Craig David – who is appearing on Sunday Brunch today (September 14) – once opened up about his battle with body dysmorphia.
The singer, 44, spoke about how exercise took over his life during a BBC documentary series back in 2023.
Craig David on body dysmorphia battle
Back in December 2023, Craig featured in the BBC series Imposter Syndrome.
Speaking on the show, Craig opened up about his experience with body dysmorphia, and how would spend every day at the gym with the aim of achieving the perfect body.
This was especially the case when he lived in Miami back in 2013.
“You’re looking like Skeletor from He-Man. What’s happening here? Are you looking at yourself? And who is this for?” he said.
“So I look back at it in two ways. It’s like, one, wow look how far you can take it to. But also, to what means? What was the end goal?” he then continued.
Craig opens up
The star then continued.
“When I looked in the mirror, it was never quite right so I would say, in a lot of respects, yes,” he said.
“But, I was down to like 4.5 percent body fat. And I’m still looking, thinking, “Well, if I can just get it down that”, which is a very, body-building, like, lifestyle,” he then said.
Men between the ages of 20 and 40 should have a body fat percentage of 8-19%.
“But now, sitting here, I feel like I had to go back to the little kid who was carrying a bit of weight (who was) the shoulder to cry on and be like, “You know what? You always had everything that you could have ever had wanted,” Craig then said.
“It was never about the body.”
Craig reveals real reason he threw himself into fitness
In an interview with Australian breakfast show Sunrise back in 2017, Craig revealed that the reason he’d thrown himself into fitness was because he’d been overweight as a child.
“There was a time when I was like, just training like crazy, but then I realised that actually, having been an overweight kid, I just wanted to do the opposite but then finding balance was key,” he said.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph in 2020, he confessed he became driven more by his looks than his actual health.
“At certain points in my life, I was pushing for aesthetics,” he admitted.
“I’ve realised that to sustain a healthy lifestyle – especially being on the road – is more important than if you are rocking a six-pack or not. It was very body-conscious in Miami and you very easily slip into that mode,” he then added.
Read more: Inside Craig David’s celibacy journey: ‘I had to pull back from all of this’
Catch Craig on Sunday Brunch today (September 14) from 10am on Channel 4.
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