I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is one of the most rewarding reality TV shows a celebrity could take part in – after all, who wouldn’t want to face and conquer their fears?
Never again would you be afraid of that spider in the bath or the moth in the bedroom.
But it also appears to double up as the ultimate fitness camp, with a number of celebs having shed a load of weight thanks to the rice and beans diet.
Nick Knowles is one of the jungle’s biggest losers, having shed a staggering two stone during his two week stint in the Australian Outback.
The I’m a Celebrity star was the sixth person to be eliminated from the camp and following his exit, he revealed how gruelling tasks inside the jungle are the reason they’ve all lost weight.
Speaking to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes on This Morning, he said: ‘The bits that you don’t see much in the programme are actually the things that wear you out.
‘So you have to go all the way to the bottom of a very steep hill to get the wood for the fire, which you have to do 8 or 10 times a day.
‘Then bringing the water up the hill with those big bags of water, you’re pulling up there about 30kgs when they’re full, then you have to do a trial,’ he added.
‘To give you an idea, I was in there something like 19 days and I have lost 14kgs.’
That’s more than two stones in the space of less than three weeks.
Harry is also reported to have lost a stone while inside the jungle.
He was openly not a big fan of the food in camp, telling The Sun after his exit: ‘It was three or four days in a row where a bit of rice in the bottom of a cup was all I ate.’
Anne Hegarty also revealed she lost a stone in the camp.
James McVey’s The Vamps bandmates revealed their worry for him over his weight loss in the jungle.
The 24-year-old has previously been open about his anorexia but left his girlfriend and viewers concerned when he s he has been sharing his already meager portions with Harry Redknapp, and now band members Tristan Evans and Brad Simpson have revealed their concerns for their friend but also admitted that it had to be expected.
‘We’e obviously worried about him, but we can’t expect him to join the jungle and not lose weight,’ they said.
‘It’s going to happen because of the small amount of food they’re having. We knew he would come out a lot skinnier, but he looks good.’
According to the guitarist’s girlfriend Kirstie Brittain, vegetarian James has been helping the former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry – who’s been struggling to eat all the different types of meat being offered to him in the camp – by giving Harry half his veggies.
But speaking to The Sun, Tristan and Brad claimed that James ‘will definitely put [the weight] back on’ when he leaves the jungle, as he’ll ‘have a nut roast with his family and then a glass of Malbec, or maybe a bottle’.
Before he entered the jungle, James revealed he previously battled with his weight and had an unhealthy relationship with food.
‘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,’ he told The Mirror.
‘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.’
Recalling his behaviour with fast food, he added: ‘I’d beg my mum to buy me sweets. 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.’
Emily Atack also revealed she had lost weight, revealing while in camp that she would have ‘a bit more room’ to indulge when she returns to the UK during the festive period.
Seemingly relishing the jungle diet, Emily told the Bush Telegraph on Sunday as she gestured to her trousers: ‘These were tight when I came in here. I just want to lose a bit of weight so that when I get home and it’s Christmas I have a bit of room and can put it back on again.
‘I love food so much, I love cheese and champagne and salads, fries, yum.’
‘We believe between them the campmates have lost around four stone. What the celebs are eating is very healthy, from veg to meat protein and fish and that is absorbed quickly by the body,’ a source told The Sun at the time.
‘The weight loss doesn’t do any permanent damage, and most pile it back on within three weeks, especially in the build-up to Christmas.
‘The celebs see it as a detox, although at the time it’s very difficult as they have nothing to distract from the hunger.’
In lieu of substantial food, it is also reported that Medic Bob encouraged campmates to drink at least three litres of water a day to remain hydrated in the Australian sun.
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