Fitness influencer’s Jaffa Cake ‘relapse’ claims spark fury as people call out ‘harmful’ message

Joe Wicks has sparked backlash online with his new video about his sugar intake, as people have slammed his message as 'irresponsible' and 'harmful'.

The 39-year-old British TV star and fitness fanatic, who also goes by The Body Coach, took to Instagram last week to share an update on the kind of food he's been eating.

He told his 4.8 million followers about how he's 'relapsed' on sugar after aiming to completely cut it out of his diet.

The fitness and health coach explained that while filming a celebrity special of Gladiators, he tucked into a packet of Jaffa Cakes after being tempted by a table full of sweet treats in the green room.

More confusingly, he seemed to feel bad about eating one foodstuff most of us would consider a healthy choice.

Speaking in the video, Wicks said: "So, a little update on my sugar free lifestyle. Got a confession to make - I've had a relapse and I thought I was invincible to be honest at one point.

"I was about 11 weeks in. Really cut out. Really was feeling good, was getting leaner, feeling amazing.

"Anyway look, here's what it is, and of all places to have a slip up, it was last Tuesday at Gladiators when I was filming the celebrity special, where I basically walked into the green room and there was a table full of sweets and sugar and chocolate."

Wick revealed he couldn't resist the lure of the spread of Penguins, KitKats and crisps, snacking on some fruit to begin with (this is bad too, apparently) before tucking into a packet of Jaffa Cakes, which he 'hasn't eaten for years'.

Wicks continued: "I smashed a whole packet of Jaffa cakes, then I got out and got injured, crocked my neck so I haven't had to train for a week.

"I also felt a bit run down, I was really worn out, had a bit of a cold, the weather was crap, sleep wasn't that great and I travelled as well so."

Wicks said he was fighting a 'daily battle' to resist the siren's call of sugary food, adding: "Sometimes the weather gets you down, sometimes you're cold and you're a bit tired and you go you know what? I want something comfy, and we turn to these foods."

He then insisted 'I'm not beating myself up', though it seemed very much like he was, treating it as a reminder of 'how easy it is to slip back into old ways' and saying he needs 'a bit of recovery'.

The fitness influencer said that he now feels bloated, is not sleeping as well, and his mood has dropped.

He said he'd been eating 'loads of sugar', including brownies and lots of fruit.

He said yesterday he ate half a melon, three satsumas, two nectarines and three peaches - which 'ain't normal', adding: "For me the sugar, it's that little monster in my tummy. Once I feed that bacteria it craves and wants and wants and I just have to eat until I've cleaned the house out."

Wicks advised that 'if you have an issue with sugar, the most important thing is to get it out of the house, don't have it in the cupboards'.

However, his message has not gone down too well with the internet, as people, including nutritionists, have flooded the comments accusing him of 'demonising fruit' and encouraging restrictive eating.

One Instagram user, who posts under the username @drscnutrition, warned: "Please don’t give advice about how people should manage disordered eating (which is what you’re describing).

"Banning sugar from the house is fuelling your restrict and binge cycling. Whilst you may have lived experience of having struggles with sugar, this doesn’t make you the expert in how to manage it."

She added: "All you’re doing is perpetuating the disordered eating (publicly so) and encouraging other people to follow your example."

While a second nutritionist agreed: "Perfect example of the restrict and binge cycle and why your advice was irresponsible. And demonising fruit is even worse Joe. Can’t say I’m surprised though."

Shocked, others wrote: "The sheer ignorance of how harmful you are is outstanding" and "Are you going to take this post down?"

And another angry user penned: "Oh Joe!!!! I think you are so great but WTF is with the demonising fruit in this message?! This is madness.

"You have such a big platform. I get it with the reducing sugar but FRUIT?! We barely eat enough fibre in our nation and fruit is a great way to get it up, not to mention the micronutrients! Let's do better than this for our industry!"

Someone else wrote: "Wtf is going on here ? Banning fruit??? Using the word relapse like you have a drug or alcohol problem. What you’re saying here is completely wrong. It’s fuelling a culture of restrictive dieting which in your early days said was wrong!"

Tyla has contacted a representative for Joe Wicks for comment.

Is sugar in fruit bad for you?

Jennifer Rooke, MD, explained in The Conversation there is an evolutionary reason we crave sweet foods - because back in the day, fruit was an essential source of nutrients our bodies need.

She said: "Humans evolved to crave sweet tastes to get the nutrients needed to survive. A daily supply of vitamins, minerals and fiber is needed because our bodies cannot make them.

"The best source of these substances for our ancient ancestors was sweet, ripe, delicious fruit."

But things went awry when sugary processed food became so readily available - 'refined sugars' that 'are highly processed and stripped of all nutrients except calories'.

She said: "If you continually satisfy your taste for sweet with foods that contain refined sugar – rather than the nutrient-rich fruits at the core of this craving passed on by evolution – you may not get all the nutrients you need.

"Over time, this deficit may create a vicious cycle of overeating that leads to obesity and obesity-related health problems. Women who eat the most fruit tend to have lower rates of obesity."