‘I lost 60kg for my wedding!’
Incredible shrinking bride
All this brave woman wanted was to ‘ feel amazing inside and out’ on her special day
Bridie Ritchie could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she took her first step down the aisle in a stunning size 12 strapless wedding gown. Having lost an incredible 60kg before her big day last September, she says she’s never felt more beautiful.
“I didn’t think I could feel so amazing,” says the hairdresser from Gladstone in Queensland. “I was so proud of my efforts. And seeing the look on my husband’s face, I knew he was proud of me too.”
Bridie, 21, was already a big woman when she met Michael in 2012. At 170cm tall and 134kg, she had come to accept it was just who she was. Though she’d tried many diets over the years, she always succumbed to large takeaway meals of burgers, chicken nuggets, fries and ice-cream.
Michael adored her no matter what her size – a sign of true love but also a hindrance, as the pair used food to show their affection, eating out together constantly.
But in 2013 Bridie, then a size 24, was told she had developed polycystic ovaries as a result of her unhealthy
weight. It would make getting pregnant harder, and it was then she knew she had to ditch her bad eating habits for good.
“It changed my outlook on life completely – I tried weight-loss programs, personal trainers and shakes,” Bridie says, before adding that sadly her efforts were unsuccessful.
“I’d lose 10kg but then bounce back up,” she says. “Finally, I decided enough was enough and underwent gastric sleeve surgery. It was definitely not an easy way out because it was still extremely hard to change my habits.”
Proud of Bridie’s commitment to lo losing weight and getting hea healthy, Michael proposed to her a we week after her surgery, which gave her the motivation she nee needed to stick to her goals.
Sh She overhauled her diet, star started going for walks and began tra training with a personal trainer tw twice a week. She also gave up s sugary snacks and pasta, and t turned to sensible meals packed with vegetables, and healthy snacks such as fresh f fruit and nuts.
When things got tough, B Bridie remembered her dream of feeling confident and beautiful iful in her wedding dress, which she chose after losing 45kg.g. “I even had to get it altered again before re the wedding because ecause I lost more weight!” she says.
Now a slim, lim, healthy 73kg, 3kg, and happilyly married too true love Michael ael – with whom mshe she can’t wait too start a family – Bridie idie says she’s never felt so o content.
‘Surgery wasn’t easy – it was still hard to change my habits’