On a daily basis John Perry from Ilford in Essex stuffs himself with burgers, pizzas, chips, chocolate and whatever fattening food he feels like - all without having any affect on his weight. The 6ft 1in 59-year-old suffers from lipodystrophy, a condition that means his body burns fat so rapidly he cannot put on weight. So, despite the number of unlimited junk food he can consume, his weight remains stable at 11 stones 12 lbs.
It took over a decade of tests before doctors were able to diagnose what was wrong with him; eventually they discovered that John's body produces six times the normal level of insulin. This level of insulin would normally be fatal but somehow John's body is able to deal with it.
Beans means weight loss
But while John Perry can’t put weight on, another Essex resident is shedding the excess pounds with the help of an unlikely staple food. After being warned he was at-risk for bowel cancer, Neil King was determined to take action. He didn’t add fruit and vegetables to his diet. Nor did he embark on a strict exercise regime. Instead, he started eating six cans of baked beans every day.
Mr King’s unorthodox diet has helped him lose ten stones to date. He eats the low fat, high fibre baked beans with rice for lunch and with a potato for dinner. While there’s nothing special about baked beans, King’s astonishing transformation tallies with dieticians’ assertions that, in the early stages of weight loss, limiting the choices of food can help people lose excess pounds.