Popular This Morning presenter Josie Gibson has opened up about a terrifying health struggle she endured behind the scenes of the ITV show, alongside revealing the secrets behind her impressive five-stone weight loss.
‘I Couldn’t Breathe’: The Panic Attack On Her First Day
The 40-year-old television personality, who first found fame by winning Big Brother in 2010, admitted that her initial foray into presenting the flagship daytime programme in 2018 was far from smooth. Starting by fronting the competitions segment, Gibson confessed to feeling overwhelming fear when she transitioned to a main presenting role.
Speaking to Best UK, she recalled: “I was scared to begin with, the first time I went into the studio I nearly had a panic attack. I couldn’t breathe or talk.” Despite the rocky start, she expressed immense gratitude to the This Morning team for taking a chance on her and supporting her career progression.
Josie Gibson’s Five Stone Weight Loss Transformation
In a separate but equally personal revelation, Josie Gibson has detailed the methods behind her significant body transformation, having shed over 30 kilograms (five stone). She recently participated in a Channel 5 documentary, ‘The 1970s Diet: Could it Work for you?’, which involved adopting eating habits from five decades ago.
Her approach on the programme and beyond included several key strategies:
- Drastically reducing portion sizes and sugar intake.
- Focusing on more boiled foods, as was common in the 1970s.
- Adopting intermittent fasting for three days each week.
- Increasing her overall level of exercise.
Pushing Back Against Surgery Claims
As her slimmer figure attracted public attention, Gibson found herself forced to address persistent speculation that her weight loss was aided by medication or surgical procedures like a gastric bypass. She tackled these claims head-on in a frank Instagram post.
“I didn't get a gastric bypass; I got off my big a**e, moved more, ate less and educated myself on what I was stuffing into my body,” she stated emphatically.
The presenter, who has been diagnosed with the chronic condition lipedema, also shared insights from her documentary experience. She admitted she initially feared the carbohydrate-heavy 1970s diet would cause weight gain. However, she was pleasantly surprised during filming when a nutritionist assessed her fitness.
“It was nice to know that even though I was overweight, I was at a supreme fitness level,” she told the Mirror. “I was expecting to have a low fitness level, even though I've always exercised. But he was like, ‘No, you're at a superior fitness rate’.” She described taking on the full retro diet as a “totally unique experience.”
