2-714-134 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Thomas Wood, The Abstemious Miller', 1821. Portrait of miller Thomas Wood (1719-1783), made c1773 when he was 53 years old. Wood, of Billericay in Essex, became known for his weight-loss diet which he adopted after a life of excess. He had become extremely overweight and suffered numerous health problems, and was recommended a book by Luigi Cornaro, a 17th century Italian dietician. Wood subsequently gave up meat, alcohol and animal fat, and ate only a pudding made from seabiscuits. His health was restored, and it is thought that he lost between ten and eleven stone in weight. From "Wonderful Characters: Comprising Memoirs and Anecdotes of the Most Remarkable Persons of Every Age and Nation", Vol. I, by Henry Wilson. [J. Robins and Co. Albion Press, London, 1821]