James Brittain-McVey has revealed that I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! left him struggling to walk.
The musician, who took part in the 2018 series of the show alongside Fleur East and Harry Redknapp. James, who is one-fourth of band The Vamps, was an instant hit with viewers and wasn’t shy about stripping down for the cameras.
But James has spoken about the severe toll the show took on him, admitting that even walking 30 meters in camp became incredibly difficult because of how tired and hungry he was. He told the Mirror: “It’s important to say that we were probably on 300 calories a day, you think I probably eat 3000 a day now and the average is a couple of thousand per day.”
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“People might want to look like that physique, but they need to see the other side of that which I presume wasn’t shown on TV. The walk from the camp to where you do the interviews in the evening is probably 30 meters. I had to stop on that walk because I was so exhausted from the lack of energy.”
(Image: ITV)
“I couldn’t do it without stopping, I was knackered. So the reality of being on a diet that makes you look like that took its toll on every element of my being, I really struggled to do the basics like carrying the firewood. I was knackered. I wouldn’t say that kind of diet is something that anyone should want to aspire to.”
The 30 year old has previously been open about his struggles with body image and food, once saying he “lost himself” because of it. James became “obsessed” with his protein intake and losing as much fat as possible, confessing he had an “eating problem” before joining the chart-topping band.
James said that while he used to be very self-critical of his body, he’s now making peace with it, although he still has “daily things” that make him think about exercise and food. During his time on I’m A Celebrity, he had to stop eating his usual food and take in fewer calories: “The intensity of the calorie drop was really hard for everyone.
(Image: Instagram)
“I went into that process, I definitely was in a better mental state than I was in 2013, 2014 and 2015 with food. Being in the jungle, I was miserable because of the lack of food. I would have done anything to eat everything.”
“Coming out kind of kickstarted my peculiar relationship with food again because I came out of the jungle really thin but I thought I looked really good, I thought that was strange, I had a negative approach to my body. Looking back now, I look really gaunt, my skin was faded. I was really, really thin – at that time, I was like ‘Ah I’ve got six pack again, great!'”
(Image: WENN)
James from Chester said that while he was in the camp in Australia, he didn’t think about looking good, but he was happy to see his abs when he got back to the hotel. “The jungle definitely kickstarted that weird process again and it took me a bit of time to get over that,” he mentioned.
He also said: “Luckily, because I’d gone through something similar before with dealing with body image, I was able to equip myself with the techniques and people around me knew the signs to watch out for and I was able to get better without another big kind of relapse.” James’ gym routine could have easily made anybody exhausted just by looking at it but the musician, who is currently working on solo music admits that he’s toned it down, a lot.
(Image: PR)
During a recent trip to South Africa, he didn’t go to the gym once but going back six years, he would have been depressed had he not had a workout. Although his bandmates, Bradley Simpson, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans all enjoy working out, they’re not too intense or strict – which James admits is “good” for him.
The musician shared that he didn’t join I’m A Celeb to change his career. The Vamps were doing great and getting ready for a world tour. He said, “I did that show for two reasons, I was a huge fan of that show,” and added, “I wanted the challenge because on paper, that show was difficult but I’m not the sort of person that was ever the outgoing person the person that enjoyed kind of like that physical journey.”
He explained that after the show, even though he was quiet and not into the celeb scene, he felt happy just being The Vamps’ guitarist. “When I came out of that show, I was quiet on the show, I was anti-celeb vibes.
“At the crooks of it, I was very happy and content and I still am, being the guitarist in The Vamps. I came out and didn’t run with the opportunity to be a celeb, I turned down a lot of interviews, a lot of brand things – it’s not why I did the show. I’m grateful for doing the show, it was a challenge, mentally.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
