FOR three gruelling weeks, contestants on I’m A Celeb eat nothing but rice and beans save for the occasional pig uterus or kangaroo anus.
And the heavily restricted diet – which nutritionists warn is extremely dangerous – causes contestants to shrink over the course of the competition, with Jacqueline Jossa’s transformation shocking her followers.
The dietary slog is extremely tough on contestants, with rugby player James Haskell describing the horrendous toll that eating as few as 100 calories a day took on his physical health.
“I was so hungry,” he said, “I was unable to get off my bed and move.
“I had physical ailments from where I went from 4,000 calories to 250 calories. That is starvation.
“That was the biggest shock.
James claims to have cut nearly two stone in just 18 days in the jungle, adding “I did feel personally handicapped”.
But he’s not the only contestant to watch the pounds dramatically drop off during their stint on the show.
Nutritional advisers Annabel Wray and Victoria Knight warn that the rice and beans diet isn’t sustainable or healthy.
“The reason the contestants lose weight is because they experience a daily calorie deficit, rather than the fact they are surviving purely on rice and beans,” they told Sun Online.
“This combination lacks Vitamin C amongst many other essential nutrients, so for any prolonged length of time you would start to feel unwell and malnourished.”
As these shocking weight loss pictures reveal, the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here diet is best left to those being paid to do it with a team of healthcare professionals monitoring them the whole time.
Rebekah Vardy – 1 stone
Rebekah Vardy, 37, said she “didn’t think about sex once” during her time in the camp in 2017, because “the hunger takes over”.
And the WAG must have been ravenous because she lost a huge amount of weight during her Jungle stint.
“I lost a stone”, she said, adding: “This is the weight I was before I had any kids.
“Jamie loves me whatever I look like, but Im too skinny now.”
Georgia Toffolo – 9 lbs
Made in Chelsea’s Toff took the crown in the 17th series of I’m a Celeb two years ago.
But the 25-year-old had to slog to get it. and she looked noticeably leaner when she left camp.
Georgia and her campmates lost a collective six stone during their series, which saw the group win fewer meals in bushtucker trials than previous years’ cohorts.
Speakingexclusively to HOAR’s Bizarre at the time, she said: “I feel really skinny.
“I had small boobies anyway and [now] I [look] down and I [am] completely flat!”
Emily Atack – 1 stone
Inbetweeners beauty Emily Atack lost close to a stone when she took part in the series that saw Harry Redknapp crowned king of the jungle.
But the Luton-born actor, 29, was constantly bodyshamed by trolls even after the cameras stopped rolling.
After the end of the ITV reality show, she wrote online: “Some bloke just said to me in a restaurant whilst I was eating my dinner: ‘No, stop. Starvation suits you.’
“What in the…!? I would throw my burg at you but that would be a massive waste love.”
Katie Price
Katie Price, better known as Jordan at the time, made her first appearance on I’m a Celeb in 2004 along with future husband Peter Andre.
She left the jungle looking noticeably thinner – but the brutal diet wasn’t enough to stop her doing the show again in 2009.
Scarlett Moffatt
Gogglebox star Scarlett, 29, was queen of the jungle in the 2016 series of I’m a Celeb.
After her weight loss during the show, she carried on dieting, releasing a controversial fitness DVD on the strength of her transformation.
She claimed to have lost over three stone on a healthy diet plan when it emerged she was actually exercising for hours every day and eating only 700 calories.
Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise crashed out of the show just a few days before the final in 2017.
But the 52-year-old ex-footballer probably takes the title for the most shocking weight loss in his series, with fans concerned by his sinewy build towards the end of the show.
After he left, he told Ant and Dec: “I’ve shedded so much weight, people don’t realise the rations you get I mean they are rations!
“And if you miss a group of stars, and if you don’t get any, you go for a whole day all the way through to the next night and it’s not nice and it’s really hardcore.”
Michael Buerk – 17lbs
BBC broadcasting veteran Michael Buerk, 73, was already lean when he entered the jungle in 2014 the same series where Gemma Collins quit after three days claiming she was “starving”.
But he managed to lose a staggering 17lbs during the show.
Speaking at the time, Michael’s wife Christine said she’d been worried about his extraordinary weight loss.
“I was quite horrified to realise that they only get 500 calories a day in the jungle,” she told MailOnline.
“Its not that he dislikes rice and beans, but the rations are quite low.”
Stanley Johnson – 1.5 stone
The Prime Minister’s father, 79, dropped a stone-and-a-half during his time down under in 2017, making him the same weight he was in the 1950s.
He dropped from 91kilos to 82kilos while making the programme.
“I havent been that weight since 1954 and I want to keep it that way,” Stanley said.
“Mind you, its a complicated way of losing weight.”
Nick Knowles – 2.2 stone
DIY SOS’ Nick Knowles finished in sixth place during his jungle run last year.
But the 57-year-old topped the weight loss charts, shedding 2.2stone in just 19 days.
And he highlighted all the behind-the-scenes graft that the stars of the show have to do despite being famished.
“You have to go all the way down to the bottom of a very steep hill to get wood for the fire, which you have to do about ten times a day,” he said.
“You also have to bring the water up the hill, 30 kilos worth when it’s full, then you’re going off doing trials with such little food.
“To give you an idea, I was in there something like 19 days and I’ve lost 14 kilos.”
Amir Khan
Former World Champion boxer Amir Khan, 33, sported a much leaner look after getting out of the jungle in 2017.
The Bolton-born fighter looked shredded – even though he famously hogged a strawberries and cream dessert meant for the whole camp in what became known as “strawberrygate”.
Amir later told Ant and Dec that Iain Lee, who he secretly split the sweet treat with, took most of the blame for the clandestine scoffing.
“He was new in the camp, my campmates knew me really well and they didnt think I would do that,” Amir confessed.
“I did take some blame. Poor Iain.”
