As a kid I had a very unhealthy diet. I try not to place any blame. Mum was uneducated in cooking. She left school and home at 15, had my older brother when she was 17 and me at 19. It was usually frozen meals and lots of cola, peanut butter, jam sandwiches, sweets and loads of chocolates. No milk or fruit in the house, but always crisps and Wagon Wheels Jammies. A very high-sugar diet, but I loved it. 

I used to think I wanted to be a PE teacher and I worked as a school teaching assistant for a year, but it wasn’t for me. But now here I am doing PE lessons for the world but not in a classroom.

I thought “Did Joe Wicks kill Kim Jong-Un?” was just a meme people shared, then I realised it was the headline on the cover of the Sunday Sport. A few weeks before, the bubbles on the cover of Private Eye had said, “At last a leader has emerged to lead us through the crisis … It’s Joe Wicks!”

I had a very chaotic upbringing. Dad was in and out of rehab. When you’re in a family with an addiction, it can get pretty manic and dysfunctional. Dad’s here, he’s not; there’s arguing and slamming of doors. And we didn’t eat together as a family, ever.

Dad’s cooking when I moved in with him was the worst. Uncle Ben’s Sweet & Sour chicken with that horrible orange sauce thrown over it. “Eat up! That’s all you’re getting,” he’d say – and I’d argue. His addiction and how damaging it was to him kept me on the straight and narrow. All the things I didn’t experience as a child, I’ve made an effort to create and encourage since – health, fitness, ambition, purpose, good parenting, togetherness.

I don’t think food and fitness can become an addiction. It’s not an addiction in my case. It’s a habit, a daily habit. It’s interesting to watch how good food energises you, and when you exercise the endorphins kick in, or when going for a bike ride you feel endorphins pumping and you think, “I’m going to do this again.” I don’t think addiction’s the right word.

At one time I was standing at Surbiton and Richmond railway stations during the rush hours handing out flyers about my boot camp and personal training. I was relentless. I’d cycle to parks and set up my camp, rain or shine. Sometimes there might be 10 people there, sometimes three. It could get very cold in the winter but I cracked on, and afterwards I’d go home to Dad’s flat in Surbiton and make a big bacon sandwich to warm me up.

I advise: don’t make a bad day of eating into a bad week of eating. I’ll sometimes binge, big time. The other day my mum sent me over a box of pick and mix – all these retro sweets like sugar prawns, foam mushrooms and all that. And I loved them. But afterwards I felt so bloated and tired. The best defence is to not have stuff in the house. If it’s in the house, I’d just eat it all.

I met my wife, Rosie, the night before my first book [Lean In 15, 2015] was published. Our whole relationship now is based around food. “What are we going to eat for breakfast? What’s for dinner? Let’s go!” I’d say 70% of the meals are cooked by me, 30% by Rosie. 

I really think our child, Indie, (who is 21 months old) is a little extension of us. I like looking at her and seeing how she’s one of the most adventurous eaters you could ever meet. We introduced her early to spices and textures. OK, there’s times when she throws food on the floor and she’s not in the mood, but I don’t let it frustrate me. 

I think I’ve opened up my mind to all foods, except tinned tuna. I can’t stand that. I will not go near it; the smell is unbearable. For the first 25 years of my life I wouldn’t touch any fish, then I started having a bit of cod and thought, “This isn’t too bad”; then I put some salmon with my Cajun and thought, “This is quite nice.” I had to train myself to get into fish, but now I love sashimi and sushi especially. Just never tuna from tins. There’s no chance.

If I was going to get stuck living, exercising and eating anywhere, it would have to be Italy. I’ve been to Sardinia and Tuscany and the food was unreal.

My favourite things

Food
I’m leaning towards nice homemade veggie food, but I still really love a steak. The other day I bought a tomahawk, put it on the barbecue and absolutely nailed it. But my go-to dish is probably chocolate fondant. Alternatively, vanilla ice-cream, or vanilla ice-cream with sticky toffee pudding.

Restaurant
Zuma in London; I love Asian fusion. Zuma has atmosphere, great sushi and robata grill, and also amazing desserts.

Drink
A nice botanical gin and tonic, with a few raspberries and berries in it.

Dish to make
I love pasta dishes, so nice little things like linguine with a good red pesto.

Joe Wicks’ latest book, Wean in 15 (Bluebird, £16.99), is out now