
'Before they can begin, Charlotte and | Felix have a surprise for Richard which they hope will inspire him.
' OK, now the next couple of weeks | are going to be a challenge for you, so we need you to have something to | motivate you, something to remember when times | are getting a little bit tough.
So we're gonna leave you | to watch something, and then we'll come back | and have a chat with you.
Okey-doke.
| OK? Good luck, Richard.
| Thank you.
Hi, Richard, it's Dad.
Just thought I'd like to wish you | the best of luck to get your eating somewhere | back to normal.
I think if you don't do that, you're going to have problems | almost forever, because your diet | is just so unbalanced.
Hello, Richard, it's Stephen.
We worry that, given another five | or ten years, your health is gonna suffer | big-time, and I mean big-time.
You've got to think about what it's | doing to you and Matt as a couple.
Just imagine all the invites, | the parties, the meals.
And you can't go to them.
You pretend you're ill | or a bit off-colour.
The truth is you just can't sit down | and eat an ordinary meal.
Hi, Richard.
| Thank you for doing this.
There's lots of reasons why | we'd all like you to do this.
It's not just your problem, it's my problem as well.
I'm just worried that | in a few years' time you're gonna have a heart attack, | and I'm not gonna have you anymore.
If you could sort this out we'd be able to go | on holidays together.
I just want you to get sorted out, | really.
Gosh, Richard, that was very | emotional for us to watch as well.
I don't know what you | must be experiencing.
Yeah, it's horrible.
Whose comments spoke to you | the most? Matt.
It's definitely Matt.
Is that something you've heard from | him before? Um, not put that way.
| Right, not that directly.
I know he's worried, but I didn't | know he was that worried.
Yeah.
It's just not something we've really | talked about, like, in that much detail.
It's quite new information for you.
Yeah, yeah.
Does that inspire you? Yeah, a lot.
I don't want to put him | through that.
Yeah.
We want to use that, then, to start moving on | to the next phase, as it were.
Let's go.
'Charlotte and Felix begin their work | with a nutritional wake-up call to shock Richard into action.
Richard consumes more than 3.
5 times | his body weight in meat every year.
' Oh, God.
OK, Richard, look at all this What do you think all this | represents? I-I don't know.
We took a look at your food diary Right.
| .
.
and we were quite shocked.
We worked out that this is | the amount of meat you're eating in a year.
I | 230 kilos of meat.
(LAUGHS) That's a lot of meat | to be eating in a year, isn't it? That is quite bad.
I would like to see someone eating | 80% less than this.
Right.
'And it's not just meat that | Richard's chomping down every day.
' This is nearly 40 kilos | of animal fat.
About half of that is pure | saturated fat.
So that's the fat that will be a big | heart disease risk.
It looks vile, | it looks absolutely vile.
I can't even see why I'd want to eat | it, to be honest with you.
'And Richard's chocolate snacks | only add to the woe.
' Is that the amount of sugar | I have in a year? Pretty much.
Actually that's more shocking than | the meat.
I think so, actually.
That's, actually, | I can't even believe that.
That's just insane.
| I'm really glad you said that.
Because I find this truly shocking.
That is really bad.
I'm really horrified by that.
Health-wise, this is terrifying | to me.
This sugar combined with that | saturated fat, that combination is specifically | very, very dangerous heart-wise, health-wise.
Definitely need to change.
It's important that you're not in | denial about what's actually | going in your body.
We want to give you a reality check.
So we've got a lot of work to do | in the next four weeks.
What is it you want to achieve | after the four weeks? I just want to be able to | eat more normally, and better things.
It sounds bizarre - I'd really like | to be able to eat a pizza.
It sounds ridiculous, cos it's just everything, like you've got cheese, herbs | and spices, vegetables.
Cos I couldn't even attempt to eat | something like that at the moment.
The really worrying thing | about Richard's diet is that combination of saturated fat | that we saw, and the sugar.
That combination is very, very | worrying for me indeed.
I know I have to do something | about it, but I just don't know how I'm gonna | do anything.
Cos I've not even tried | anything yet.
It's gonna be really, really hard.
'Back home in Norfolk, Richard's still overwhelmed by | the day's events.
' What did happen? I just spoke to everyone, | I saw the film.
It really upset me, seeing you.
What you said.
| Oh, bless you.
Sorry.
The amount of meat I eat, she said | I should be eating 20% of that.
So what are you eating tonight? Tonight? I think a beef roll.
| (BOTH LAUGH) 'Richard is an only child.
His freaky eating started early.
' Richard's been a picky eater | since he was about three.
I can't think of any reason why Richard changed his mind | at the age of three at all.
He just suddenly | wouldn't have anything.
And he would almost be sick | if I gave it to him.
And there's no obvious reason | I can think of.
I don't think we've ever really | tried to push Richard too hard.
Because I must admit | he is very stubborn.
And I think if we pushed him | too hard, it's just going to make, | makes him, you know, worse.
He's worried about his health.
He has stomach problems.
He tends to end up going to the loo | probably rather more than, um, you know, I'd expect.
Whilst he would like very much to | change his eating habits, it's going to be very, very | difficult to turn him round, | I think.
I think it'll be hard work.
I do.
'Today Richard has his first session | with psychologist Felix.
His parents may not know what caused | his freaky eating, but with a little digging, Felix hopes he can uncover the root | of Richard's meat addiction.
' This started for you somewhere | around age three.
Yeah.
Right, and has anyone told you, did your mother tell you what was | happening at age three? I can't think of anything.
Um What needs to happen in order that you trust | certain foods? I really don't know.
I just, um, I know, it's kind of | I mean, texture, I always worry about the texture of | things more than anything else.
And certain foods, if you touch them | you'd have to wash your hands.
Yeah.
| Which foods are those? Um, generally things that | I don't like, basically.
So fruit and vegetables.
You know, at the very least I have to kind of like | sort of wipe my hands.
This is the kind of behaviour you do | if you touch something dangerous which could give you a disease | or germs, right? Yeah.
It's just being | inappropriately applied to something that's not | actually dangerous.
Here's a question | just completely randomly.
What's your deepest fear? Pain.
Pain? | Yeah.
What kind of pain? Agonising pain.
The sort of pain I've experienced | most of my life, yeah.
I had scans when I was a child and they said I had IBS, | irritable bowel syndrome.
That's a physical pain.
You can't think of anything else | when you've got it.
Um, you know, it's better now | than it used to be.
And when was the first time | you were aware of that pain? I don't ever remember not having it.
What interesting for that is, if you're having this pain | in the stomach area, your unconscious mind may be | associating that pain perhaps with food.
So already you may have set up | a sensitivity of, "Hey, watch what I'm eating here cos something might be causing me | some kind of pain.
I've got to really monitor | what goes in my mouth.
" That was a really useful session | with Richard.
If he was in that much pain | as a child, it's no wonder he restricted | what he put in his mouth.
And now that he hopefully | understands the origins | of his fears I can begin to help him move on.
I suppose I never really | thought of it that way, but it actually makes | a lot of sense.
Um, cos I suppose if, kind of like trying, | restricting what I ate could kind of be my way of trying to | control, control the pain.
Unsuccessfully, but I suppose | that was the idea, really.
'The following morning Richard | has a meeting with Charlotte to begin the process | of weaning him off meat.
They've only got four weeks | to do it.
' This morning I've got a lot of foods | for Richard to try that he hasn't actually tried | in about 25 years.
The object of the exercise today is really for me | to test Richard's limits, so that I know how we need | to act with him to actually get him having | a healthy diet.
Now we're here today to follow on from looking at the | food you have been eating.
So we've looked at what we want to | move out of your diet.
Clearly we need to put things | back in.
This is going to involve eating foods look like this | in front of you.
Right.
How do you feel just looking | at all this stuff here? Have you got a sick bag anywhere? (LAUGHS) We have provisions.
And look at the floor.
It's lovely.
| (LAUGHS) Easy clean.
What you wanted to achieve | at the end of this four weeks is eating a pizza.
So this is going to involve | eating some cheese.
I've never .
.
ever remember ever having cheese or even wanting to try it.
Can you take a piece? It just looks really revolting.
Can I spit it out somewhere? | Yeah, course you can.
There you go.
Oh.
So what was the reflex | that made you spit it out? Probably cos I started thinking | too much about it.
What I want you to do is try to just | move past where you've been before.
This is completely new.
Just try and clear your head.
| Right.
OK, let's try those mushrooms.
Oh, they just look vile.
It's like a slug or something.
I really don't want to touch it | with my hands.
'It takes a painfully long 20 minutes | of coaching to get a mere mushroom anywhere near his mouth.
' OK, let's go for it.
Oh, that tastes revolting.
That's really horrible.
'Another 45 minutes of struggle | yields limited success.
A small piece of broccoli.
A morsel of tomato.
And eventually a raspberry.
' How do you feel after doing that? (LAUGHS) Can't quite believe | I actually did it.
'Before Richard heads home, Charlotte has one parting gift.
' You've done really well today.
| Thank you.
But you clearly have a phobia | around certain foods.
So I've put together a hamper | for you.
Right.
That I want you to take home, | open when you get home.
Right.
This has got tasks that will help | move you forward.
OK.
I think it's really important | to remember here that although he's done | amazingly today, Richard still has | a really long way to go.
In the grand scheme of things, taking that long to eat something | like a mushroom is still quite a long way away | from eating a normal diet every day.
'Charlotte can't wean Richard | off meat until he's eating other things.
But with a strong fear of most foods, | this won't be easy.
Her first step is to get him used to | simply being around veg without the pressure of eating it.
' "Each day for the next week | you're to carry with you a fruit or vegetable | from the hamper.
You must also hold it for at least | five minutes a day.
" Eugh.
Oh, there's something wrong | about cauliflower.
Oh, there's something really wrong.
Why would anybody want to | eat anything that smells like somebody's | just broken wind? 'Richard takes his cauliflower | to work so they can spend | some quality time together.
' It's been in my trouser pocket | all day.
Piece of cauliflower producing | a really lovely little bulge there which looks very attractive.
I just think it's hilarious.
| (LAUGHS) Got broccoli today.
I had to carry broccoli | around with me today and hold it for five minutes.
But I actually completely forgot | that it was in my hand, and actually it was quite bizarre.
It felt quite nice.
That's a bit wrong, isn't it? | Um (LAUGHS) I actually forgot I had it there, and ended up holding it for about | quarter of an hour while I had a chat.
ALARM CLOCK RINGS 'It's 7:00am the next day, and Richard has arranged | to meet Charlotte for a doctor's appointment in London.
But as usual, | he's having trouble waking up.
' MATT: Come on, my boy.
Richard.
I've given you another ten minutes.
| Are you gonna get up? Mm.
Yeah.
I'm really worried about his health | in general, because it's just not, I don't think | it's healthy to eat the way he is.
And I think he looks pale.
He | doesn't really look well to me.
He's put on loads of weight | recently.
And it worries him, I know.
So it can't be doing him | any good at all.
'The only thing | that gets Richard up every morning is a high energy drink for breakfast, followed by his daily dose | of IBS medication.
' I tend to have one of those, which kind of lasts sort of | for the morning, and then I kind of like stop.
But if it gets that bad I just | have another one later on.
'Charlotte wants to move Richard on, | but he's still at stage one, holding vegetables.
She thinks a visit to the doctor's may be just the medical shock | he needs.
Dr Pixie McKenna is a GP with a special interest | in eating problems.
Charlotte's brought Richard | to her clinic to find out just what damage | an addiction to meat could be doing to his health.
' What's striking from | your blood test results is that you've got a very high level | of bad cholesterol.
in your bloodstream.
Of course, it's not really | surprising, then, looking at all the animal fat | that you take in that it's high.
You've also got a diet | that's full of salt.
You've got a family history | of high blood pressure.
You've got a diet | that's full of sugar, you've got a family history | of diabetes.
And all of these things together combined with the lack of fibre are flagging up, for me, some seriously worrying | medical problems that you probably aren't suffering | from right now, but you are definitely | gonna suffer from in the future.
You've already got symptoms with | regard to that, haven't you? Yeah, I've got | irritable bowel syndrome.
So I get quite a lot of | stomach pain.
When I look at your food diary, and you know, you're very good | and you take your medication.
But of course you might as well be | throwing that out the window, because of the meat content | in your diet.
'Irritable bowel syndrome | is a chronic disorder that affects the digestive system.
A combination of stress, hormones | and chemicals called neurotransmitters | create muscle spasms which in turn cause abdominal | cramping and pain.
A red-meat-heavy diet | lacking in fibre is hard to digest, will irritate the gut | and make IBS symptoms worse.
Dr Pixie wants Richard to see | just what damage a lack of fibre is doing to | his health.
So she's produced a model | of his bowels.
' Here we've got the combination | of meat and fibre.
And fibre actually makes this meat | pass more easily through your gut.
So this is all flowing nicely | through your gut.
And that's all designed for you | to go at the right pace for you to absorb all the nutrients | that you should be having.
The other is your diet.
| Right.
Which involves meat | Let's see.
Meat and meat.
| There isn't any fibre in here.
Now the problem with that | You can see the saturated fat.
Sluggish, isn't it? Yeah.
Sticking.
Now the problem with that is to pass that through your gut, you've got to use loads of pressure | in your abdomen.
That's gonna cause problems | long term with your abdominal wall.
And you get little bulges | called diverticulae.
Food gets stuck in there, and it becomes inflamed | and you get tummy pain, bleeding, mucous, bloating.
I can guarantee you, | on your diet at the moment, you will get that.
Of course these are things | that are not as serious as the most serious problem | which you are facing.
Because there is great evidence | to show that lack of fibre in the diet increases the risk | of colorectal cancer.
There's no mincing of words here.
| He really needs to change his diet.
This is scary stuff, and that wasn't | being melodramatic in there.
That much meat really is | a massive disease risk.
'Back home in Norwich, Richard reflects on | what he's been told.
' I'm really pleased | I'm doing all this.
It's just kind of like, you know, | there's gonna be highs and lows.
And to be honest with you, | tonight I'm feeling a bit low.
But I've got to do, | I want to do this, and I will do it.
'It's a week into Richard's | dietary makeover, but he's still not trying new foods.
Felix has a plan to move him on.
' If Richard's going to have any hope | of overcoming his fears, he really needs to learn to control | the panic he experiences around new foods.
And I've got an exercise in mind that will really show him | it's a case of mind over matter.
Today, Richard, we're gonna show you | a very practical way to start to control your fears | and your phobias around things.
And we're going to use it in a | demonstration with something else.
It's about channelling your mind, | your discipline, your focus in a way that's gonna help you | get the goals you want.
OK.
The change room | is just through there.
Meet you back here in a moment.
I'd like to teach you a technique | to collect your energy in one area, and then to apply it in a way to overcome any obstacle | in front of you.
Right, OK.
I want you to do a sort of slow | breathing and a slow inhale, like so.
Up here I'd like you to imagine | a red-hot sun.
Then you do a very short, | sharp breath as you bring this in, and you imagine bringing down | the sun to your energy level.
Right.
| Yeah? (INHALES) Grab the sun, and ready? | BOTH: Chhh! Bit faster.
| Chhh! Bit faster.
Chhh! Now imagine the stored energy | you've got here, you cup it in your hand, this fiery | ball of red-hot energy.
And the trick is to apply that | energy to something useful.
Which we're gonna do.
'He's going to need a very large ball | of energy for this.
' Ugh! Ugh! Cha! Do you think you can do that? Probably not.
I'll give it a try.
Well done, Richard, | that's all we want you to do.
But we're gonna make it | a bit easier for you.
I hope so.
(LAUGHS) We'll just do it with one board.
| OK.
What we're learning here | is to focus this energy to overcome your obstacles, and then you can apply this to food.
The things you thought | you could never do, the barriers, the obstacles, if you apply your mind, that energy | will cut through them in | the same way.
(INHALES) Chhh! And one | Chhh! OK, cup that sound, | that powerful energy, stand to the side of it, hold that, feel it vibrate | in your hand, and shout at the top of your lungs.
Ready - one, two, three! Ugh! OK, I think we need | to gather some more energy.
BOTH: Chhh! Gathering, get that sun.
| Chhh! Huh! | Yay! Whoa-ho! Richard, Richard, | you've just broken a board.
How do you feel? Pretty good, actually.
Before you came here you didn't | believe you could break this.
No.
If someone said | you're going to break a board in about ten minutes, | 20 minutes of training, you would have said, "No way.
" It just shows you what you can do | when you apply your mind.
Yeah.
Now the question is, | what would it be like if you applied this same intention, | this same power and energy to breaking your fears of food? Yeah.
| That's the plan.
Realistically and rationally it should be a lot harder to whack your hand through a couple | of bits of wood than it is to kind of eat something, | you know? So I just need to go the same way.
Although hopefully not in the middle | of a restaurant doing all the .
.
all the thing, cos people might | think I'm a bit mad.
'Back home, Richard can't wait | to tell Matt all about his big balls of energy.
' What's all that junk? Just something I've been | doing today.
Really? What is it? Well, it was a martial arts thing.
And at the end, with my hands, | or one hand, I did that to a piece of wood.
| Really? Seriously, it didn't even hurt.
| That's gonna worry me a little bit.
That could be my head at some point, | if you get in a row with me.
'Charlotte has set Richard | his second homework task, something to give his bowels | more to work on.
' I'm making a smoothie | at the moment.
It feels a bit bizarre actually.
It's kind of like it's still quite | unusual and bit odd, but it's not scaring me anymore, | touching them, which it did before.
Good move in the right direction, | anyway.
It just feels a bit revolting, | actually.
Fear of what's it gonna do, | I suppose.
Right.
It smells really minging, actually, | its horr It smells Actually To me it smells almost dirty.
It's not too bad.
There we go.
(BURPS) Ooh! (LAUGHS) Burping now.
There we go.
Pint of smoothie, | that's not too bad.
'With his newfound confidence, Richard is inspired to carry on | trying new things.
' That's nicer than white bread.
I'm really annoyed now that I've not | been having brown bread for longer.
(LAUGHS) I'm feeling quite brave, so I was in the shop today and I thought these | looked quite nice.
Blackberries.
Here goes.
I can't say I like the flavour yet.
But I've done it, so that's good.
And it's something I've not had | before, so I'm pleased now.
'Richard's tried more new foods | in the last two weeks than in the previous 25 years.
Matt, however, has mixed emotions | about his progress.
' It does make me feel a bit, | I don't know, useless, in a way, that over five years we haven't been able to get him | to eat anything extra.
And then in two weeks he's suddenly | trying all these different things and actually willing to try them.
So different to Before he just would have | flatly refused.
But I think probably for the last | three and a bit years we've just, or I've just given up trying to get him to try | new things, really.
OK.
Well, Richard's been coming along | really, really well.
He's been working hard with Felix and has really come to terms | with his food phobias.
Now we need to move on a bit more and start finding some replacements for his huge saturated fat | meat diet.
What's your first impression here? | It's the smell.
Of? | It's the smell of fish.
I'm really not happy at the moment | at all.
Really not happy.
| How are you feeling? It's much worse than the fruit | and vegetables, much worse.
I'm really not sure about this one | at all.
How are you feeling about being | in this proximity to it? It's not good at all.
I just want to run out | at the moment, to be honest.
Can I just get a bit of fresh air | quickly? I'll be back in a sec.
'It seems Richard isn't as far along | as he originally thought.
' Fine.
I'm going back in.
Felix taught me a technique for kind of focusing all | the negative stuff away.
And that helped a bit.
| I needed to be outside to do it.
'But now Richard | will have to show some real guts, not all of them his.
' This is salmon, very good source | of omega-3 oils.
This is something we really need you | to move towards in terms of health.
This is really crucial in terms of | all of those heart health, diabetes issues | that we talked about before.
You OK? | No.
How are you feeling? | Not good.
I just don't want to be here.
| At all.
Previously to this you've been quite removed from | the food that you're eating.
This is not an exercise to just | shock and upset you.
Mm-hm.
But it's about looking at where | your barriers are and seeing where we have to go | in terms of moving you forward.
Right.
Let's go outside, yeah? | Yeah.
Shall we go? | Yeah.
Well done.
Go that way.
Richard's reaction in there | was really strong, which in a way is surprising, because he's been doing so well | with other foods.
And he was actually surprised | at his reaction.
And we really need him to move outside those really restrictive | barriers that he has.
I'm not very happy at the moment | at all.
It was horrible.
I just felt really good last week | cos I was achieving so many things and breaking barriers and .
.
things like that, and now I just feel a bit useless | at the moment, and like I'm a bit stuck.
'Richard's got less than two weeks | until his final challenge.
With his confidence | now at an all-time low, Charlotte and Felix meet up to | discuss where to go from here.
' I wanted to let you know what | happened with Richard | at the fish market, because it was quite | an important event.
He was presented with | all this raw fish, new smells, and really lost it.
Right.
I thought it was positive because he used his visualisation | techniques that you gave him, and he used them really well.
So he faced a fear really well, but he now needs his confidence | bringing up again.
Once he has another experience | of success he'll be back on track.
He's very determined, and with that kind of willpower | I think you can do anything.
One of the reasons that I | particularly need this one to work is that I need to find | an alternative to red meat for him, so he's just not on that heavy, | saturated, dense Yeah.
| .
.
protein the whole time, and find an alternative for that.
So it's not just about moving | through this particular fear, it is about practically finding | something for him to eat.
'As Charlotte's keen to keep | Richard on course, she gives him his next | homework task - banning all processed sugar | from his diet.
' I suppose that means the first thing | I'm gonna have to do is get rid of all my chocolate.
Which I'd rather not do, but, um .
.
I need to do it, so, er, | here we go.
All I can think about is wanting to | eat something like chocolate or ice-cream or a cake.
(LAUGHS) And it's just all I can think about.
And Ahhh! 'Richard's body rebels as he denies it the sugar | it's become so dependent on.
' Just took so ibuprofen because my head is really, really | bad at the moment.
I've had a constant bad headache now | for the last almost two days.
'By day three, Richard's hit a wall.
' I don't know.
I know I've got to do it | and I want to do it, but it's really driving me insane | at the moment.
I just want some sugar, really.
I just want some chocolate | or something like that.
It better be worth it.
I'll be all right.
| Will you? He has been a bit moody.
Because of lack of sugar.
It's been hard work for me.
Yeah, you have to watch | what you say.
I think there's probably worse | to come as time goes on.
'With Richard's morale now hitting | rock bottom, Matt catches up with Charlotte | for some tea and sympathy.
' It's certainly not been easy.
He was very moody, very tired.
And with Richard, when he gets tired | he gets moody anyway.
So the two sort of smash together.
Heady combination.
When you're giving up sugar it's quite easy to feel despondent | and demotivated.
Because you're You're not having those | instantaneous quick fixes of sugar that you were used to.
He needs to see that he's | achieving something, I think.
If he I think any setback | will be a major setback for him.
And he will take it to heart if a | single day doesn't go quite right.
Yeah.
I think in his head it will just be | a waste of a day really.
He needs to see that he's achieved | at least something each day.
Was it the same | when you first met him? Yeah.
Yeah.
If anything he's got worse, | I'd say.
It's certainly not been easy, because everything just has to sort | of revolve around food, really.
But I've just got used to it, | I think.
Oh, dear.
Which is, yeah, complacency sets in | and then - I wouldn't say I was ever | happy with it, but it's just one of those things, | really, that's just a part of him.
Not really a part I like, | but hopefully we can get it sorted.
'Charlotte thinks Richard's partner | Matt and his best friend Stephen might be more understanding of what Richard's been going through | all these years if they experience his diet | first hand.
It's left to Richard to break the bad | news to them.
' Basically Felix, the psychologist, | and Charlotte, the nutritionist, want both of you to experience | what my diet's like for three days.
Three days? So they want you to both basically | eat what I eat, just literally meat, mainly, | no herbs and spices added.
I can have a steak? | Yeah, you can have steak.
Well done.
Not red or pink.
I've got indigestion | just thinking about it.
I really have.
I'm gonna so miss my vegetables.
What am I gonna eat | while I'm at work? Chocolate? | Chocolate.
That actually sounded a bit better.
'After only a day, Matt's discovering how unpleasant | Richard's diet is.
' Good.
It's gonna be an exciting | lamb burger sandwich.
Chewing it's bad enough, | but when you've got to swallow it He was eating it, and I said, "What would it be like | if you had to eat like that | for longer," and he just said he couldn't.
But the thing is, | ultimately he had I do now, but I didn't, | have the option, which he does have the option to eat different things | and try different things.
And I just had this phobia, | this block, whatever it is, stopping me.
Maybe they'll realise how horrible | it is for me.
And why I'm so desperate | to change it.
' 'Stephen, a local radio DJ, is realising all too quickly.
' I've been actually force-fed | chocolate biscuits, and lardy things for the past | sort of three days, and I don't feel very healthy.
I feel like I need pulling through | with a Christmas tree.
'And no-one's the least bit upset | to wave the diet goodbye.
' Ooh, that's nice.
After three days of eating what could only be described | as various flavours of lard, I feel actually very, very sickly, and I couldn't wait to get | some vitamin C into me.
I can't believe that Richard's | put up with this sort of diet now for 25 years.
Just all the wonderful food and | flavours that he's been missing.
It's just such a terrible diet.
Can't explain it, really, | what it's like, until someone's tried it.
Perfect.
'Richard may now be eating | a few new foods, but he has a long way to go until his | final challenge of eating a pizza in just one week's time.
Felix has one more trick | up his sleeve that might just tackle | his remaining food fears.
' We really need to nail this phobic | reaction down today.
So what I've got planned for him is to make him confront | his very worst fears, and teach him there's nothing | he can't do with the right mental attitude.
On a scale of one to ten - | ten is maximum, one is minimum - let's call it your fear rating, what would you rate your fear rating | right now? Somewhere either ten or above.
Ten or above, | so we've maxed that already.
So it can only get lower.
| Yeah.
We'd like to apply some of the principles you learnt | in the wood-breaking session, the martial arts session, | to your fears here today.
So first thing is just to get back | in that powerful state.
What I'd like you to do is I'd like you to put all your | fingers together like this, and transfer all your fear | and frustration onto the tips of your fingers.
OK.
How are you feeling inside | at the moment? Calm.
Quite calm, yeah.
'But it's not so easy to be calm | when something's bugging you.
' This is a millipede.
| Oh! So, scale of one to ten.
Um, right at the top again.
| Right at the top again.
So if you want to just go into your | own zone for a moment, connect back that sense of power.
And how does it feel | to have this on your hand? Feels really bizarre.
Is this something you ever thought | you could do? I never, ever, ever thought I'd be | able to do Ever.
| Right.
I mean, this is quite surreal, | actually.
It's quite surreal.
Normally if anything like that was | near me, I'd actually run, literally run away.
He's really cute, actually.
| He's really cute.
'If he can handle a bug with | a thousand legs then surely eight legs | should be no problem for Richard.
' Ooh, (BLEEP).
Sorry.
What's going through your mind | right now? Um, that's really not good.
'Except that spiders are a phobia | second only to fruit and veg.
' Just do your technique.
Take your time.
Exactly what you've done | so successfully before.
Right.
It's all right.
I got it.
It's going that way.
| It's OK.
What do you think of it, Richard? It's fine.
| So here you are holding a tarantula.
I can't believe it.
So you've conquered a range of | fear barriers today by applying simple techniques, focusing your intention, your will, | and you see what happens.
Yeah.
| Suddenly it becomes easy.
Just like that.
You're gonna see food that initially | you'd think, "Oh, no, 11 out of ten.
No way, this is not my thing.
" Apply your techniques | and stay through it and then see what happens.
You'll even enjoy the experience.
| Well done.
Thank you.
Fantastic, fantastic work.
I'm very proud of myself | at the moment.
That's kind of a life-changing | thing for me.
I'm terrified of so many things | and I won't do so many things, and I think I actually | am gonna be able to.
It's just gonna make my life | so much better.
I can't even begin to describe it.
'Now Richard's confidence | is back on track, it's up to Charlotte | to push him further.
' Richard's last session | at the fish market wasn't the success | I would have liked.
I really need him to start | eating fish as an alternative | to all that red meat.
We haven't got much time, | so we need to get cracking on this.
What I've chosen for you today is I think the best way for you | to start tasting.
If we just try the fish, | very simply cooked.
And maybe with some vegetables that | you've started to enjoy already.
How are feeling at the moment, | being here - I'm honestly not sure | if I'll be able to do it.
I want to try, obviously, but I'm not sure how I'm gonna do.
'First up, salmon fish cake.
' Ah! How are you feeling about the eating | of the fish cake? Quite nervous.
| (LAUGHS) Um, yeah.
Rightio.
You're in control here.
Do you know what that is? | I think it's a spinach leaf.
Spinach? | Yeah.
I'll try that because I need to get | myself in the right frame of mind.
Good.
That's been round some sort of | herbs or spices.
No, that is actually quite nice, | whatever dressing it is.
Oh, it's really garlicky.
| Is that garlic? Yeah.
| Oh, my God! That's really garlicky.
| That's quite nice.
'Ironically, Richard hasn't let | his partner Matt have garlic in five years, | because he hates the smell so much.
' Really garlicky.
You just did garlic.
Oh, well.
| Went for fish, got garlic instead.
(BOTH LAUGH) | That's really good, that, actually.
'It's a great start, but will Felix's | coping techniques enable Richard | to eat the fish cake?' That's really nice.
(LAUGHS) You crack me up.
All that was really nice.
'But how will he deal with something | that actually looks like fish?' So what's this one? | This is halibut.
Actually that's really, really nice.
I really like that.
I've found out that I actually | don't mind fish.
Kind of like the flavour of garlic.
I just spent all these years | avoiding anything like this.
And actually it's quite nice.
It's probably the most nutritious | meal you've ever had.
(LAUGHS) We need you to keep | this progress going.
So what I'd like you to do this week is really start taking out some of | the red meat from your diet and replacing it with healthy | sources of protein, then we'll be making real progress towards changing you | and increasing your health.
OK.
| OK? I started off with a salmon | fish cake, and the salad it was served with had | quite a bit of garlic in it, | apparently, which I quite enjoyed.
So That's good.
He likes the garlic.
| Yes.
A lot.
Then I had some halibut, | which I had with mint peas, and that was really quite In fact I ate quite a bit of that.
| I really enjoyed it.
So you like garlic? | He's not worried about the fish.
Would you like to try | some garlic bread? Maybe at some point.
Yes! Tell him about the fish | and he's amazed about the garlic.
And the pizza | is what's gonna come next.
That's all he's fussed about.
'Following Richard's recent | fish success, Charlotte sent him off with | a meat-free lunch alternative - a tuna sandwich.
' I couldn't say I liked it.
This is ridiculous.
| It's a bit of fish in bread.
I really wanted to enjoy this.
'A frustrated Richard gives up.
' It's my final challenge tomorrow, | eating pizza.
Um, I'm quite worried, to be honest, because I just had | a tuna sandwich today, and it was awful.
It smelt like cat food.
| It was just hideous.
And it took me about half an hour | to eat half of it.
And, um, that's not good.
If I don't do it I don't know | what I'm gonna do, to be honest.
'Today's the big final challenge | for Richard, his dream of eating a pizza, | and he's got mixed emotions.
' I am really looking forward to it.
I'm quite excited, | but on the other hand, there's this kind of little thing | at the back of my mind, and I'm kind of thinking, | what if I don't like it? I suppose in a way this pizza sort of marks the start | of a new life in a way, that this is where | we can sort of go off and eat where we both want to eat and go on the holidays | that we both want to do and go round people's houses, | and it doesn't just have to | be his decision.
So yeah, it's quite a big Sort of quite symbolic, really, | that pizza.
Richard's friends know him too well | to be confident of his success.
' I'm not quite so sure that he'll be | able to do it, because the pressure's on.
Here we are in a busy restaurant, got the atmosphere going, he's got | all his friends around him.
I've had a look at the menu and | there's loads of stuff on there that I don't think he's going to | actually like.
If he starts freaking out | looking at this menu then we're in trouble, | or he's in trouble.
Hello! Hi there.
How are you? Hello.
How are you feeling about today? | Are you feeling confident? I don't know.
| I've got my fingers crossed.
We'll see what happens.
| I want to like it.
So hopefully I will.
Ready to order? | Um, yes.
I want two.
| Half and half? Is that all right? Padana.
| The Padana.
And the IlIl Padrino.
| And the Il Padrino.
'Richard bravely orders two pizzas | to try - chicken and veg and goat's cheese | with spinach and red onion.
' I think to everyone else it'd more | about, "Oh, he's eating a pizza," but I think to me it's more about, | you know, that I've moved on, got somewhere else, and that I've achieved something | I never thought I'd be able to.
There's the half Il Padrino | and the Padana.
What do we do now? All sit here | and look at you while you're eating? No, just eat your food.
Just eat.
How do you eat | Do you eat it with a knife and fork? You can eat it with knife | and fork, or your hands.
(LAUGHS) MEN CHATTER Do you like it? That's really nice, actually.
| That is really nice.
I'm liking the chicken.
How are you finding the cheese? | Are you enjoying the cheese? Yeah, the cheese is nice, actually.
| Works really well.
Try a bit of mine if you want.
I'll try a little bit.
'But an anchovy pizza | is unchartered territory.
' That could be anything, that face.
He'll do that | before he loves something or doesn't like it at all.
| It's really nice, this one.
Compared to what it was like | four weeks ago it's good to see.
It's amazing to watch.
There we go.
| That was quite nice, actually.
I quite enjoyed that.
Ladies and | gentlemen, Richard eating a pizza.
I'm incredibly proud of him because | he's managed to change the whole way in which he approaches food.
And he's been cured of spiders.
How this happened | as a side effect, I do not know.
He's clearly enjoying it, | cos he hasn't stopped eating yet.
This is it.
The start of a new life, | I think, really.
MEN LAUGH I just ate a pizza, | and it was really nice.
And bizarrely, my most favourite one | was the one that didn't have meat.
To see how far he's come | in four weeks is just amazing, really.
To think when I started my goal was | to eat one vegetable.
(LAUGHS) And now I'm like, "Yeah, whatever, | that's old news.
" The trouble is now | I'm gonna be really poor, cos I'm gonna have to go to every | restaurant in Norwich to try all the different food.
| (LAUGHS) 'One month on and Richard's dietary | revolution is still in place.
' Oh, my God, that is gorgeous.
I love it.
| It's just really, really nice.
Going through this process | with Charlotte and Felix has just completely, it's just | completely changed my life.
I'm not afraid of things anymore, and it's just opened up | the world to me.
I can do anything.
It's definitely changed | our relationship, that he's tried all these | different things, he's clearly healthier, so hopefully he'll be | sticking round for a bit longer.
'And his new healthy diet has had an unexpected side effect | as well.
' Bye-bye.
(LAUGHS) | I won't be missing those.
I've been taking IBS medicine | for years.
There's no point anymore, | cos I don't need them.
I've had problems, | no stomach cramps, nothing.
I feel completely different.
I just don't feel like | the same person anymore.
I've, you know, I've lost weight and my head's clearer and I'm not scared of things.
It's like someone's kidnapped me | and replaced me with an impostor.
(LAUGHS) But it's a better impostor, | I think, so I'll stick with it.
Forget the old one.
| Leave him alone.
(LAUGHS) Closed Captions by CSI
But behind this picture of domestic | bliss lies a dark secret.
Richard is addicted to meat.
' I just love meat, really.
Either on its own | or with a white roll.
For my lunch, have it for dinner, | have it all the time.
That's so nice.
'Since the age of three | he's eaten little else.
Fruit and veg | are strictly off limits.
' The thought of it | just makes me want to gag.
I just want to throw up, | spit it out.
Horrible, really horrible.
'But Richard's meaty diet is starting | to take its toll on his health.
' There is great evidence to show | that diet increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
'Helping him to beat his addictions will be the job of our experts.
Nutritionist Charlotte Watts will encourage Richard | to get beyond gristle' There's a lot of strong | flavours here.
(COUGHS) '.
.
while psychologist | Felix Economakis gives Richard's food phobias | the chop.
' When you put your mind to something | you will achieve it.
'In just four weeks can they reverse a lifetime | of dangerous eating habits?' Are you OK? | No.
I just don't want to be here.
I just need to do | something about it.
'Richard Smart lives in Norfolk, and has found lifelong love | and marriage with 25-year-old Matt who works in IT.
They've been together for five years | and live with Richard's parents while they build their ideal home.
Next door.
But their dream life | could soon be shattered by Richard's all-consuming | love affair.
' I love pork, I love crackling | with it.
Love burgers.
Steak's always good.
| One of my favourites.
I love steak.
Lamb is probably my very, very | favourite thing.
Yum.
(LAUGHS) 'Richard porks out on | a pound and a half of meat every day, and doesn't eat much else.
' I just love meat.
I have it all the time, | for my lunch, dinner.
I love the flavour of that, | the way it feels in my mouth.
It's just fantastic.
I could just eat nothing but that | all day long.
As long as it's on its own.
I wouldn't have it if there was | anystuff with it, likes herbs or spices or things.
'Richard's meaty diet | is made worse by the fact that he can hardly bear to even touch | fruit or veg.
I just kind of don't like them | at all.
It just makes me feel really tense | and a bit worried.
Eugh, no.
It just feels really horrible.
Look, I'm wiping my hand now.
| (LAUGHS) I don't, no, I don't like | that at all.
When he gets near foods that he | doesn't like sometimes, you can see the panic in his face.
It's really, | it's just so irrational.
It's almost like it's going to | attack him somehow.
No.
Oh! 'The only other thing Richard's | prepared to swallow is chocolate, a staggering 25 bars of the stuff | every week.
It's a diet that's taking its toll.
' I've been getting migraines, | I've never got any energy.
If I haven't a full night's sleep, I wake up the next morning and I could probably go back to | sleep an hour later.
I'm sure that's cos of my diet.
'But when he does find the energy | to go out, socialising with friends | is near impossible because of Richard's obsessive | food issues.
' Hello.
We get instances where I'll invite | Matt and Richard for a meal, and Matt will turn up and say | Richard's not very well.
And I know full well that Richard's | not coming out because he won't be able | to eat anything.
Did you want to come through to | the kitchen? I've got some burgers.
What could possibly be wrong | with those? Black pepper, mace, oregano, cumin, garlic, bay, rosemary, thyme.
Sorry.
So no, really, | is what you're saying.
I'm sorry.
I do feel quite bad now.
'Conquering 25 years of freaky eating | is not going to be easy.
' I have great hopes that Richard | will succeed with this, butI really can't | imagine it happening.
The habits are so ingrained | into him.
Much as he wants to, I think he's going to find it very | hard to overcome it.
He's definitely got worse over | the time that I've known him.
He's got moodier, um, bigger.
Just everything about him | has got worse, really.
If this doesn't work, I don't know | what the future is, really.
Probably not a very long one.
It's affecting every bit of my life.
It's affecting how I feel | in terms of my health, it affects my relationship | with Matt.
There's no part of my life that it | doesn't cause problems with.
I just really, really want | to change.
'It's day one of Richard's | dietary makeover, and he's been summoned to London | for his first meeting with nutritionist Charlotte | and psychologist Felix.
He's desperate to begin the long road | away from meat and towards healthier living.
Hey! | Hi there.
Hello! I'm Charlotte.
| I'm Richard.
Hi, Richard, I'm Felix.
| Lovely to meet you.
We've got a lot of work to do | with you.
Firstly we're gonna | show you something.
So if you want to come with us? | Yep, okey-doke.
'Before they can begin, Charlotte and | Felix have a surprise for Richard which they hope will inspire him.
' OK, now the next couple of weeks | are going to be a challenge for you, so we need you to have something to | motivate you, something to remember when times | are getting a little bit tough.
So we're gonna leave you | to watch something, and then we'll come back | and have a chat with you.
Okey-doke.
| OK? Good luck, Richard.
| Thank you.
Hi, Richard, it's Dad.
Just thought I'd like to wish you | the best of luck to get your eating somewhere | back to normal.
I think if you don't do that, you're going to have problems | almost forever, because your diet | is just so unbalanced.
Hello, Richard, it's Stephen.
We worry that, given another five | or ten years, your health is gonna suffer | big-time, and I mean big-time.
You've got to think about what it's | doing to you and Matt as a couple.
Just imagine all the invites, | the parties, the meals.
And you can't go to them.
You pretend you're ill | or a bit off-colour.
The truth is you just can't sit down | and eat an ordinary meal.
Hi, Richard.
| Thank you for doing this.
There's lots of reasons why | we'd all like you to do this.
It's not just your problem, it's my problem as well.
I'm just worried that | in a few years' time you're gonna have a heart attack, | and I'm not gonna have you anymore.
If you could sort this out we'd be able to go | on holidays together.
I just want you to get sorted out, | really.
Gosh, Richard, that was very | emotional for us to watch as well.
I don't know what you | must be experiencing.
Yeah, it's horrible.
Whose comments spoke to you | the most? Matt.
It's definitely Matt.
Is that something you've heard from | him before? Um, not put that way.
| Right, not that directly.
I know he's worried, but I didn't | know he was that worried.
Yeah.
It's just not something we've really | talked about, like, in that much detail.
It's quite new information for you.
Yeah, yeah.
Does that inspire you? Yeah, a lot.
I don't want to put him | through that.
Yeah.
We want to use that, then, to start moving on | to the next phase, as it were.
Let's go.
'Charlotte and Felix begin their work | with a nutritional wake-up call to shock Richard into action.
Richard consumes more than 3.
5 times | his body weight in meat every year.
' Oh, God.
OK, Richard, look at all this What do you think all this | represents? I-I don't know.
We took a look at your food diary Right.
| .
.
and we were quite shocked.
We worked out that this is | the amount of meat you're eating in a year.
I | 230 kilos of meat.
(LAUGHS) That's a lot of meat | to be eating in a year, isn't it? That is quite bad.
I would like to see someone eating | 80% less than this.
Right.
'And it's not just meat that | Richard's chomping down every day.
' This is nearly 40 kilos | of animal fat.
About half of that is pure | saturated fat.
So that's the fat that will be a big | heart disease risk.
It looks vile, | it looks absolutely vile.
I can't even see why I'd want to eat | it, to be honest with you.
'And Richard's chocolate snacks | only add to the woe.
' Is that the amount of sugar | I have in a year? Pretty much.
Actually that's more shocking than | the meat.
I think so, actually.
That's, actually, | I can't even believe that.
That's just insane.
| I'm really glad you said that.
Because I find this truly shocking.
That is really bad.
I'm really horrified by that.
Health-wise, this is terrifying | to me.
This sugar combined with that | saturated fat, that combination is specifically | very, very dangerous heart-wise, health-wise.
Definitely need to change.
It's important that you're not in | denial about what's actually | going in your body.
We want to give you a reality check.
So we've got a lot of work to do | in the next four weeks.
What is it you want to achieve | after the four weeks? I just want to be able to | eat more normally, and better things.
It sounds bizarre - I'd really like | to be able to eat a pizza.
It sounds ridiculous, cos it's just everything, like you've got cheese, herbs | and spices, vegetables.
Cos I couldn't even attempt to eat | something like that at the moment.
The really worrying thing | about Richard's diet is that combination of saturated fat | that we saw, and the sugar.
That combination is very, very | worrying for me indeed.
I know I have to do something | about it, but I just don't know how I'm gonna | do anything.
Cos I've not even tried | anything yet.
It's gonna be really, really hard.
'Back home in Norfolk, Richard's still overwhelmed by | the day's events.
' What did happen? I just spoke to everyone, | I saw the film.
It really upset me, seeing you.
What you said.
| Oh, bless you.
Sorry.
The amount of meat I eat, she said | I should be eating 20% of that.
So what are you eating tonight? Tonight? I think a beef roll.
| (BOTH LAUGH) 'Richard is an only child.
His freaky eating started early.
' Richard's been a picky eater | since he was about three.
I can't think of any reason why Richard changed his mind | at the age of three at all.
He just suddenly | wouldn't have anything.
And he would almost be sick | if I gave it to him.
And there's no obvious reason | I can think of.
I don't think we've ever really | tried to push Richard too hard.
Because I must admit | he is very stubborn.
And I think if we pushed him | too hard, it's just going to make, | makes him, you know, worse.
He's worried about his health.
He has stomach problems.
He tends to end up going to the loo | probably rather more than, um, you know, I'd expect.
Whilst he would like very much to | change his eating habits, it's going to be very, very | difficult to turn him round, | I think.
I think it'll be hard work.
I do.
'Today Richard has his first session | with psychologist Felix.
His parents may not know what caused | his freaky eating, but with a little digging, Felix hopes he can uncover the root | of Richard's meat addiction.
' This started for you somewhere | around age three.
Yeah.
Right, and has anyone told you, did your mother tell you what was | happening at age three? I can't think of anything.
Um What needs to happen in order that you trust | certain foods? I really don't know.
I just, um, I know, it's kind of | I mean, texture, I always worry about the texture of | things more than anything else.
And certain foods, if you touch them | you'd have to wash your hands.
Yeah.
| Which foods are those? Um, generally things that | I don't like, basically.
So fruit and vegetables.
You know, at the very least I have to kind of like | sort of wipe my hands.
This is the kind of behaviour you do | if you touch something dangerous which could give you a disease | or germs, right? Yeah.
It's just being | inappropriately applied to something that's not | actually dangerous.
Here's a question | just completely randomly.
What's your deepest fear? Pain.
Pain? | Yeah.
What kind of pain? Agonising pain.
The sort of pain I've experienced | most of my life, yeah.
I had scans when I was a child and they said I had IBS, | irritable bowel syndrome.
That's a physical pain.
You can't think of anything else | when you've got it.
Um, you know, it's better now | than it used to be.
And when was the first time | you were aware of that pain? I don't ever remember not having it.
What interesting for that is, if you're having this pain | in the stomach area, your unconscious mind may be | associating that pain perhaps with food.
So already you may have set up | a sensitivity of, "Hey, watch what I'm eating here cos something might be causing me | some kind of pain.
I've got to really monitor | what goes in my mouth.
" That was a really useful session | with Richard.
If he was in that much pain | as a child, it's no wonder he restricted | what he put in his mouth.
And now that he hopefully | understands the origins | of his fears I can begin to help him move on.
I suppose I never really | thought of it that way, but it actually makes | a lot of sense.
Um, cos I suppose if, kind of like trying, | restricting what I ate could kind of be my way of trying to | control, control the pain.
Unsuccessfully, but I suppose | that was the idea, really.
'The following morning Richard | has a meeting with Charlotte to begin the process | of weaning him off meat.
They've only got four weeks | to do it.
' This morning I've got a lot of foods | for Richard to try that he hasn't actually tried | in about 25 years.
The object of the exercise today is really for me | to test Richard's limits, so that I know how we need | to act with him to actually get him having | a healthy diet.
Now we're here today to follow on from looking at the | food you have been eating.
So we've looked at what we want to | move out of your diet.
Clearly we need to put things | back in.
This is going to involve eating foods look like this | in front of you.
Right.
How do you feel just looking | at all this stuff here? Have you got a sick bag anywhere? (LAUGHS) We have provisions.
And look at the floor.
It's lovely.
| (LAUGHS) Easy clean.
What you wanted to achieve | at the end of this four weeks is eating a pizza.
So this is going to involve | eating some cheese.
I've never .
.
ever remember ever having cheese or even wanting to try it.
Can you take a piece? It just looks really revolting.
Can I spit it out somewhere? | Yeah, course you can.
There you go.
Oh.
So what was the reflex | that made you spit it out? Probably cos I started thinking | too much about it.
What I want you to do is try to just | move past where you've been before.
This is completely new.
Just try and clear your head.
| Right.
OK, let's try those mushrooms.
Oh, they just look vile.
It's like a slug or something.
I really don't want to touch it | with my hands.
'It takes a painfully long 20 minutes | of coaching to get a mere mushroom anywhere near his mouth.
' OK, let's go for it.
Oh, that tastes revolting.
That's really horrible.
'Another 45 minutes of struggle | yields limited success.
A small piece of broccoli.
A morsel of tomato.
And eventually a raspberry.
' How do you feel after doing that? (LAUGHS) Can't quite believe | I actually did it.
'Before Richard heads home, Charlotte has one parting gift.
' You've done really well today.
| Thank you.
But you clearly have a phobia | around certain foods.
So I've put together a hamper | for you.
Right.
That I want you to take home, | open when you get home.
Right.
This has got tasks that will help | move you forward.
OK.
I think it's really important | to remember here that although he's done | amazingly today, Richard still has | a really long way to go.
In the grand scheme of things, taking that long to eat something | like a mushroom is still quite a long way away | from eating a normal diet every day.
'Charlotte can't wean Richard | off meat until he's eating other things.
But with a strong fear of most foods, | this won't be easy.
Her first step is to get him used to | simply being around veg without the pressure of eating it.
' "Each day for the next week | you're to carry with you a fruit or vegetable | from the hamper.
You must also hold it for at least | five minutes a day.
" Eugh.
Oh, there's something wrong | about cauliflower.
Oh, there's something really wrong.
Why would anybody want to | eat anything that smells like somebody's | just broken wind? 'Richard takes his cauliflower | to work so they can spend | some quality time together.
' It's been in my trouser pocket | all day.
Piece of cauliflower producing | a really lovely little bulge there which looks very attractive.
I just think it's hilarious.
| (LAUGHS) Got broccoli today.
I had to carry broccoli | around with me today and hold it for five minutes.
But I actually completely forgot | that it was in my hand, and actually it was quite bizarre.
It felt quite nice.
That's a bit wrong, isn't it? | Um (LAUGHS) I actually forgot I had it there, and ended up holding it for about | quarter of an hour while I had a chat.
ALARM CLOCK RINGS 'It's 7:00am the next day, and Richard has arranged | to meet Charlotte for a doctor's appointment in London.
But as usual, | he's having trouble waking up.
' MATT: Come on, my boy.
Richard.
I've given you another ten minutes.
| Are you gonna get up? Mm.
Yeah.
I'm really worried about his health | in general, because it's just not, I don't think | it's healthy to eat the way he is.
And I think he looks pale.
He | doesn't really look well to me.
He's put on loads of weight | recently.
And it worries him, I know.
So it can't be doing him | any good at all.
'The only thing | that gets Richard up every morning is a high energy drink for breakfast, followed by his daily dose | of IBS medication.
' I tend to have one of those, which kind of lasts sort of | for the morning, and then I kind of like stop.
But if it gets that bad I just | have another one later on.
'Charlotte wants to move Richard on, | but he's still at stage one, holding vegetables.
She thinks a visit to the doctor's may be just the medical shock | he needs.
Dr Pixie McKenna is a GP with a special interest | in eating problems.
Charlotte's brought Richard | to her clinic to find out just what damage | an addiction to meat could be doing to his health.
' What's striking from | your blood test results is that you've got a very high level | of bad cholesterol.
in your bloodstream.
Of course, it's not really | surprising, then, looking at all the animal fat | that you take in that it's high.
You've also got a diet | that's full of salt.
You've got a family history | of high blood pressure.
You've got a diet | that's full of sugar, you've got a family history | of diabetes.
And all of these things together combined with the lack of fibre are flagging up, for me, some seriously worrying | medical problems that you probably aren't suffering | from right now, but you are definitely | gonna suffer from in the future.
You've already got symptoms with | regard to that, haven't you? Yeah, I've got | irritable bowel syndrome.
So I get quite a lot of | stomach pain.
When I look at your food diary, and you know, you're very good | and you take your medication.
But of course you might as well be | throwing that out the window, because of the meat content | in your diet.
'Irritable bowel syndrome | is a chronic disorder that affects the digestive system.
A combination of stress, hormones | and chemicals called neurotransmitters | create muscle spasms which in turn cause abdominal | cramping and pain.
A red-meat-heavy diet | lacking in fibre is hard to digest, will irritate the gut | and make IBS symptoms worse.
Dr Pixie wants Richard to see | just what damage a lack of fibre is doing to | his health.
So she's produced a model | of his bowels.
' Here we've got the combination | of meat and fibre.
And fibre actually makes this meat | pass more easily through your gut.
So this is all flowing nicely | through your gut.
And that's all designed for you | to go at the right pace for you to absorb all the nutrients | that you should be having.
The other is your diet.
| Right.
Which involves meat | Let's see.
Meat and meat.
| There isn't any fibre in here.
Now the problem with that | You can see the saturated fat.
Sluggish, isn't it? Yeah.
Sticking.
Now the problem with that is to pass that through your gut, you've got to use loads of pressure | in your abdomen.
That's gonna cause problems | long term with your abdominal wall.
And you get little bulges | called diverticulae.
Food gets stuck in there, and it becomes inflamed | and you get tummy pain, bleeding, mucous, bloating.
I can guarantee you, | on your diet at the moment, you will get that.
Of course these are things | that are not as serious as the most serious problem | which you are facing.
Because there is great evidence | to show that lack of fibre in the diet increases the risk | of colorectal cancer.
There's no mincing of words here.
| He really needs to change his diet.
This is scary stuff, and that wasn't | being melodramatic in there.
That much meat really is | a massive disease risk.
'Back home in Norwich, Richard reflects on | what he's been told.
' I'm really pleased | I'm doing all this.
It's just kind of like, you know, | there's gonna be highs and lows.
And to be honest with you, | tonight I'm feeling a bit low.
But I've got to do, | I want to do this, and I will do it.
'It's a week into Richard's | dietary makeover, but he's still not trying new foods.
Felix has a plan to move him on.
' If Richard's going to have any hope | of overcoming his fears, he really needs to learn to control | the panic he experiences around new foods.
And I've got an exercise in mind that will really show him | it's a case of mind over matter.
Today, Richard, we're gonna show you | a very practical way to start to control your fears | and your phobias around things.
And we're going to use it in a | demonstration with something else.
It's about channelling your mind, | your discipline, your focus in a way that's gonna help you | get the goals you want.
OK.
The change room | is just through there.
Meet you back here in a moment.
I'd like to teach you a technique | to collect your energy in one area, and then to apply it in a way to overcome any obstacle | in front of you.
Right, OK.
I want you to do a sort of slow | breathing and a slow inhale, like so.
Up here I'd like you to imagine | a red-hot sun.
Then you do a very short, | sharp breath as you bring this in, and you imagine bringing down | the sun to your energy level.
Right.
| Yeah? (INHALES) Grab the sun, and ready? | BOTH: Chhh! Bit faster.
| Chhh! Bit faster.
Chhh! Now imagine the stored energy | you've got here, you cup it in your hand, this fiery | ball of red-hot energy.
And the trick is to apply that | energy to something useful.
Which we're gonna do.
'He's going to need a very large ball | of energy for this.
' Ugh! Ugh! Cha! Do you think you can do that? Probably not.
I'll give it a try.
Well done, Richard, | that's all we want you to do.
But we're gonna make it | a bit easier for you.
I hope so.
(LAUGHS) We'll just do it with one board.
| OK.
What we're learning here | is to focus this energy to overcome your obstacles, and then you can apply this to food.
The things you thought | you could never do, the barriers, the obstacles, if you apply your mind, that energy | will cut through them in | the same way.
(INHALES) Chhh! And one | Chhh! OK, cup that sound, | that powerful energy, stand to the side of it, hold that, feel it vibrate | in your hand, and shout at the top of your lungs.
Ready - one, two, three! Ugh! OK, I think we need | to gather some more energy.
BOTH: Chhh! Gathering, get that sun.
| Chhh! Huh! | Yay! Whoa-ho! Richard, Richard, | you've just broken a board.
How do you feel? Pretty good, actually.
Before you came here you didn't | believe you could break this.
No.
If someone said | you're going to break a board in about ten minutes, | 20 minutes of training, you would have said, "No way.
" It just shows you what you can do | when you apply your mind.
Yeah.
Now the question is, | what would it be like if you applied this same intention, | this same power and energy to breaking your fears of food? Yeah.
| That's the plan.
Realistically and rationally it should be a lot harder to whack your hand through a couple | of bits of wood than it is to kind of eat something, | you know? So I just need to go the same way.
Although hopefully not in the middle | of a restaurant doing all the .
.
all the thing, cos people might | think I'm a bit mad.
'Back home, Richard can't wait | to tell Matt all about his big balls of energy.
' What's all that junk? Just something I've been | doing today.
Really? What is it? Well, it was a martial arts thing.
And at the end, with my hands, | or one hand, I did that to a piece of wood.
| Really? Seriously, it didn't even hurt.
| That's gonna worry me a little bit.
That could be my head at some point, | if you get in a row with me.
'Charlotte has set Richard | his second homework task, something to give his bowels | more to work on.
' I'm making a smoothie | at the moment.
It feels a bit bizarre actually.
It's kind of like it's still quite | unusual and bit odd, but it's not scaring me anymore, | touching them, which it did before.
Good move in the right direction, | anyway.
It just feels a bit revolting, | actually.
Fear of what's it gonna do, | I suppose.
Right.
It smells really minging, actually, | its horr It smells Actually To me it smells almost dirty.
It's not too bad.
There we go.
(BURPS) Ooh! (LAUGHS) Burping now.
There we go.
Pint of smoothie, | that's not too bad.
'With his newfound confidence, Richard is inspired to carry on | trying new things.
' That's nicer than white bread.
I'm really annoyed now that I've not | been having brown bread for longer.
(LAUGHS) I'm feeling quite brave, so I was in the shop today and I thought these | looked quite nice.
Blackberries.
Here goes.
I can't say I like the flavour yet.
But I've done it, so that's good.
And it's something I've not had | before, so I'm pleased now.
'Richard's tried more new foods | in the last two weeks than in the previous 25 years.
Matt, however, has mixed emotions | about his progress.
' It does make me feel a bit, | I don't know, useless, in a way, that over five years we haven't been able to get him | to eat anything extra.
And then in two weeks he's suddenly | trying all these different things and actually willing to try them.
So different to Before he just would have | flatly refused.
But I think probably for the last | three and a bit years we've just, or I've just given up trying to get him to try | new things, really.
OK.
Well, Richard's been coming along | really, really well.
He's been working hard with Felix and has really come to terms | with his food phobias.
Now we need to move on a bit more and start finding some replacements for his huge saturated fat | meat diet.
What's your first impression here? | It's the smell.
Of? | It's the smell of fish.
I'm really not happy at the moment | at all.
Really not happy.
| How are you feeling? It's much worse than the fruit | and vegetables, much worse.
I'm really not sure about this one | at all.
How are you feeling about being | in this proximity to it? It's not good at all.
I just want to run out | at the moment, to be honest.
Can I just get a bit of fresh air | quickly? I'll be back in a sec.
'It seems Richard isn't as far along | as he originally thought.
' Fine.
I'm going back in.
Felix taught me a technique for kind of focusing all | the negative stuff away.
And that helped a bit.
| I needed to be outside to do it.
'But now Richard | will have to show some real guts, not all of them his.
' This is salmon, very good source | of omega-3 oils.
This is something we really need you | to move towards in terms of health.
This is really crucial in terms of | all of those heart health, diabetes issues | that we talked about before.
You OK? | No.
How are you feeling? | Not good.
I just don't want to be here.
| At all.
Previously to this you've been quite removed from | the food that you're eating.
This is not an exercise to just | shock and upset you.
Mm-hm.
But it's about looking at where | your barriers are and seeing where we have to go | in terms of moving you forward.
Right.
Let's go outside, yeah? | Yeah.
Shall we go? | Yeah.
Well done.
Go that way.
Richard's reaction in there | was really strong, which in a way is surprising, because he's been doing so well | with other foods.
And he was actually surprised | at his reaction.
And we really need him to move outside those really restrictive | barriers that he has.
I'm not very happy at the moment | at all.
It was horrible.
I just felt really good last week | cos I was achieving so many things and breaking barriers and .
.
things like that, and now I just feel a bit useless | at the moment, and like I'm a bit stuck.
'Richard's got less than two weeks | until his final challenge.
With his confidence | now at an all-time low, Charlotte and Felix meet up to | discuss where to go from here.
' I wanted to let you know what | happened with Richard | at the fish market, because it was quite | an important event.
He was presented with | all this raw fish, new smells, and really lost it.
Right.
I thought it was positive because he used his visualisation | techniques that you gave him, and he used them really well.
So he faced a fear really well, but he now needs his confidence | bringing up again.
Once he has another experience | of success he'll be back on track.
He's very determined, and with that kind of willpower | I think you can do anything.
One of the reasons that I | particularly need this one to work is that I need to find | an alternative to red meat for him, so he's just not on that heavy, | saturated, dense Yeah.
| .
.
protein the whole time, and find an alternative for that.
So it's not just about moving | through this particular fear, it is about practically finding | something for him to eat.
'As Charlotte's keen to keep | Richard on course, she gives him his next | homework task - banning all processed sugar | from his diet.
' I suppose that means the first thing | I'm gonna have to do is get rid of all my chocolate.
Which I'd rather not do, but, um .
.
I need to do it, so, er, | here we go.
All I can think about is wanting to | eat something like chocolate or ice-cream or a cake.
(LAUGHS) And it's just all I can think about.
And Ahhh! 'Richard's body rebels as he denies it the sugar | it's become so dependent on.
' Just took so ibuprofen because my head is really, really | bad at the moment.
I've had a constant bad headache now | for the last almost two days.
'By day three, Richard's hit a wall.
' I don't know.
I know I've got to do it | and I want to do it, but it's really driving me insane | at the moment.
I just want some sugar, really.
I just want some chocolate | or something like that.
It better be worth it.
I'll be all right.
| Will you? He has been a bit moody.
Because of lack of sugar.
It's been hard work for me.
Yeah, you have to watch | what you say.
I think there's probably worse | to come as time goes on.
'With Richard's morale now hitting | rock bottom, Matt catches up with Charlotte | for some tea and sympathy.
' It's certainly not been easy.
He was very moody, very tired.
And with Richard, when he gets tired | he gets moody anyway.
So the two sort of smash together.
Heady combination.
When you're giving up sugar it's quite easy to feel despondent | and demotivated.
Because you're You're not having those | instantaneous quick fixes of sugar that you were used to.
He needs to see that he's | achieving something, I think.
If he I think any setback | will be a major setback for him.
And he will take it to heart if a | single day doesn't go quite right.
Yeah.
I think in his head it will just be | a waste of a day really.
He needs to see that he's achieved | at least something each day.
Was it the same | when you first met him? Yeah.
Yeah.
If anything he's got worse, | I'd say.
It's certainly not been easy, because everything just has to sort | of revolve around food, really.
But I've just got used to it, | I think.
Oh, dear.
Which is, yeah, complacency sets in | and then - I wouldn't say I was ever | happy with it, but it's just one of those things, | really, that's just a part of him.
Not really a part I like, | but hopefully we can get it sorted.
'Charlotte thinks Richard's partner | Matt and his best friend Stephen might be more understanding of what Richard's been going through | all these years if they experience his diet | first hand.
It's left to Richard to break the bad | news to them.
' Basically Felix, the psychologist, | and Charlotte, the nutritionist, want both of you to experience | what my diet's like for three days.
Three days? So they want you to both basically | eat what I eat, just literally meat, mainly, | no herbs and spices added.
I can have a steak? | Yeah, you can have steak.
Well done.
Not red or pink.
I've got indigestion | just thinking about it.
I really have.
I'm gonna so miss my vegetables.
What am I gonna eat | while I'm at work? Chocolate? | Chocolate.
That actually sounded a bit better.
'After only a day, Matt's discovering how unpleasant | Richard's diet is.
' Good.
It's gonna be an exciting | lamb burger sandwich.
Chewing it's bad enough, | but when you've got to swallow it He was eating it, and I said, "What would it be like | if you had to eat like that | for longer," and he just said he couldn't.
But the thing is, | ultimately he had I do now, but I didn't, | have the option, which he does have the option to eat different things | and try different things.
And I just had this phobia, | this block, whatever it is, stopping me.
Maybe they'll realise how horrible | it is for me.
And why I'm so desperate | to change it.
' 'Stephen, a local radio DJ, is realising all too quickly.
' I've been actually force-fed | chocolate biscuits, and lardy things for the past | sort of three days, and I don't feel very healthy.
I feel like I need pulling through | with a Christmas tree.
'And no-one's the least bit upset | to wave the diet goodbye.
' Ooh, that's nice.
After three days of eating what could only be described | as various flavours of lard, I feel actually very, very sickly, and I couldn't wait to get | some vitamin C into me.
I can't believe that Richard's | put up with this sort of diet now for 25 years.
Just all the wonderful food and | flavours that he's been missing.
It's just such a terrible diet.
Can't explain it, really, | what it's like, until someone's tried it.
Perfect.
'Richard may now be eating | a few new foods, but he has a long way to go until his | final challenge of eating a pizza in just one week's time.
Felix has one more trick | up his sleeve that might just tackle | his remaining food fears.
' We really need to nail this phobic | reaction down today.
So what I've got planned for him is to make him confront | his very worst fears, and teach him there's nothing | he can't do with the right mental attitude.
On a scale of one to ten - | ten is maximum, one is minimum - let's call it your fear rating, what would you rate your fear rating | right now? Somewhere either ten or above.
Ten or above, | so we've maxed that already.
So it can only get lower.
| Yeah.
We'd like to apply some of the principles you learnt | in the wood-breaking session, the martial arts session, | to your fears here today.
So first thing is just to get back | in that powerful state.
What I'd like you to do is I'd like you to put all your | fingers together like this, and transfer all your fear | and frustration onto the tips of your fingers.
OK.
How are you feeling inside | at the moment? Calm.
Quite calm, yeah.
'But it's not so easy to be calm | when something's bugging you.
' This is a millipede.
| Oh! So, scale of one to ten.
Um, right at the top again.
| Right at the top again.
So if you want to just go into your | own zone for a moment, connect back that sense of power.
And how does it feel | to have this on your hand? Feels really bizarre.
Is this something you ever thought | you could do? I never, ever, ever thought I'd be | able to do Ever.
| Right.
I mean, this is quite surreal, | actually.
It's quite surreal.
Normally if anything like that was | near me, I'd actually run, literally run away.
He's really cute, actually.
| He's really cute.
'If he can handle a bug with | a thousand legs then surely eight legs | should be no problem for Richard.
' Ooh, (BLEEP).
Sorry.
What's going through your mind | right now? Um, that's really not good.
'Except that spiders are a phobia | second only to fruit and veg.
' Just do your technique.
Take your time.
Exactly what you've done | so successfully before.
Right.
It's all right.
I got it.
It's going that way.
| It's OK.
What do you think of it, Richard? It's fine.
| So here you are holding a tarantula.
I can't believe it.
So you've conquered a range of | fear barriers today by applying simple techniques, focusing your intention, your will, | and you see what happens.
Yeah.
| Suddenly it becomes easy.
Just like that.
You're gonna see food that initially | you'd think, "Oh, no, 11 out of ten.
No way, this is not my thing.
" Apply your techniques | and stay through it and then see what happens.
You'll even enjoy the experience.
| Well done.
Thank you.
Fantastic, fantastic work.
I'm very proud of myself | at the moment.
That's kind of a life-changing | thing for me.
I'm terrified of so many things | and I won't do so many things, and I think I actually | am gonna be able to.
It's just gonna make my life | so much better.
I can't even begin to describe it.
'Now Richard's confidence | is back on track, it's up to Charlotte | to push him further.
' Richard's last session | at the fish market wasn't the success | I would have liked.
I really need him to start | eating fish as an alternative | to all that red meat.
We haven't got much time, | so we need to get cracking on this.
What I've chosen for you today is I think the best way for you | to start tasting.
If we just try the fish, | very simply cooked.
And maybe with some vegetables that | you've started to enjoy already.
How are feeling at the moment, | being here - I'm honestly not sure | if I'll be able to do it.
I want to try, obviously, but I'm not sure how I'm gonna do.
'First up, salmon fish cake.
' Ah! How are you feeling about the eating | of the fish cake? Quite nervous.
| (LAUGHS) Um, yeah.
Rightio.
You're in control here.
Do you know what that is? | I think it's a spinach leaf.
Spinach? | Yeah.
I'll try that because I need to get | myself in the right frame of mind.
Good.
That's been round some sort of | herbs or spices.
No, that is actually quite nice, | whatever dressing it is.
Oh, it's really garlicky.
| Is that garlic? Yeah.
| Oh, my God! That's really garlicky.
| That's quite nice.
'Ironically, Richard hasn't let | his partner Matt have garlic in five years, | because he hates the smell so much.
' Really garlicky.
You just did garlic.
Oh, well.
| Went for fish, got garlic instead.
(BOTH LAUGH) | That's really good, that, actually.
'It's a great start, but will Felix's | coping techniques enable Richard | to eat the fish cake?' That's really nice.
(LAUGHS) You crack me up.
All that was really nice.
'But how will he deal with something | that actually looks like fish?' So what's this one? | This is halibut.
Actually that's really, really nice.
I really like that.
I've found out that I actually | don't mind fish.
Kind of like the flavour of garlic.
I just spent all these years | avoiding anything like this.
And actually it's quite nice.
It's probably the most nutritious | meal you've ever had.
(LAUGHS) We need you to keep | this progress going.
So what I'd like you to do this week is really start taking out some of | the red meat from your diet and replacing it with healthy | sources of protein, then we'll be making real progress towards changing you | and increasing your health.
OK.
| OK? I started off with a salmon | fish cake, and the salad it was served with had | quite a bit of garlic in it, | apparently, which I quite enjoyed.
So That's good.
He likes the garlic.
| Yes.
A lot.
Then I had some halibut, | which I had with mint peas, and that was really quite In fact I ate quite a bit of that.
| I really enjoyed it.
So you like garlic? | He's not worried about the fish.
Would you like to try | some garlic bread? Maybe at some point.
Yes! Tell him about the fish | and he's amazed about the garlic.
And the pizza | is what's gonna come next.
That's all he's fussed about.
'Following Richard's recent | fish success, Charlotte sent him off with | a meat-free lunch alternative - a tuna sandwich.
' I couldn't say I liked it.
This is ridiculous.
| It's a bit of fish in bread.
I really wanted to enjoy this.
'A frustrated Richard gives up.
' It's my final challenge tomorrow, | eating pizza.
Um, I'm quite worried, to be honest, because I just had | a tuna sandwich today, and it was awful.
It smelt like cat food.
| It was just hideous.
And it took me about half an hour | to eat half of it.
And, um, that's not good.
If I don't do it I don't know | what I'm gonna do, to be honest.
'Today's the big final challenge | for Richard, his dream of eating a pizza, | and he's got mixed emotions.
' I am really looking forward to it.
I'm quite excited, | but on the other hand, there's this kind of little thing | at the back of my mind, and I'm kind of thinking, | what if I don't like it? I suppose in a way this pizza sort of marks the start | of a new life in a way, that this is where | we can sort of go off and eat where we both want to eat and go on the holidays | that we both want to do and go round people's houses, | and it doesn't just have to | be his decision.
So yeah, it's quite a big Sort of quite symbolic, really, | that pizza.
Richard's friends know him too well | to be confident of his success.
' I'm not quite so sure that he'll be | able to do it, because the pressure's on.
Here we are in a busy restaurant, got the atmosphere going, he's got | all his friends around him.
I've had a look at the menu and | there's loads of stuff on there that I don't think he's going to | actually like.
If he starts freaking out | looking at this menu then we're in trouble, | or he's in trouble.
Hello! Hi there.
How are you? Hello.
How are you feeling about today? | Are you feeling confident? I don't know.
| I've got my fingers crossed.
We'll see what happens.
| I want to like it.
So hopefully I will.
Ready to order? | Um, yes.
I want two.
| Half and half? Is that all right? Padana.
| The Padana.
And the IlIl Padrino.
| And the Il Padrino.
'Richard bravely orders two pizzas | to try - chicken and veg and goat's cheese | with spinach and red onion.
' I think to everyone else it'd more | about, "Oh, he's eating a pizza," but I think to me it's more about, | you know, that I've moved on, got somewhere else, and that I've achieved something | I never thought I'd be able to.
There's the half Il Padrino | and the Padana.
What do we do now? All sit here | and look at you while you're eating? No, just eat your food.
Just eat.
How do you eat | Do you eat it with a knife and fork? You can eat it with knife | and fork, or your hands.
(LAUGHS) MEN CHATTER Do you like it? That's really nice, actually.
| That is really nice.
I'm liking the chicken.
How are you finding the cheese? | Are you enjoying the cheese? Yeah, the cheese is nice, actually.
| Works really well.
Try a bit of mine if you want.
I'll try a little bit.
'But an anchovy pizza | is unchartered territory.
' That could be anything, that face.
He'll do that | before he loves something or doesn't like it at all.
| It's really nice, this one.
Compared to what it was like | four weeks ago it's good to see.
It's amazing to watch.
There we go.
| That was quite nice, actually.
I quite enjoyed that.
Ladies and | gentlemen, Richard eating a pizza.
I'm incredibly proud of him because | he's managed to change the whole way in which he approaches food.
And he's been cured of spiders.
How this happened | as a side effect, I do not know.
He's clearly enjoying it, | cos he hasn't stopped eating yet.
This is it.
The start of a new life, | I think, really.
MEN LAUGH I just ate a pizza, | and it was really nice.
And bizarrely, my most favourite one | was the one that didn't have meat.
To see how far he's come | in four weeks is just amazing, really.
To think when I started my goal was | to eat one vegetable.
(LAUGHS) And now I'm like, "Yeah, whatever, | that's old news.
" The trouble is now | I'm gonna be really poor, cos I'm gonna have to go to every | restaurant in Norwich to try all the different food.
| (LAUGHS) 'One month on and Richard's dietary | revolution is still in place.
' Oh, my God, that is gorgeous.
I love it.
| It's just really, really nice.
Going through this process | with Charlotte and Felix has just completely, it's just | completely changed my life.
I'm not afraid of things anymore, and it's just opened up | the world to me.
I can do anything.
It's definitely changed | our relationship, that he's tried all these | different things, he's clearly healthier, so hopefully he'll be | sticking round for a bit longer.
'And his new healthy diet has had an unexpected side effect | as well.
' Bye-bye.
(LAUGHS) | I won't be missing those.
I've been taking IBS medicine | for years.
There's no point anymore, | cos I don't need them.
I've had problems, | no stomach cramps, nothing.
I feel completely different.
I just don't feel like | the same person anymore.
I've, you know, I've lost weight and my head's clearer and I'm not scared of things.
It's like someone's kidnapped me | and replaced me with an impostor.
(LAUGHS) But it's a better impostor, | I think, so I'll stick with it.
Forget the old one.
| Leave him alone.
(LAUGHS) Closed Captions by CSI