Ex-Premier League star Neil 'Razor' Ruddock has opened up about his incredible weight loss after shedding seven stone, revealing the merits of his gastric sleeve surgery in September.
The 54-year-old told MailOnline earlier this month that the operation 'saved his life' and admitted his eating and drinking habits had spiralled dangerously out of control.
Ruddock took to social media on Tuesday to thank fans for their support during his weight loss journey, showing off his remarkable body transformation on Twitter.
The former Liverpool, West Ham, Southampton and Tottenham defender has appeared on popular television shows in recent years including I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity MasterChef and Harry's Heroes.
Keen to praise the benefits of his gastric sleeve surgery, Ruddock spoke at length about his weight loss journey on Wednesday, shortly after aiming a subtle dig at Liverpool's rivals.
'It's a coincidence that I heard (reports saying) that I had lost seven stone on Sunday. Seven was a good number on Sunday!' Ruddock joked while on talkSPORT in the wake of the Reds' 7-0 demolition of Manchester United at the weekend.
'Obviously we did Harry's Heroes four years ago and I found out my heart problem, so I wanted to get fit.
'I got a pacemaker fitted and I was going to get fit, but then Covid hit and I became a lazy slob, sat at home listening to you lot and watching Bargain Hunt. I'm an expert on antiques now, let me tell you!
'I just got lazier and lazier, my health got embarrassing. I couldn't move, didn't want to go out and couldn't get anything to fit me.'
Ruddock exclusively told MailOnline in March that reality TV star James Argent, who had gastric sleeve surgery back in 2021 and subsequently underwent a dramatic transformation, inspired him to make a change.
The former centre-half again attributed his seven-stone weight loss to Argent's inspiration on Wednesday.
'I met James Argent from The Only Way is Essex at a charity football match,' Ruddock said. 'He'd had the gastric sleeve operation and lost about 13 or 14 stone. So I thought, that's it. I've got to do something now, get this under control.
'I went to the doctor with bad ankles, bad knees. He told me to get in the gym but I was saying "I can't, my ankles and knees are too bad". Get on the bike, I can't. Swim, I can't, everything hurts.
'But as soon as I lost weight, I could get in the gym. I could do what the doctors and physios were telling me because I can run around now.
'I can get on a bike. I can walk up hills and play golf without the buggy. But the most important thing is that my head is now in the best place.
'I called it bad, sad, glad, mad syndrome. If I was mad, I'd have a drink and eat. If I was glad and happy, I'd drink and eat. So whatever emotion I had, my excuse was to eat and drink to get me out of that emotion. And the next day I'd feel bad so what did I do? Eat and drink again.
'It was a cycle and a routine I couldn't get out of, but now I'm out of it, I'm perfect.'