Phil Staples From "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" On Gaining Back 200 Pounds

On September 18, 2014, in more than 600 theaters around the country, people saw my friend Joe Cross' movie Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead 2 for the first time. I was nervous—OK, scared—about what the movie would reveal. For the last two years, I'd been keeping a terrible secret.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead 2 is a sequel to Joe's first film, which followed not only his transformation from obesity and ill health but mine, too. I was driving a truck for a living when I met Joe and eating a typical trucker's diet (which is all the crap you can imagine).

Spending all of my time alone on the road, I was tipping the scales at more than 400 pounds when I met this cheerful, friendly Australian guy in a truck-stop parking lot in Winslow, Arizona. Turns out, we had the same autoimmune disease, in addition to struggling with our weight.

By then, Joe had been doing what he called "Rebooting" for about 40 days—drinking nothing but fresh vegetable and fruit juice—and showed me pictures of what he had looked like two months earlier. It was like looking at a different person.

He walked me over to his SUV since it was time to get his "dinner" ready. In all of the years I spent driving a truck, I had never seen someone with a juicer in the back and bags full of produce. He was making something he called a Mean Green, which seemed to have more fresh vegetables in it than I had eaten all year and which looked suspiciously like liquid grass.

But I was so impressed with the difference between the pictures he had shown me and the guy standing in front of me that I asked if I could try some. Turns out, it didn't taste bad at all.

Before we parted company, Joe explained that he was just a regular guy—not a doctor or health expert—but that if I ever wanted to try it for myself, he would help me Reboot. He handed me his business card and sped off onto the highway.

Well, that card stayed tucked into the visor of my truck for months. Finally, at a terribly low point, I called him and left a voicemail, reminding him of our meeting and asking for help.

Well, that little film has been seen by more than 20 million people around the world, and I've received amazing emails and Facebook messages from people who were inspired by my story. Being an inspiration to people is pretty intoxicating, let me tell you.

I was a poster boy for successful change. For the next three years, I stayed in good shape, running and swimming. My diet was excellent, with an emphasis on vegetables I had come to know and love.

I juiced, blended, and ate micronutrient-dense plant food all the time. Thanks to my dietary habits, I had a healthy waistline, bright eyes, and sound sleep. I found work I enjoyed and spent time with family.

Sadly, it wasn't forever. The marriage ended badly. I couldn't believe that I was alone and divorced again. Time passed and my heartbreak didn't heal—in fact, it seemed to get worse and, after a few months, set off a major depression. I didn't care about much of anything. Friends and family tried to snap me out of it, but they seemed to make my feelings of shame and sadness worse.

I started avoiding those well-meaning people and spending more and more time alone. Work became too much for me to handle, and little by little I started falling into my old habits. Depression led to isolation, which led to food—processed food. And lots of it.

I stopped shopping for nutritious groceries, going for a swim, or calling a friend. My beloved juicer gathered dust, but I knew the name of every person at the Wendy's drive-in window.

I had trouble keeping a job, I isolated myself from my friends and family, I didn't answer Joe's calls, and I made my world as small as possible, numbing out with the kind of greasy, processed, sweet food that was terrible for me. Before I knew it, I was more than 400 pounds again.

Joe and his team left me about a million voicemail messages, letting me know they were working on the follow-up film. One day, I realized I couldn't hide from them any longer. I screwed up my courage and called Joe back. I told him that I had failed—failed myself, failed him, and failed Rebooters all over the world.

There was a slight pause, and then Joe said, "Well, mate, let's get you some help." I didn't realize it in that moment, but I had taken the first step of getting healthy again—simply by sharing my story with a friend. With the guidance of Russ Kennedy, a behavioral expert Joe arranged to have help me, I started to understand that the isolation was as dangerous for me as the double cheeseburgers and milkshakes I was eating.

That community was as central to my health and well-being as fruits and vegetables. And that shame was a toxic drug that I simply couldn't allow to take hold of me.

So now everybody knows. Knows that the guy who they saw at the end of the first movie was really successful...until he wasn't. That he slid backward and wound up right where he started. I'm sure some people are disappointed, and I have to live with that. But now that the secret is out, I feel free, and you know what? Freedom feels wonderful.