James Argent shares incredible before and after photos as he celebrates year of weight loss journey
Posted by  badge Boss on May 07, 2022 - 06:00AM
James Argent has reflected on his old looks as he marks a year since he underwent gastric sleeve surgery (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

has shared stunning comparison photos as he celebrates a year since he underwent gastric sleeve surgery.

The former The Only Way Is Essex star, 34, has been in the spotlight in recent months as he  after .

But while the reality TV icon was praised for having an open conversation on his weight loss, doctors later advised him he .

Arg first began losing weight last year, with his journey including a gastric sleeve operation and .

He has now celebrated the one year mark of his lifestyle transformation with a proud post on Instagram.

Taking to Stories, the star shared a photograph of him beaming from a hospital bed, writing: ‘Celebrating my one-year surgery anniversary,’ with a Before tag on the photo.

Reality icon Arg is celebrating a year since his life-changing gastric sleeve surgery (Picture: Instagram/ James Argent )

The next photograph, with an After tag, shows Arg now, 13 stone lighter and looking fit and healthy as he smiles in the sunshine.

Arg thanked the We Are Transform company for their support in his journey, writing it was the ‘best decision I’ve ever made.’

The star said the operation was the best decision he has ever made (Picture: Instagram/ James Argent)

The Towie favourite lost the weight within nine months following the surgery, after doctors warned him he could die if he didn’t lose weight.

At his heaviest, Arg weighed 27 stone, after gaining the weight during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

Arg’s lifestyle change came , after which he sought help to beat his drug and alcohol issues. 

However after being sober for two years, in March 2022 Arg .

Arg later spoke about his relapse on Loose Women, where he said he was doing better (Picture: /ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)

He later appeared , where he shared that loneliness and changing his relationship with food had caused the setback.

‘I’m an extrovert,’ he explained on Monday’s episode. ‘I need to be around people all the time. I love company, I love entertaining and I love being entertained.

‘A lot of people’s chaos can be from being out all the time… my chaos starts when I’m indoors, alone, bored, lonely. Too much time on my hands.’

‘Even though I was clean and sober for such a long time… I probably wasn’t really well because I gained 11 stone in lockdown,’ he admitted, adding that he would ‘comfort eat’ to tackle alcohol cravings.