- Bridgett struggled with her weight from childhood, reaching 175kg and developing diabetes before losing her dad to pancreatic cancer
- Inspired by her dad’s dying wish, she changed her eating habits and underwent gastric sleeve surgery
- Now 90kg, Bridgett has regained her health and embraced adventures she once thought impossible
Here Bridgett Moore, 41, tells her story in her own words
Boarding a plane to attend a friend’s wedding, I was so excited. At 22, I’d never flown before.
But when I tried to fasten the seatbelt, it was too short.
My face burned as I pressed the call button.
As a flight attendant handed me a seatbelt extension, all I could think was, How did I get to this point?
My struggle with weight started around the age of 11 when I began sneaking snacks from friends at school. Hot chips and chocolate became daily treats. Soon, junk food became an obsession.
I spent my babysitting money on cheesecake, burgers, ice-cream and fizzy drinks and the kilos kept piling on.
‘You’re like a whale,’ kids would taunt me.
It was mortifying.
‘I don’t know why you’re gaining so much weight,’ sighed my mum, Janet, who always cooked healthy meals.
‘Bridgett, you’ve got to start taking care of yourself,’ my dad James would say, worried.
‘I’ll try, Dad,’ I’d promise.
We’d go on long walks together so I could exercise.
READ MORE REAL LIFE: ‘Mum’s weight transformation: I lost 95 kilos eating pizza’
At check-ups, doctors handed me diet sheets. I’d follow them for a few days, then slip back into my old habits.
Things got worse when I started working part-time at fast-food restaurants at 16.
Breakfast was sausages, hash browns and muffins. Lunch and dinner were burgers, pizza and fries.
By 16, I weighed 127kg and, despite being 175cm tall, I was much heavier than I should have been.
But even though I was often the biggest person in the room, I felt invisible.
While my friends dated, I stood on the sidelines.
As they browsed trendy boutiques, I searched department store racks for plus-size clothing that made me look older than I was.
Still, I threw myself into my studies, graduating near the top of my class, then earned a business degree and a master’s degree in health sciences.
Starting work for a health insurance company, I also joined Weight Watchers, tried the Atkins diet and completed doctor-supervised programs.
Every time I’d lose weight, then gain it back – and more.
Then, aged 27 in 2012, weighing 175 kilos and wearing a size 24, I received devastating news.
‘You have diabetes,’ my doctor said. ‘You need to start taking daily insulin.’
READ MORE REAL LIFE: ‘I halved my weight eating roast potatoes!’
I was petrified – and then came another blow. Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at only 56.
I was distraught, but even while facing his own mortality, Dad was more worried about me.
‘Bridgett, get healthy,’ he said as he lay dying at home. ‘I don’t want you ending up sick like me.’
‘I will, Dad,’ I promised through tears.
Three months after his diagnosis, in April, he was gone.
The grief sent me running back to food.
I didn’t know how I’d ever keep my promise.
Then just after my 30th birthday, a friend recommended the free MyFitnessPal app.
‘It’s great for tracking calories,’ she said.
Downloading it, I entered the details of a slice of my favourite dessert, a cheesecake, and 1200 calories flashed up on the screen.
‘No way!’ I gasped.
That was almost an entire day’s worth in one slice!
READ MORE: ‘I lost 148 kilos: ‘I couldn’t tie my shoelaces’’
I realised I’d been consuming thousands more calories daily than my body needed.
So I started planning meals and making smarter choices.
The weight began coming off, but worried I’d just put it back on, I visited my GP.
‘I need help,’ I told her.
She referred me to a bariatric surgeon and, as I was classified morbidly obese, I was approved instantly for gastric sleeve surgery on my health insurance.
On January 6, 2016, aged 30, surgeons removed about 80 per cent of my stomach, leaving it roughly the size of a small banana.
Afterwards I could barely eat two spoonfuls of apple sauce without feeling full.
Even so, I still had to fight fast food cravings.
Learning a new relationship with food, I ate small portions of yoghurt, fish and lean meat.
‘You’re doing so well,’ Mum encouraged.
Occasionally I’d overdo it and feel nauseous. It was tough but over time I learned my limits.
I started walking around the block, before entering 5km then 10km fun runs. In two years I lost 60kg, dropping from 175kg to 115kg.
Every part of my body shrank. My shoe size went from 11 to 9.5.
And even my ring size dropped 9 to 7.5. Luckily my skin shrank too, so I didn’t have much excess hanging off me.
Happily I donated all my old clothes to charity and began buying fashionable, form-fitting outfits.
My blood sugar levels returned to a healthy range in 2021.
I’d started dating too, and in May 2017, at 32, I married my then husband in front of 100 loved ones, wearing a dazzling size 14 mermaid-style wedding gown.
‘You look stunning,’ Mum said.
For years I’d worried I wouldn’t be able to have children because of weight issues.
But to my shock, I fell pregnant during our honeymoon.
When our daughter, Amiyah, was born, holding her in my arms was everything I’d dreamed of.
Not only was I finally a mum, but now I could be the kind of mum I’d always wanted to be – the active mum who runs around at the park, attends every soccer game and never sits on the sidelines.
Today Amiyah is eight and loves looking at old photos of me. ‘Mummy, is that really you?’ she asked one day, amazed I’m almost half the woman I was!
So I told her about my dad and the promise that I made to him. ‘I’m proud of you, Mummy,’ she says.
Today, I’m divorced and with a lovely new partner, Bryant, 42.
Food no longer controls my life. Most importantly, I have the energy to fully be part of my daughter’s life.
Now 90kg and wearing a size 12, I exercise several times a week and I still use MyFitnessPal to track my weight and calories.
I even ticked off a bucket list wish, flying to Belize in Central America and hiking through a rainforest with a friend.
That was something I could never have dreamed of doing when I was obese – and no plane seatbelt extension was required!
I know Dad would be proud of me.
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