“TWENTY POUNDS GONE — AND I DIDN’T STARVE FOR A SECOND.” Lisa Riley has finally broken her silence, unleashing a jaw-dropping confession about her dramatic weight loss in the I’m A Celebrity jungle — and it’s far tougher than the rice-and-beans narrative everyone assumed. She didn’t mince words: “People think I wasted away on rations — no. The jungle WORKED me.” From climbing endless steps to racing between challenges, hauling gear, and barely stopping long enough to warm by the campfire, Lisa revealed she was burning calories faster than she could swallow them. “By the time I sat down, those beans were already gone,” she said with a laugh that barely concealed how brutal the days really were. Insiders say her discipline stunned producers, calling her “one of the hardest-moving contestants the show’s ever seen.” And Lisa ended with a line that hit like a punch: “I didn’t lose weight — I fought it off. And the jungle never stood a chance.”
Lisa Riley has revealed she shed an incredible twenty pounds during her stint in the I’m A Celebrity jungle — and insists it wasn’t just down to the classic rice-and-beans diet.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Lisa explained that the secret wasn’t deprivation, but the relentless routine of jungle life. She said it all came down to portion control, adding that people always assume the diet is the sole reason: everyone says it’s beans and rice, and yes, it is — but it’s more about what you actually consume.
She revealed the camp’s “geography” and constant movement played a huge part. Climbing steps to the Telegraph, trekking to challenges, and never really sitting still meant she burned off most of her evening beans before she’d even settled by the fire. “It’s endless. It’s not just sat around a campfire having loads of giggles,” she said. “By the time you’ve eaten your beans at night, you’ve probably burned it off.”
Although she admitted there were moments of hunger, she insisted she was never starving. “I’ve never ever been in Ethiopia; I was not starving,” she clarified. Being vegetarian meant her meals were “padded out with more rice anyway,” but she laughed that she doesn’t want to see rice ever again: “Rice and me are game over.”
While other campmates tucked into crocodile or eel, Lisa was given Quorn, tempeh and tofu — though she joked that her early attempts at cooking tofu were “s**t” until Martin stepped in to pan-fry it properly.
Despite the challenges, Lisa said the entire experience exceeded her hopes. “I’ve created so much fun and laughter, and I’ve been allowed to be myself,” she reflected after leaving camp.
She also cheekily admitted to having a long-running crush on host Ant McPartlin. “I’m a flirt. I flirt with everybody — that’s who I am. I’m not going to stop,” she said, noting that she is completely secure in her relationship with partner Al. She laughed that Dec is the type who would tuck you in with a hot chocolate, while Ant — in her words — is “juicy.” She added: “Any red-blooded woman would say Ant is juicy. He looks gorgeous.”
But she emphasised that Al has nothing to worry about: “I’m in a very, very, very happy relationship. You can go to Waitrose — you don’t have to buy anything.”
Reflecting on her jungle journey, Lisa said she embraced the role of camp mother. “I’ve not been lucky enough to be a mother in life, and if I was the jungle mum, bring it on.” She adored supporting younger campmates, adding that Aitch and Ginge were like her “naughty little brothers” who allowed her to show her true self.
