Fans of James were outraged when the chef was “fat shamed” on popular ITV show Loose Women. The 49-year-old, who is not shy about the fact that he is impartial to butter – his latest cook-book a tell tale sign – revealed his exact weight and height to the panel made up of Ruth Langsford, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street Porter and Brenda Edwards. It was conversations like this that encouraged the chef to lose over a stone in weight.
Immediately fans rushed to James’ defence, labelling the Loose Women as “hypocrites” as they would never have treated a female guest in the same way.
One fan wrote: “#LooseWomen are such hypocrites, do you think they’d ever ask a female guest what their mum thinks of them putting on weight or make such a thing of it.
“They go on about fat-shaming all the time!!”
This is not the first time that the star has been the target of comments about his weight. Talking to the press a few years back, James opened up about toxic social media comments.
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James explained: “I looked on social media and every comment was about me being fat. So I lost a stone and a half. And no doubt I’ll lose another stone on this tour.”
The chef also struggled to watch himself on TV, always finding things that he wasn’t happy with. James added: “You kind of watch and go, ‘Oh God there’s a bit of chin happening there’. And everybody’s TVs are bigger now. Before you used to watch TV on a small one and now they’re massive.”
The star elaborated saying that his weight concerns are partly down to his naturally big build. This makes keeping weight off and staying healthy “hard work” .
Growing up on a farm, James has always been surrounded by food, which is why he is partial to using butter and full fat milk in his dishes.
Although explaining that he is “seriously passionate” about ingredients, it was by cutting down on these exact foods that allowed James to lose weight.
According to Onaverage, the average weight of an adult man in the UK is 13st 3Ib (83.9 kilos). However, a healthy weight depends on the height of the individual person.
The NHS recommends eating less fat, including saturated fat, as it can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease.
These saturated fats can be found in bacon, sausages, cheese, pastries, and chocolate, among other sweet foods.
High cholesterol and heart disease are potential life-threatening conditions. In fact, heart disease is an umbrella term that can be used for a whole host of conditions including:
- Blood vessel disease, such as coronary artery disease
- Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias)
- Heart defects you’re born with (congenital heart defects)
- Heart valve disease
- Disease of the heart muscle
- Heart infection.
The Mayo Clinic advises individuals to seek medical advice if they experience chest pain, shortness of breath or fainting, as this could be the first signs of something more serious.
In addition, adult men and women between the ages of 45 and 65 should have their cholesterol screened at least once a year. If levels are high, individuals are left at risk of a heart attack or stroke.
The NHS suggests that the best ways of reducing cholesterol include eating less fatty foods, exercising more, stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol. A diet made up of oily fish, brown rice, nuts and seeds and fruits and vegetables are best to avoid saturated fats.