Shaun Murphy: Ex-world champion opens up on reasons for "life-changing" stomach surgery

Shaun Murphy told the BBC's Framed snooker podcast helium had "ballooned to 20 stone" astatine this year's World Championship

Shaun Murphy says reaching "the bottommost of my intelligence health" convinced him to brave "life-changing" tummy surgery.

The process involves removing a ample portion of the stomach, limiting the quality to devour excessive amounts.

"I conscionable privation I had done it 20 years ago, due to the fact that it does consciousness arsenic if it's changed my beingness for the better," Murphy told BBC Sport's Framed podcast.

"I've struggled with my value each my life. I was the abdominous kid successful school, I consciousness similar I've been dieting ever since I was 15, astir apt younger, and I conscionable reached the extremity of my tether with it.

"I'd reached the bottommost of my intelligence health, I was connected the ground. I was precise adjacent to going to the doc astir depression, anxiety, not being capable to spell out, due to the fact that I was getting shouted astatine successful the street.

• Murphy: Online maltreatment astir value has been 'horrific'
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"On societal media radical were sending maine horrific messages and comments and nonstop messages connected Instagram and Twitter.

"And successful the extremity I conscionable thought, I request to bash thing astir this, this is going to beryllium the extremity of me, mentally and perchance physically."

'Couldn't archer you past clip I finished a coffee'

Murphy, 1 of lone 11 players to assertion snooker's illustrious 'Triple Crown' of World, UK and Masters titles, says helium has shed 4 chromatic successful the 3 and a fractional months since surgery.

"I tin present devour immoderate I want, but I tin virtually devour very, precise small of it," helium explained successful his podcast chat with BBC Sport presenter Shabnam Younus-Jewell.

"I couldn't archer you the past clip I finished a java arsenic I can't physically instrumentality that overmuch liquid successful 1 spell - if I beryllium determination with a pint of Guinness, I'll inactive beryllium sipping distant astatine my archetypal pint portion everyone other is connected their third.

"So I tin inactive bash each the aforesaid things. But whereas I would person eaten the full packet of biscuits earlier and past been looking for a packet of crisps, that's maine done."

The Essex-born potter, who was raised successful Northamptonshire, says helium elected for the drastic enactment of country aft feeling similar helium had exhausted each different value nonaccomplishment avenues.

"I've mislaid weight, gained value beauteous overmuch consistently for the past 20 years and I've tried each fare going," Murphy added.

"I've tried being precise cautious and cautious successful calorie counting, I've been to assorted clubs and saw occurrence with those methods.

"It was conscionable ever the attraction of keeping value disconnected that I struggled with. When you're distant connected circuit you're eating late, you're often eating rubbish, and I've conscionable been incapable to subject myself.

"I conscionable ran retired of patience with it. At the World Championships this twelvemonth I'd ballooned to astir 20 stone, truthful I conscionable knew I had to bash thing astir it.

"There are 3 oregon 4 types [of gastric surgery] - I wanted the astir utmost one, the 1 that is irreversible. Because my stomach's present truthful small, it's highly improbable I'll ever beryllium capable to physically devour capable calories successful 1 spell to enactment the value backmost on."

World's apical spot past extremity to tick off

While helium elected to person country for wellness reasons, Murphy, nicknamed the 'Magician', hopes his disappearing waistline tin besides assistance conjure up renewed occurrence connected the table.

Murphy has won 9 ranking titles successful his vocation - including the 2005 World Championship, wherever helium burst onto the country arsenic a qualifier - but his astir caller triumph was backmost successful 2020 astatine the Welsh Open.

Murphy remains lone the 3rd qualifier to triumph the World title, aft Alex Higgins and Terry Griffiths

He did scope the 2021 Crucible final, losing to Mark Selby but, aft being a top-10 mainstay for much than 15 years, is successful information of dropping retired of the all-important world's apical 16.

"An added bonus to that [the surgery] is that it is going to person a knock-on effect connected each aspects of my life, including my career," Murphy added.

"From the basal constituent of being capable to crook implicit the array better, being capable to get little to the shot. If you're carrying immoderate other value that becomes rather difficult.

"The Crucible this twelvemonth was a classical example. It's rather a comic clip actually, successful my lucifer against Stephen Maguire, and I fouled the shot with my cufflink. But that was due to the fact that I couldn't scope implicit the table.

"If you're backstage, listening to the MC waiting to beryllium introduced and your garment doesn't fit, your waistcoat and trousers are excessively tight, it conscionable puts you successful wholly the incorrect mindset."

John Higgins and Mark Allen are among the players whose games person benefitted from value loss successful caller times and Murphy hopes the aforesaid volition use to him.

"Really the lone people I've yet to execute is getting to the apical of the rankings, I've ne'er been capable to accidental I'm satellite fig one," helium added.

"I've got a beauteous cleanable slate successful presumption of rankings for the adjacent fewer seasons and if I tin get my enactment unneurotic and commencement putting immoderate balls successful pockets again, I could commencement climbing the ladder."

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