Bromyard butcher sheds the pounds (From Hereford Times)

Bromyard butcher sheds the pounds

11:30am Saturday 11th July 2009 in News By Liz Watkins

LOSING five stone in three months seems impossible.

But Bromyard butcher Anthony Legge has done it.

All diets failed in the past and he had to take drastic action to shed the pounds or consider an even more serious solution – surgery.

At just 30, Mr Legge had already undergone a hip replacement and faced another one owing to his excess weight.

His problems started as a teenager when he was diagnosed with arthritis. This led to him swapping sport and exercise for weight gain and years of pain.

The hip operation was a success but Mr Legge continued to get heavier, putting more pressure on the other hip. When he reached 17 stone he knew it was time to do something about it.

“I tried loads of diets but the weight always came back,” he said.

This time, with his doctor’s permission, he turned to the weight-loss and food management programme Lighterlife for people who are more than three stone overweight.

Mr Legge was allocated to Terry Whittaker at Brimfield for weekly advice and food supply.

In March he weighed 17 stone, but by the middle of June he was 11st 13lb.

He gave up alcohol and stuck to his supply of shakes, bars, soups and water, considering it an easy and uncomplicated diet.

Mr Legge is back to normal food now but still being guided by Lighterlife on food management to keep the balance.

Although surrounded by food in his butcher’s shop in Tenbury Road, he resists the temptation of his delicious pastries, pies and bacon sarnies and says his palate has changed.

For the first time, he can play with his children aged seven and four, is free of pain, has endless energy and says he feels like a new man.

And the best news is the fact that his left hip is fine and will not need attention for the forseeable future.