LAST YEAR, ED Sheeran revealed that he lost a considerable amount of weight after embarking on a HIIT routine, following encouragement from his partner Cherry Seaborn.

The singer, who experienced weight gain in the weeks following a long and intense tour, spoke of his transformation at the time.

My diet was pizza and beer, but because I was doing two hours a night I was really in shape. I stopped touring and carried on my diet of pizza and beer. Suddenly I didn’t fit in anything.

Ed opted for short exercise sessions, telling Total Access on Signal 1 radio that he prioritised quality over quantity.

I did ten minutes a day without fail — intervals of 30 seconds sprinting and 30 jogging. The key is to not miss a day, so you don’t have to do an hour.”

And this week, the Castle on the Hill singer revisited the subject of weight and body image while speaking on a new podcast hosted by George Ezra.

It turns out that Ed began harbouring insecurities about his appearance in the early days of his career, despite having had none in the period leading up to the release of his debut single.

Like, I’d have a beer belly, ginger hair, wouldn’t wash, wear scraggly clothes and I wouldn’t give a f*ck.

But it seems that appearing in the charts alongside One Direction and Justin Bieber took its toll on the Suffolk-native.

I was like, ‘they’re so photogenic and they’ve got six packs… and I should look like that.

As soon as you become in the public eye and people start picking holes in you, you start thinking things are bad for you. Like, ‘Am I fat?’“

Ultimately, Ed realised that his popularity wasn’t likely to shift significantly whether he gained or shed a couple of lbs, saying: “No-one’s bought my records based on me looking a certain way.”

Got it in one, Ed.

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