James Argent told he must lose TEN stone and 17 inches from his waist after being diagnosed as ‘significantly obese’
The 31-year-old admits replacing drink and drugs with junk food
JAMES Argent has been told he must lose TEN stone and 17 inches from his waist after being diagnosed as "significantly obese".
The former Towie star was given "tough love" from This Morning's Dr Ranj Singh today after admitting he'd replaced drink and drugs with junk food.
An intense health check revealed that if Arg didn't get his BMI back under control by cutting his daily calories down to 2,500, the reality TV star risks heart disease and type two diabetes.
Arg, who recently split with Gemma Collins, said: "It's quite scary. Ten stone is a hell of a lot of weight. It seems like a marathon and isn't going to be a quick fix."
The 31-year-old did not reveal how much he weighs on the show, but admitted he has an eating disorder and fears he will yo-yo from eating too much to starving himself.
"I've always gone up and down with my weight since I was a teenager," explained Arg.
"I could be really really slim in the first half of the year, but by the other half I'm morbidly obese.
"All my problems stem from food. I have an eating disorder.
"I'm proud of myself with how my career is going and that I've stayed clean and sober rather than going out with my mates to a club and drinking.
"But now if I've had a good or bad day, I'm now comfort eating."
Arg says he has replaced drink and drugs with binging on junk food, which led to him putting on ten stone.
He said: "I knew I had put on a substantial amount of weight when I looked in the mirror and could see my clothes weren't fitting.
"I've felt more self-conscious lately, asking people to change the angle when they take photos of me.
"I'm really lucky because I never really get much hate on social media, but in the last few months I've been getting more and more trolling about my weight.
"I do tend to laugh things off, but it can still hurt and still affect you. My friends used to have a laugh about my love of food and that I'm chubby, but no one is really laughing anymore."
When quizzed about his relationship with Gemma Collins - and whether it has affected his weight - Arg added: "I would never say my relationship with Gemma has had an affect on my weight, it wouldn't be fair.
";But for me personally I need to take time out from the relationship. I need to focus on myself and get myself back to where i want to be."
Saying there's still a chance they'll get together in the future, he added: "I adore Gemma. I love her dearly.
"I see a future together, absolutely.
"At the moment we're both very busy and need to focus on ourselves. I love her to bits."