These tales are heartening, if not exactly riveting viewing they have the feel of a reality show (which I’m surprised Cross does not yet have).

Mostly, though, there are new success stories solicited online by Cross about a third of the film consists of YouTube testimonials to the transformative power of juicing. “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2” is a followup to the original 2010 documentary. Others, like Phil the truck driver, have fared less well - in the intervening years, he’s slid back into his old habits and put most of the weight back on.

After seeing himself on the big screen that way, he did a 180 and embraced Joe’s diet plan, losing a substantial amount of weight and becoming able to be a bone marrow donor for his ailing brother. Some have made surprising changes, like Terry, a gun shop owner who disdained the idea of healthy eating in the original movie. This genial but lite follow-up, directed again by Kurt Engfehr, amounts to a victory lap, in which the now-trim and healthy Cross hits the road once more to spread the word about juicing and visit a few familiar faces from the first film. “One person and one juice at a time.” The Australian Cross started with himself in the original 2010 documentary, which chronicled his transition to health - and a healthy weight - thanks to a strict adherence to juicing fruits and vegetables, and a road trip across the US singing the praises of his regimen. ‘This is how we make a difference in the world,” says Joe Cross.

Joe cross weight loss journal