SPENCER Matthews has been criticised for encouraging an unsustainable fitness regime and ‘privileged’ diet after showcasing his enviable physique.
Former Made In Chelsea bad boy Spencer posted a photo of his impressive muscles on social media – but followers couldn’t help but question his strict advice.
Looking ripped in the gym wearing black tracksuit bottoms, he displaying his toned, tanned muscles and encouraged people to follow his routine.
The dad-of-three shared: “36 years old. Fittest I’ve ever been and in the best shape of my life.
“Here are 5 changes that have made the biggest difference to my physique and overall wellbeing.
“Eating clean unprocessed food. I try to make sure that where possible I eat fresh, single-ingredient food. Lots of steak, eggs, rice, vegetables, fruit, nuts and yogurt.
“Regular strength training. Lifting weights at least three times a week for an hour at a time has become not only a necessary part of my routine but something that I would struggle to live without.
“Cardio… Running / cycling. Adding regular cardio to my training has completely changed my athletic ability and mental state. The more time you give to this the more your life will change for the better.
“Get out there and move… You don’t become old then immobile, you become immobile then get old.
“Avoiding / limiting alcohol. I only drink very occasionally and even then I wonder what the point is? I’m long past finding it “fun” and there is no benefit to it whatsoever.
“There are many great products out there that can replace alcohol if you get the urge to drink.
He concluded: “Fasting. I generally won’t eat anything before 12-1pm. I’m not particularly rigorous with this but tend to only eat when I’m hungry. We do not need anything like three meals a day.”
Followers on social media commented: “Please recognise not everyone has the privilege of money or time to be able to follow this. Intermittent fasting is also not suitable for everyone, it had consistently shown to lead to hormonal and blood sugar imbalances in women compared to men. Please share sustainable messages to your followers and not those which can cause harmful or disordered eating.”
A second agreed: “Not necessarily true for everyone Spencer… not everyone has the luxury of time and money… and totally disagree re eating in the morning.”
A third stated: “Well done you! All you say is true, but let’s not forget that 80% of the country isn’t blessed with the time or money that allows for this level of commitment leaving them disillusioned.”
“Beast mode,” wrote another.
The former TV villain, who quit Made In Chelsea in 2015, has now settled down with model wife Vogue Williams and is clean-living – a far cry from the boozing ladies’ man he once was.
After Made In Chelsea, Spencer went on to do a host of other reality shows, including Celebrity Masterchef and The Jump – where he met his wife Vogue and also won the show.
In 2015 he won a coveted spot on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here but he was forced to leave after just three days, after he confessed to producers that he’d been taking ‘moronic’ Class C steroid medication in preparation for a charity boxing match.
In a brutally honest statement he said at the time: “Shortly after I arrived in Australia I told the production team that I was taking a steroid-based medication that had begun some weeks ago.
“When I started taking this programme of pills it was in preparation for a charity boxing match which, ironically, never took place.
“Vanity, I suppose, had been the reason for wanting to bulk up a bit for the fight.
“I had intended to come off the pills gradually, but there was no time to do this before I reached the jungle.
“My admission to the production team that I was still taking these pills led to the conclusion that it would be unsafe for me to stay in the jungle – a decision which I found extremely hard to stomach.”
He added: “Taking these pills was a serious error of judgement, which I hugely regret.”
The TV star joined the E4 reality show at the age of 19 and quickly became known for his womanising ways and causing bust-ups among the cast.
He said his “worst nightmare” is his children, Theodore, six, Gigi, four, and two-year-old Otto, growing up and watching him on the show.
Spencer previously admitted: “At the time, I definitely didn’t care what people thought of me. I don’t think that’s a great place to be, to be honest.
“I was drunk for a lot of Made in Chelsea and on some rampage. I don’t even really recognise the person that I was back then.”
The TV star has gone on to bag a Guinness World Record after running 30 marathons in 30 days across the Jordanian desert in aid of Global’s Make Some Noise, which supports small charities across the UK.
The desert challenge pushed Spencer to the limit and his body changed dramatically between the first marathon and the last – some 1,274km in total and raised over £511,000.
The Eton-educated star fronted a Disney+ documentary called Finding Michael in 2023, about his brother Michael, who died while climbing Mount Everest.
The end product left fans in floods of tears as Spencer embarked on the epic mission to try and find his brother’s body on Mount Everest.
Having reached the summit 24 years ago, Michael died just hours later on the mountain and saw a determined Spencer try to find his body and his final resting place in the deeply personal documentary.
