Chloe Richardson had been dedicated to rugby for as long as she could remember.
Her passion for the sport first started at the age of nine, and by her early twenties, she was already playing semi-professionally.
Her intense sports schedule meant she also worked tirelessly to ensure she stayed in tip-top shape.
But all that changed in 2022 when she realised something drastic was happening to her body.
Chloe, now 26, was thriving in her rugby career when she noticed her legs were growing bigger while her body stayed the same.
No matter how much she trained or how many hours she spent in the gym, her waist remained small but her legs continued to swell.
Chloe’s legs just kept growing
(Image: Chloe Richardson)
Having always been fit and active, Chloe says the sudden change was unsettling – pushing her to dangerous extremes.
Chloe, who lives in Warrington, says she began working out three times a day while cutting her calorie intake to just 800kcal.
And even though she could see her ribs, her legs continued to balloon.
“I’ve always been an active person,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “Always in the gym and playing rugby, always been really good on my diet and things like that.
“My legs were just getting bigger and bigger but my waist was staying small. For ages, I was working out and putting myself in a hole.
“I was exercising two to three times a day, seven days a week. I was cutting my calories to ridiculously low but I was never seeing any change in my legs.
“It got to 800 kcal a day, which is nothing. My ribs were showing but my legs were the same.”
Chloe before, left, and now, right
(Image: Chloe Richardson)
“It was one of the most mentally tough times of my life. I couldn’t buy clothes that fit. I didn’t want to wear anything baggy or that made me bigger.
“I didn’t like wearing a bikini full stop or getting my body out at all. Even when I was playing rugby, I was wearing leggings underneath shorts so no one could see my legs.
“It also started affecting me physically. Because my legs were getting so much bigger and I couldn’t perform the same.
“I wasn’t as fast or fit and I was playing in the Warrington Superleague at the time. It caused a lot of pain on joints and I had to give up that career at that time.
“I couldn’t physically keep up. It had a huge impact on my life.”
Chloe decided to research her mysterious problem and discovered a condition called lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a chronic condition characterised by an abnormal accumulation of fat, primarily in the legs, hips and sometimes arms, leading to pain and swelling.
Chloe says she feels much better
(Image: Chloe Richardson)
It predominantly affects women and is often misdiagnosed or overlooked, meaning there can be delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Chloe, who works as a data analyst, recalls the revelation feeling like huge breakthrough.
“I started doing a bit of Googling as to why my body was like this,” she added. “Why it wasn’t responding in a normal way.
“That’s when I stumbled upon lipoedema. That’s when I found out about Shauna Phillips from Love Island who has the same condition.
“I saw what she put on social media and it led me to another influencer with it. It put me in a rabbit hole of finding out what it is and the fact this could be me.”
Chloe also realised the Depo injection she had started using as contraception might have been the trigger for her.
“I looked at all the typical symptoms,” she added. “What a lipoedema body looks like, and eventually, I did enough research to know diet and exercise doesn’t affect it and it just grows.
“The only effective way of getting rid of it is surgery. I started looking if there were any surgeons in the UK and found Manchester Private Hospital.
Chloe says she feels amazing now
(Image: Chloe Richardson)
“I went in for consultation beginning to mid-2023 and they gave me an official diagnosis of lipoedema.
“He said I was a very typical case – textbook. It was from there that we discussed an action plan of surgery.”
In August 2023, Chloe underwent her first surgery – a form of liposuction to remove the excess fat from her legs – before undergoing another procedure.
Though the recovery was long, Chloe says it wasn’t long until she started to see the changes she had been hoping for.
Weighing in at 18st 5lbs before her surgeries, Chloe incredibly lost a whopping 2.3st from her legs.
“I’m absolutely over the moon,” she added. “I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in a long time.
“I’ve been wearing shorts and skirts which I never thought I would do or have bare legs. Physically, I’m a lot better.
“I don’t have pain in the morning; my joints aren’t hurting as much. I’m back playing rugby at a higher level again and enjoying it again. It’s been the best decision I ever made.”