Neil 'Razor' Ruddock has revealed his impressive 93lb [6st 9lb] weight loss after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery.
The 54-year-old former Liverpool and West Ham defender, who made a single appearance for England during an 18-year professional career, recently opened up on how he "ballooned" to 27 stone during lockdown.
Ruddock says he would order ice cream direct to his house through takeaway service UberEats, and would make bacon sandwiches "just for something to do".
"I struggled during Covid, that was a big factor, just sitting on my backside at home getting bigger and bigger. I got lazier," he told the Daily Mail.
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To put things into further perspective, Ruddock says he feared for his life at one stage.
"I know a lot of people will read this and say I've cheated, and I tell you what I did... I cheated death," he added. "The way I was going, who knows how long I could continue like that."
The 54-year-old former England international, who made 115 appearances for Liverpool, then says it was "fate" that he met TV personality James Argent at a charity football game.
The Only Way Is Essex cast member Argent lost 14 stone after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in April 2021.
"It was just fate that I met Arg when I did at a charity football match," Ruddock said. "I knew I had to have it done after seeing how great he looked."
'Razor' had a gastric band fitted on September 8 with the same group who operated on Argent, and they removed two thirds of his stomach.
"I can still eat what I want but now I can only eat about four mouthfuls," he says.
"So, when I'm at my local curry house, I'll order three dishes and have a bite of each. I get the same satisfaction because it fills me up.
"It also takes some hormones away. I can drive through McDonald's with the kids, and I don't want anything. Whereas before even if I wasn't hungry, I'd have had it.
"My usual order would be a large Big Mac meal, a Filet-O-Fish, a cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake... that was lovely."
Here's how fans reacted to Ruddock's weight loss on social media.
One said: "Brightened my day seeing this. Incredible," while another commented: "My God Razor, you look incredible. How the hell did you get that weight off? Congratulations, that’s amazing."
A third wrote: "Nothing better than seeing someone turn their life back around."
A fourth added: "Amazing transformation. Keep this up. An example of extreme in health followed by extreme success, Be great if you could offer some kind of retired footballers input to avoid or assist with similar situations."
Topics: Liverpool, Premier League, West Ham United, Southampton
Jack Kenmare