Eastern Daily Press journalist Andy Russell has been singing the praises of a men-only weight-loss programme which has helped him to shed 20lb.

When he began the 12-week fatmanslim diet, the Norwich paper's night editor weighed in at 14st 4lb.

Now he's down to 12st 12lb and his waist line has shrunk from 42in to a slimline 37.5in.

Andy said: "It has been the easiest diet I have ever been on, making me realise just how much I ate and drank and helping me overcome bad habits like snacking and eating the wrong foods at the wrong time of day."

The fatmanslim programme focuses on getting overweight men to make small but significant changes to their eating habits and sets a target of losing 22lb and four inches from the waist in three months.

Andy says the biggest morale-booster came from his son Ben when his family went swimming. "As I emerged in my trunks, his mouth dropped open and his said: 'Gosh, you really have lost a lot of weight'. And when your son notices, then you know it must be working."

The former fatty is now eating a high-fibre breakfast, drinking more water, snacking on fruit instead of crisps and biscuits, avoiding fatty food and abstaining from alcohol during the week.

And Andy is determined the weight will stay off. "I am confident I won't pile on the pounds again and I want to lose another half a stone to get down to my ideal weight before the summer."

Find out Andy's thoughts as he began the programme in February.