James McVey often shows off his gym-honed physique on social media after spending hours working out ensuring that he is at his fittest.
However, The Vamps star has revealed that at the height of his career with the chart-topping group, he would often “starve himself” and spiralled into a rabbit hole.
James, 27, spoke to Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell on the BBC Di’s Salon podcast about his struggles with food and admitted that for several years, he was “lost”.
The Move My Way singer said that upon reflection, he wishes that he’d addressed his eating issues sooner.
“I left school in that weird place, that sort of strive to put as much protein into my body as possible and lose as much fat,” he said.
James lost almost a stone after appearing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! (Image: Instagram)
James went on to add: “And then I started The Vamps, which was a whirlwind from the start in the best possible way, but it consequently meant that I couldn’t really keep up this obsession with what I put into my body and the exercise I do.
“And I think it then snowballed into me not being able to have any control over many elements of my life so therefore I fell further into the rabbit hole of starving myself and pushing my body in a variety of different ways.”
He went on to say: “So I wouldn’t say at all that The Vamps was the reason that I had my eating problems, I definitely had them before
The singer admitted he entered a “rabbit hole” during the early stages of his career with The Vamps (Image: Birmingham Mail)
“I just think the manic nature of being in a touring band. In many ways, it really could have helped me because I had such a great group of guys around me that I could have opened up to.”
James added: “But it was that time before we were encouraged as men to vocalise our feelings, so I just got a bit lost for a few years.
“And it’s a shame really looking back, I look at this thinking like ‘God, I wish you could just say to him ‘don’t beat yourself up so much’
James spoke to Dianne Buswell about his struggles (Image: BBC)
“If I had spoken about my kind of insecurities at this age I wouldn’t still have eating issues now, so yeah it’s funny looking back”
Previously speaking about his struggles with anorexia, James told The Mirror that fans often send him pictures from the earlier days of The Vamps journey, adding that he had no realisation of “how thin” he was.
The singer previously revealed that fianceé Kirstie had helped him with his battle (Image: Tim Merry / Daily Star)
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“I was ill and I looked ill, I’m happy that now I’ve come full circle and see food as positive.
“I don’t want to belittle other people who have anorexia but I think it’s definitely had a negative relationship with food in those early days.”
The guitarist has previously revealed that his fianceé, Kirstie Brittain had previously helped him with his anorexia battle.
It’s estimated that around 10,054 men aged 11 – 34 suffer from anorexia, while an estimated 33,515 men aged 11 – 34 suffer from Bulimia.
Twenty-five per cent of those affected by an eating disorder in the UK are male, while 937,000 women are suffering.
If you’re worried about your health or the health of somebody else, you can contact SEED eating disorder support service on 01482 718130 or on their website.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
