Chris Moyles isn’t talking about his weight loss ‘too much’ – he has every right to be proud-Rachel Gristock-Entertainment – Metro

Chris Moyles in the Jungle with Jill Scott (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

I was crushed. 

While picking up my son from school, he told me that one of his classmates had called me fat.  

I’m not sure what hurt more, my son’s embarrassment or that even though I knew that I was a bit overweight, it hadn’t occurred to me that others could see it too.

If anything, back then in 2020, it was one of the sparks that ignited the fire in me to lose weight – and I’ve since lost four stone.

I’m so proud of myself, telling everyone and anyone who will listen. And why shouldn’t I be? It’s changed my life – for the better.

Mindlessly scrolling through Twitter this week, I saw keyboard warriors complaining about Chris Moyles’ enthusiasm for his six stone weight loss during his first I’m a Celebrity appearance. 

‘I am Chris Moyles and I am the greatest broadcaster of my generation,’ Moyles said in his on-screen introduction. Adding: ‘But most people know me as the fat DJ from Radio One.’

Olivia didn’t immediately recognise Chris (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

When fellow campmate and Love Islander, Olivia Attwood, failed to recognise him, he replied: ‘I used to be really fat’.

Over a meal with Attwood, he mentioned again that he ‘used to be morbidly obese’.

One Twitter user said, ‘Has Chris Moyles lost weight? He should mention it once in a while (yawn, yawn, yawn)’. Another quipped, ‘We get it, you used to be fat – get on with your life’. I wonder if they’ve ever walked in our shoes. 

My weight loss journey began back in March 2020. I was probably one of the first in the UK to contract Covid – and one of the lucky ones who didn’t end up in intensive care. 

After two weeks in bed, and three months of feeling like I’d been run over by a bus, I realised that I wasn’t getting better… I was constantly exhausted, no matter how much sleep I got, with excruciating pain all over my body.

My skin itched all over and I was constantly confused and befuddled – a symptom I later learned was called brain fog. That’s when people started talking about long Covid.

Necessity is the mother of invention and so, after over a year hoping to hear from the Post Covid Assessment Service, I decided to take my health into my own hands and find a way to make life liveable again. 

I cut out gluten and processed foods and only ate meat, fruit and veg, and soon my symptoms started to fade – but then, so did my weight.

I lost a total of four stone over a year (Picture: Supplied/Rachel Gristock)

Like Moyles, I practiced intermittent fasting.

It was incredibly difficult, but my Long Covid symptoms reduced almost instantly. Whenever I strayed from the diet, they came back.

It took a year, but coming out the other end lighter and healthier, I was overjoyed with the changes I had made.

So I can understand why Chris mentioned his weight so often in this first episode – he’s proud of it. 

In my enthusiasm after my own weight loss, I took to social media and posted photos about journey, and some people took umbrage.

I was surprised by their reaction, and a little disappointed – I was proud of what I had achieved, and for a moment I started to doubt how big that achievement was. 

Of course my real friends cheered me on, but a few people said that I probably never had Covid – others asked me if I’d had myself checked for cancer because that kind of weight loss wasn’t normal. 

A few people unfriended me on Facebook for having the determination to do what they couldn’t. I’d like to take a moment now to thank them for saving me the trouble.

But Chris Moyles and I have more than weight loss in common. We also suffer from body dysmorphia, which is a condition where we obsess about self-perceived flaws and imagine that everyone else is looking at them too.  

In 2020, Moyles admitted on the The Kempcast that he trained six days a week, and was ‘fascinated’ by body dysmorphia – confessing that he had an ongoing issue with it.

I’m so proud of myself, telling everyone and anyone who will listen – and why shouldn’t I be? (Picture: Supplied/Rachel Gristock)

For me, the condition has convinced me at times not to leave the house. That I have giant thighs, a tiny bosom and a smile that’ll crack glass. Of course, none of that is true – but the feeling inside is real and pervasive.

Overcoming those negative thoughts and putting yourself out there is hard, and Chris is doing a brilliant thing by being so open about his body image. 

So now to see people take an issue with him talking about weight leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

The opinionated on Twitter are saying that Chris Moyles is obsessed with saying that he used to be obese. That’s the connection: obsession. He was obsessed with his weight, now he’s obsessed with not being obese. There’s nothing wrong with that, because what he’s got to say is worth hearing.

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Why do I think people are responding to Chris Moyles on I’m a Celebrity in this way? Was it his proclamation that he’s the ‘greatest broadcaster of his generation’ that started the commotion? Do people think he’s just being cocky? 

But when it comes to his weight, he’s not being egocentric or bragging. Weight, regardless of whether we’re big or small, plays a big part in our identity in a society obsessed with looks. 

And as he said, he was known for being a ‘fat DJ’, and now he’s not anymore. He’s proud of his weight loss so he should be able to talk about it without being shamed. Especially as someone who has battled with body dysmorphia. 

I say shout it from the rooftops, or in this case the treetops in the jungle.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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