Bastianich back from the brink

Gone are the all-night eating sessions with partner and fellow restaurateur Mario Batali. Where once Joe Bastianich, owner of 18 New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas restaurants with Batali, used to start at 2am and go on to 5 in the morning, chewing his way through 42 ounce steaks, now there are only healthy breakfasts and running.

The fearsome duo used to egg each other on in all-night eat-offs, after service at Luppo, Babbo, or Carnevino, just three of the popular diners owned by the pair, eating their way through huge mounds of meat.

But it took Bastianich to the brink, forcing him to sleep at night with a breathing mask after he was diagnosed with sleep apnea, brought on by his less than healthy lifestyle.

Now, however, he's rising at 7am, eating nuts, steamed chicken breasts and broccoli. And on Sunday, after much training and stamina work, he'll be running the New York marathon.

According to his wife Deanna, "I am still getting used to seeing Joe in the spandex running pants. "That is a sight I thought I would never see."