Jungle James: I got so stick thin I was ill
Guitarist’s battle with eating disorder
BY MARK JEFFERIES I’M a Celebrity... star James McVey battled an eating disorder which made his weight plummet and left him sick.
The Vamps guitarist said he had a “negative relationship” with food.
James, 24, added: “Fans always send me pictures from years ago and I’m stick thin – and I didn’t realise back then just how thin I was.
“I was ill and I looked ill. I’m happy that now I’ve come full circle and see food as a positive.”
The star added: “I don’t want to belittle other people who have anorexia, but I think I definitely had a negative relationship with food in those early days.
“I was obsessed with food.
“It’s now about building muscle and getting leaner. You need to eat more of the good things.”
Now appearing alongside the other celebs in the Australian jungle on the ITV reality show, James has recovered from those dark days. He formed The Vamps in 2011 at the age of 18. The pop group’s first hit single – Can We Dance – reached number two in 2013. He said he became painfully thin after being an overweight child. James added: “I remember hassling my mum to buy sweets all the time. “I’d beg her to buy me some. I’d shout if she didn’t. “I was so annoying she usually gave in. As a result, I became pretty overweight. When I was 12, I got into a health kick to address that. “As I grew taller and adjusted my diet, my weight came down.” The musician revealed that trying to get the perfect body “developed into something quite negative”. He said: “I had that ideal picture in my head of what I wanted to achieve without recognising that Photoshop had come into place, strict dieting and all that stuff. For me, it was quite strange to chase that unachievable goal.
“For 10 years I’ve been obsessed in a good and bad way with food.”
James, now a vegetarian, said diets were not a positive thing for him.
He added: “I don’t like the word ‘diet’. For me dieting is not the answer or the word choice. It’s selective food choices and a healthier lifestyle. That’s what I have adapted to.”
James, from Bournemouth, Dorset, previously spoke of his battle with mental health and how it almost drove him to quit the band.
He said in 2017: “I had a really difficult time last year on tour in America.
“I was getting terrified of being late for a hotel lobby call.
“I wouldn’t be sleeping because of it.
“I’d be on stage and I’d be like, ‘I hate this’, because I didn’t understand how I was feeling or why.”
James did something he had not done before – he talked to a bandmate about his mental health. He said: “It took a lot to speak to Brad [Simpson], the singer. I said, ‘I’m really struggling, man. I don’t know if I can do this’.
“Just opening up to someone about my emotions was so refreshing for me. It really pulled me from that edge.”
The band have a big following and I’m a Celeb bosses were thrilled to get him on board.
A source said: “ITV are desperate to secure younger viewers.
“James was perfect because of his massive fanbase who will all be tuning into the show.
“He was a key signing.”
I had that picture in my head of what I wanted to achieve. I chased an unachievable goal JAMES McVEY ON HIS PROBLEMS WITH FOOD AND HIS WEIGHT