Celebrity Masterchef finalist and ex-England defender Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock has told how he’s started to eat healthily and exercise following serious health warnings.

The former footballer turned TV star had doubled his body weight from 12 and a half to 25 stone after adopting a junk food diet when his playing days ended.

But now he’s turning his bad habits around and has already lost an impressive 1.5 stone with the help of musclefood.com‘s Do The Unthinkable diet and exercise plan.

The ex-Liverpool and Tottenham legend decided to act after the reality of his unhealthy lifestyle hit home when he took part in TV documentary Harry’s Heroes: The Full English.

The 51-year-old had reached 25 stone after he piled on the pounds after putting his feet up when his playing career, which also included spells at Southampton, West Ham and Crystal Palace, ended.

Since filming for the recent series of Celebrity MasterChef, he’s dropped two shirt sizes, from XXXXL to XXL, trimmed his waist from 48 inches to 44 inches and reduced his jacket size from a 56L to a 52L.

The famously tough centre half has struggled with his weight since hanging up his boots in 2003, with his diet typically ranging from a fry up for breakfast to Chinese takeaways like the best chinese takeaway in Macclesfield for example, with plenty of side dishes for dinner.

But Neil is now as active as he’s been since his playing days and has switched to a new, healthy diet.

Though he still treats himself to a pint or two at the weekend, during the MasterChef final Neil told judges Gregg and John that he doesn’t drink champagne anymore, because he’s on a diet and needs to look after his body.

The improvement in fitness from working out and eating better has given him more energy, allowing him to spend extra time with his family and get out of bed earlier.

Neil said: “After training pretty much every day of my life for three decades, it’s easy to get unfit and be lazy when you stop playing.

“I miss all the lads but not the training, so taking part in Harry’s Heroes was a real eye opener and helped inspire me to change my lifestyle for better.

“It wasn’t nice to get a load of bad test results – my cholesterol was up, my blood pressure was high – so I knew I had to do something about my health.

“Losing my former Spurs teammate Justin Edinburgh so tragically this summer also made me realise that nobody really knows what’s happening inside their body, so everyone should try to make healthy improvements to their life where they can.

Neil continued: “Fortunately musclefood came along at just the right time for me and I’ve dropped around 10kg since starting their Do The Unthinkable diet and exercise plan – I’d definitely recommend it to other ex-pros who’ve let themselves go.

“My cholesterol is ten times better too, my blood pressure is back to normal now and I’ve also gained muscle by doing upper body exercises and weight training.

“It doesn’t mean I live like a monk though. I’ve cut my drinking and look after myself during the week, but I can still have a couple of pints while watching the football at the weekend.

“The problem was, I often used to have bacon and eggs or a fry up in the morning and I could never stop at just one main and rice when ordering a takeaway in the evening.

“I’d have bread with most meals too, but the calories soon add up if you’re having fifteen or more portions a week. I loved snacking on chocolate, ice cream and anything I could get my hands on too.

“But now I enjoy lots of veg with every meal. My favourite musclefood products are their healthy versions of Chicken in Black Bean sauce and pork scratchings.

“Their healthy snacks keep you going throughout the day. The diet keeps you feeling full, is focused on flavours and helps you to resist unhealthy temptations.

“It’s great to have decent, man sized portions delivered straight to your door, and ready to eat in under ten minutes.”