For years, Josie Gibson felt trapped in a frustrating cycle of crash diets, bursts of motivation and crushing disappointment. Fans watched the This Morning favourite bravely talk about her struggles, her weight going up and down, and her firm refusal to turn to quick-fix jabs or surgery.
Then, almost overnight, she seemed to re-emerge as someone new.
Now 40, Josie has stunned viewers with a dramatically slimmer figure after losing an astonishing five stone – and she insists it wasn’t Ozempic, a bypass, or a miracle pill. Instead, the turning point came when she agreed to throw herself into a radical experiment inspired by the past.
But after years of yo-yo dieting and insisting she would never touch weight loss jabs, Josie has finally found what works for her
Josie immersed herself in ‘the 1970s diet’ which saw her mirror food, drink and health culture of that era (pictured on New Year)
The diet nobody expected
For her new Channel 5 documentary The 1970s Diet: Could It Work for You?, Josie completely overhauled her lifestyle, eating and living as people did half a century ago. That meant smaller portions, far fewer ultra-processed foods and a return to simple, old-fashioned meals.
Gone were the grazing habits and oversized plates. In came boiled potatoes, liver, spam and strict portion control – all under the guidance of a nutritionist who recreated a genuine 1970s meal plan.
“If I’m going to do this, I’m showing everything,” Josie said of the challenge. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”
The shock that changed everything
What surprised her most wasn’t the food – it was what the health tests revealed.
Despite being overweight at the start of filming, Josie discovered her fitness levels were far better than she had imagined. Doctors told her she was operating at a “superior” level, a moment that flipped her mindset completely.
Instead of chasing perfection, she focused on consistency: moving more, eating less, learning what was actually going into her body, and resisting the urge to sabotage herself on so-called “cheat days”.
Her rule? Six disciplined days, one day off – but only one treat, not a full-blown binge.
No jabs, no shortcuts
While weight-loss injections continue to dominate celebrity headlines, Josie has been vocal that they were never for her.
“I didn’t get a gastric bypass,” she once wrote. “I got off my big a**e, moved more, ate less and educated myself.”
She admits she understands why people turn to medical shortcuts, but says she wanted something natural – something she could actually maintain when the cameras stopped rolling.
Back in 2014, Josie released two workout DVDs called 30 Second Slim and Josie Gibson’s 21 Day Fat Burn (pictured in 2013)
A body, and a mindset, transformed
This isn’t Josie’s first health journey. She’s battled her weight in public for over a decade, released fitness DVDs, written diet books and even had surgery in the past to remove loose skin. But this time feels different.
Friends say the biggest change isn’t her dress size – it’s her relationship with food, her discipline, and the confidence that now shines through every time she steps onto the This Morning sofa.
And while the full impact of her 1970s lifestyle experiment is still playing out on screen, one thing is already clear: this isn’t another yo-yo moment.
It’s a reinvention.
