James Arthur wants to ‘drop a couple of stone’ after lockdown weight gain

James Arthur has revealed he’s planning to shift a couple of stone after snacking in lockdown saw him gain weight. 

Much like most of us, James admitted he’s been snacking on sweet treats while in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, seeing his weight reach 17 stone. 

James told The Sun: ‘I have put on a fair bit of weight since the beginning of the lockdown because there’s nothing else to do but stuff my face.

‘I’ve got a sweet tooth so it’s just cake really. I love cake. I’m pretty much a vegan so I’ve been having the fake meat — sausage sandwiches and stuff like that I’ve been digging into.’

He added: ‘I’ve set myself a goal to lose a bit of weight. It might sound extreme but I’m 6ft 3in and I weigh 17st so I’d like to drop a couple of stone if possible.’

For his health kick, James has been doing 10-mile bike rides as well as working out in his home gym, in which he has a Peloton bike and other cardio machines including a treadmill.

He explained: ‘I want to come out of this thing in the best shape that I’ve ever been in, that’s something I’m genuinely striving for.’

James also opened up about his body image after releasing his single Safe Inside to raise money for the mental health charity Sane and NHS Charities Together.

Coming out of the X Factor in 2012, James revealed his confidence was knocked by trolls who were focused on his appearance, which led to him getting his teeth done after being compared to Sloth from The Goonies in vile posts. 

He admitted he related to Jesy Nelson’s Odd One Out documentary – something he was also supposed to be part of – as he suffered similar abuse from trolls after finding fame. 

The singer explained: ‘We both had a lot of abuse just because of the way we looked on the show.

‘I guess we didn’t look like conventional pop stars and some people online just really took it to the extreme.

‘I also suffered at the hands of online bullies, just as Jesy did, and I think the documentary she did was fantastic. She deserved all the plaudits for that.’

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