James Argent feared he would die after hitting 24 stone
20 August 2019, 07:14 | Updated: 20 August 2019, 07:15
The former TOWIE star has opened up about his health fears and desperation to slim down
James 'Arg' Argent has revealed that he feared he would die after hitting 24 stone in weight.
The former The Only Way Is Essex star, 31, who is attempting to swim the channel to Channel 4 show Sink or Swim, has said that his swim to France might be the thing that could save his life.
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He said, according to The Sun: “I’ve had check-ups. My heart’s OK, I have no signs of diabetes and my cholesterol is not too high.
“But I was weighed and I was the biggest I’d ever been — around 24 stone. I could become ill or die. The swim is an opportunity to sort my life out.”
He added: “One of my favourite films is Sexy Beast with Ray Winstone. My dream is to swim the Channel in a pair of Sexy Beast Speedos.
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“I need to lose about eight stone or more. I’ve got a long way to go even after I swim the Channel. But it’s just a perfect way to kick-start my healthy weight loss.
“I get a bit of stick on social media for my size. You try to be thick-skinned but it does affect you.”
Arg recently showed off his apparent weight loss from his training on Instagram, writing: “Some of us could not even swim a few meters when we first started but due to hard work & dedication we have gone from the swimming pool to the lake & now to sea swimming!
“We have lost people along the way but we are still a team through to the bitter end of this mammoth challenge!
“I’m losing weight & training twice a day to hopefully pass the assessment in order to take part! I’m giving it 110%.”
