A curry-loving builder has spiced up his life by shedding a spectacular five stone in just nine months – by learning to cook sizzling Indian banquets without the calories.

Tom Bishop, 62, turned up the heat after tipping the scales at over 18 stone due to feasting on high-calorie takeaways and blocks of cheese. But he's korma long way by cooking up a storm at home, enjoying big plates of food to match his appetite yet shrink his waistline.

Tom, who joined his local Slimming World group in September last year, now weighs a svelte 13 stone and has trimmed down by three clothes sizes. Tom said: "Because I have always worked physically, I always used to eat big plates of food and would burn it off.

"Slimming World enables me to have large plates of food that I really enjoy and still lose weight. To me this is a real win-win. I don't feel as though I miss out on anything, but it has made me think about what I am eating.

"Before joining, I would have chosen a chicken jalfrezi, usually as a takeaway, or I would make curries but using lots of oil.

"Now when I make them, I use a low-calorie spray oil instead of all the fattening oils. I can really say that it hasn't made any difference to the taste of my curries, they are just healthier now."

Tom and his wife Denise enjoy socialising and regularly host dinner parties at their home in Glastonbury, cooking delicious dishes that still allow them to lose weight.

Tom said: "If we have friends around for a meal, they love the curries that we make and we always do a range of differing curries to give a variety of tastes.

"We usually do starters of onion bhajis and samosas, followed by a recipe from an old Slimming World magazine for a Goan pork vindaloo, which is my favourite, but we don't make it too hot so that everyone can try it.

"We have this with a chicken jalfrezi, chicken tikka masala plus a lentil or chickpea curry and Bombay potatoes and sometimes a French bean curry. "All are served with brown rice cooked with cardamom pods, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and a bay leaf. "For dessert we will make a Slimming World friendly tiramisu or cheesecake."

The change to his lifestyle has given the grandfather a new lease of life, ready for his retirement, which he was forced to take early due to suffering from back problems. "Seven months ago, I now realise that I was on the way to self-destruction," said Tom. "I would sleep a lot and had no energy to do anything. Now I am always on the go doing something like gardening, DIY at home, walking the dogs, even simple things that you would take for granted, like getting in and out of a bath is so much easier now that I have lost weight.

"At the start of my journey I was a snug 3XL. In the changing room when I tried a large on, that Denise made me try instead of XL, I couldn't believe that it fitted me comfortably and I got quite emotional at how far I have come.

"My general heath has greatly improved, I have excellent blood pressure, my cholesterol level is very low, and I was Type 2 diabetic, which is now almost a thing of the past."

Tom is urging other men who'd like to lose weight to join Slimming World and not to be deterred by many of the members being female. He said: "I think the biggest challenge for me was being a man, when a lot of males think it uncool or below them to admit that they are overweight. "I've had friends take the mickey out of me but now I think they are eating their words!" Our group is social, friendly, humorous and informative and I never leave without learning something or without a smile on my face thanks to our consultant Emma who is a wonderful support and the rest of the group with members of all differing ages.

"If you want to lose weight, whether it's 5lbs or five stone and whether you're male or female, grip the bull by the horns and give Slimming World a try. All you men out there, don't be afraid to turn up to a group, you'll never look back."

Tom's consultant Emma Schnitzer said: "I'm so proud of the way Tom has really changed how he cooks and his whole mindset around food. He's such an inspiration to our group, so much so that he has been crowned this year's Greatest Loser and Couple of the Year with his wife Denise. He always has a smile on his face and encourages others and looks amazing, improving his health massively."

Emma's groups run on Thursdays at 9.30am at Tor Leisure, Glastonbury, and Thursdays at 5pm & 6.30pm at Elmhurst School in Street. For more info, contact her on 07432 584673. ENDS