A widow whose weight doubled through comfort eating as she nursed her dying husband dipping into the fat b******* diet he followed to stay strong has lost seven stone and is ready to live again three years after losing him.
A svelte size 10 in 1996 when they first met, when nurse Bridgette Schofield, 55, started caring for David diagnosed with a rare disease called sarcoidosis, which attacked his lungs in 2010, she became an emotional eater.
Told to consume more calories to maintain his weight, as the cruel condition took hold, Bridgette, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, indulged in full-fat treats like ice cream and cheese alongside David, who passed away on June 2, 2016, aged 51.
Devastated by his death, Bridgette, who has two children recruitment officer James, 22, and journalism student, Olivia, 19 with David, continued comfort eating until, two years after his passing, she tipped the scales at 18 stone and was wearing a size 22.
Her turning point came in July 2018, when she was left mortified by a photo of herself at a reunion dinner with an old pal, saying: Before I even got to the restaurant, I remember thinking, I hope someones told my old friend how fat Ive got.
Wed gone into the city for a nice meal at a fancy restaurant and I felt a world away from the glamorous woman Id been when David was well.
Then my friend asked a waiter to take a photo and when I saw it on her phone my stomach dropped I made her delete it straight away, she said.
Thats when I realised I needed to change. Suddenly I was aware of my own mortality.
Told about the Cambridge 1:1 Diet, Bridgette signed up straight away restricting her calories to just 600 a day.
It was hard at the beginning I was really hungry during that first week, she said. But I was determined to do it.
Bridgette turned to food for comfort after David, the love of her life, became poorly.
It had been love at first sight back in 1996, when she walked into the insurance brokers where he worked, looking for cover for her house.
I went to a family run business Id used in the past and when David showed up I couldnt help thinking how lovely and gorgeous he was, she recalled.
When we parted ways I became all flustered and banged my knee on the way out , calling my mum when I got home to tell her.
I remember her saying, If hes that gorgeous, why cant you insure something else?'
There was no need, as that very same week, David called, asking Bridgette out on a date.
He was probably breaking some sort of code but we werent bothered, she said.
He asked me if I wanted to go to the pub, but I told him I wasnt a pub kind of girl, so we settled on a local Italian.
Head over heels in love and seeing no need to marry, the couple quickly settled into the chaos of family life.
They only tied the knot after James, then 10, asked Bridgette why she did not wear a wedding ring.
I told him that Daddy had never got around to asking me, she laughed. His response was, Well I think Daddy should marry you.'
David said as long as I arranged it, hed turn up, so I did, she continued.
Marrying at west Londons Westminster Register Office on December 8, 2008, before enjoying a knees up at The Ritz, one of the capitals swankiest hotels, she could not have asked for a happier day.
We both loved dressing up and going the extra mile, so the wedding was a really special moment for us both, she said.
She added: We both loved the 50s and icons like Carrie Grant and Doris Day but I loved disco and he loved American rock.
But when David was admitted to The Yorkshire Clinic, a private hospital in Bradford, near Leeds in 2010, struggling to breathe after a week with a relentless cough, biopsies samples of tissue taken from his lungs and tested, resulted in a diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
The rare condition causes small patches of red and swollen tissue to develop in the bodys organs, particularly the lungs and skin.
For the past year we just believed he had asthma, so this was a total shock and, by the time he was diagnosed, doctors pretty much told us it was too late to treat, Bridgette said.
It came as such a surprise. David was very into his fitness and liked to keep in shape at the gym.
He was so proud, too, that he didnt want anyone to know he was so ill. He was very old fashioned like that and didnt want people to think he was incapable.
Told to give David 3,000 calories a day diet as opposed to the 2,500 calories recommended for men and 2,000 for women by the NHS to combat the weight loss caused by his illness, Bridgette admits she dipped into his diet, too.
We called it the fat b****** diet. We used full fat milk, cream and butter in everything, she said.
Id put double cream in his mash and add ice cream to his smoothies and I started indulging more, too.
Because we werent going out as much wed eat takeaway more that sort of thing and as I became stressed and upset, watching him struggle, I started turning to food, she said.
Davids health hit a crisis in the summer of 2015, when they arrived for a two week holiday at the Chewton Glen Tree Houses, in Hampshire, to celebrate James birthday.
David became so poorly the day we arrived he had to be rushed to Dorsets Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital, where he was put on steroids, diuretics and antibiotics, she said
Suffering with a chest infection and pneumonia, David was not discharged until three weeks later when, despite everything he had been through, concerned not to put his wife to too much trouble, he insisted on catching a train home.
I was back up in Yorkshire with the children after the holiday and somehow he managed to get a train up from Bournemouth the day he was discharged to save me the journey, she said. That was just the kind of gentlemen he was.
Unfortunately, Davids health did not improve and in March 2016 he was put on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
She said: They told us as soon as they found a tissue match that hed be on the operating table for a new set of lungs, but that day never came.
Sadly, Davids health deteriorated rapidly and, by April 2016, Bridgette was caring for her ailing husband around the clock.
He was at home attached to every type of oxygen possible, but he still couldnt breathe, she said.
Blue lighted to West Yorkshires Pinderfields Hospital, on June 2, 2016, doctors told Bridgette her husbands lung function was so poor that there was nothing they could do.
I knew he was ill and I didnt expect him to come out, but nothing could prepare me for that day, she said. He was with us one minute and gone the next.
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Comforting herself with food, as she tried to process her heartbreaking loss, Bridgette regularly ate hearty meals, with ice cream puddings seeing her body mass index (BMI) used to gauge a healthy weight soar to 41.9, compared to the 18.5 to 24.9 recommended by the NHS.
Kick-starting her day with mountains of white toast and butter, before eating a pre-packed ham and cheese baguette for lunch, Bridgette would then have creamy pasta for dinner, as well as crisps and snacks.
After he passed, I turned to food for comfort even more, gaining at least another three stone.
But, following her humiliation in the restaurant, after seeing her photo with her friend, Bridgette was determined to change.
Losing 9lb in her first week on the 1:1 diet, soon the pounds were flying off and, nine months after starting the weight loss programme, she had shed an incredible 7st and felt herself for the first time in years.
Now she has slowly built up her calories to 1,500 a day, she enjoys porridge and fruit for breakfast, followed by hummus and carrots for lunch and grilled fish and vegetables for dinner.
A trim size 12 and weighing 10st 10lb, Bridgette says she feels ready to start living again.
She said: I would look in the mirror after losing David and think, Thats not me.
After losing weight I look like me again and its had a drastic impact on my life.
For years Ive been avoiding going out and making excuses to stay in, as I felt self-conscious.
Now I go out as much as I can and people say how much younger I look, she added.
Bridgette has accepted that she may never be ready for another romance, but she is certain that David would see what she has achieved and be cheering her on.
David was always so complimentary, she said. I know hed be so proud of my weight loss and telling me to keep it up.
She added: But Im still not sure about dating. My daughter says she doesnt mind, but I love David so much and my head is still so full of him, she said.
He always joked that he wanted a cardboard cut out of him in the living room when he was gone, but we settled with his urn of ashes instead.
When someone is so full of life and they dedicate everything about themselves to your happiness and well being, its hard to imagine ever filling the void theyve left.
She concluded: But at least now, since losing all this weight, I have my confidence back and can face life again as a new me.'
Read more:
Weight loss tips from Pontefract woman who comfort ate after nursing dying husband - then shed 7 stone - ExaminerLive
