James 'Arg' Argent needs gastric surgery after ballooning to 26 stone.
James 'Arg' Argent
The 33-year-old reality TV star piled on the weight after he stopped exercising during lockdown and Arg said he needs surgery or he will die.
He told The Sun Online: "I don't want to die. An op is the only way I can lose weight. I see pictures of myself and it's too upsetting. The other day I had to ask my manager to put my shoes on for me because I just couldn't do it — my belly is too big. I can't do up my own shoe laces
"I don't want to die, it's as simple as that. I've been told by doctors that I am morbidly obese and need to lose weight, but I have an eating disorder, so I can't do it. I'll either starve and work out three times a day and be really skinny, or do no exercise and eat takeaways every day. I can't maintain my weight — I need help. Nobody is trying to stop me from having an op. Everyone knows it's the only way I can lose weight."
Arg - who is contemplating either a gastric bypass or a gastric sleeve - revealed his pal Mark Wright has been upset by his ill-health and increasing weight.
He said: "Mark is my inspiration — he's got his life together, he's fit and healthy, he's got a gorgeous wife and a successful career.
"There's no reason why I can't achieve all of those things too when I've lost weight. He wants to help me and told me ‘get on the scales'. It's embarrassing to say, but they were so upset when they saw I was nearly 27 stone. We used to banter because I was always the chubby one, but this time Mark just said 'Arg, this isn't even funny anymore, this is serious.'"