Grantham dad sheds 10 stone in lockdown weight loss mission

A Grantham father-of-four has shed a third of his body weight during lockdown.

Leigh Buff, also known as ‘Big Buffy’, tipped the scales at 32 stone when he embarked on his mammoth weight loss challenge last October, after becoming concerned about his health.

Six months on and the 36-year-old now weighs an impressive 21 stone after completely overhauling his diet and lifestyle.

Leigh, who lives with his partner Zara and their four children on Tamar Court, Grantham, said he was first inspired to make some drastic changes after piling on five stone during the first national lockdown.

He said: “My job as a grounds worker within the construction industry came to a grinding halt during the first national lockdown last year and so I went from being fairly active to zero activity. Boredom soon kicked in and I started to eat more junk food and drinking a few cans of beer a night, but soon four cans turned into eight and sometimes more. I knew I couldn’t go on like it.”

But it wasn’t until his annual birthday fishing trip in October that Leigh had ‘a wake up call’.

He said: “It was raining a lot during the trip and so I spent most of the time lay in my bivvy. It was really uncomfortable and I was in pain a lot but being on my own enabled me to have the time to think about things and how much I wanted to do something about my weight. I have four children and want to be there as they get older.”

Leigh started researching different diets and after returning home from his trip started hitting the gym several times a week.

But when the gyms were forced to shut for the second national lockdown Leigh was determined not to give up and started walking between five and six kilometres each night while listening to a podcast.

He also started working with his gym coach, Scott Newcombe, and personal trainer Pacie Richards, who devised a personalised training circuit for Leigh.

Despite already losing 10 stone, Leigh is determined to not get ahead of himself.

He added: “I don’t have an official weight loss target because I’ve noticed that as I’ve lost weight I’ve also lost strength. Therefore my aim for the next three to six months will be to build my muscle up by lifting more weights and increase my protein.”

Leigh has been overwhelmed with the amount of support he has received from his friends and family, adding: “I am very lucky to have very good people in my life, some of who have been in slight shock at how well I’m doing.”

Hoping to inspire others to make positive changes in their lives, Leigh has set up an Instagram page as he continues his weight loss journey through its next chapter.

He added: “I want it to be a true reflection of what it takes for someone who is obese to get fit and lose weight.”

To follow Leigh’s journey on Instagram, search for: fat_2_fit_bigdog_style