Davina McCall champions This Time Next Year guest Jody who transformed from a size 14 to a bodybuilder in just 12 months

WHEN her husband almost died, Jody Poulter realised that life really is too short – so she set about transforming hers.

Three months at the bedside of Jeeves Suduwadevage, 32, as he recovered from a massive heart attack made her determined not to waste a minute.

His fight back to health gave 30-year-old graphic designer Jody the determination to follow her dream of becoming a champion bodybuilder.

And as an added incentive, she made her challenge public by featuring in the ITV series This Time Next Year, hosted by Davina McCall.

In the show, which starts tonight with Jody sharing her story, people pledge to change their life in 12 months.

Jody, of Kingston, South West London, says: “When something that awful happens, you realise life is very short.

“I was always interested in bodybuilding but what happened to Jeeves gave me the push I needed to give it my best shot. By signing up to do the TV show, I knew I’d have to keep my promise to myself.”

Before revamping her body, Jody was a size 14 and 11st. She has since dropped four dress sizes and is now 9st 13lb — mostly lean muscle on her slight 5ft 2in frame.

She says: “During the week I relied on low-fat and diet versions of food like snack bars and cheesecakes that I thought were healthy but were packed full of sugar.

“At weekends, I gorged on greasy takeaways, booze and fattening fry-ups.

“But seeing the love of my life Jeeves, who’s a personal trainer, suffer that heart attack two years ago after a gym session, made me change my entire lifestyle.

“He came home from the gym and just collapsed on the bathroom floor. His breathing became very shallow and he was whispering, ‘I am dying’.

“By the time the ambulance came his breathing was normal again. The hospital said he was too fit to have had a cardiac arrest, so they sent him home.”

Eight months later, Jeeves’s left arm went blue and doctors feared they might have to amputate.

After three months in hospital, during which he had six major ops, and suffered bouts of pneumonia and the flesh-eating bug MRSA, Jeeves eventually recovered although he now only has six per cent blood flow in his left wrist.

Jody says: “Seeing somebody like that so vulnerable, it does make you question everything.

“Jeeves had a healthy life and we had no idea he had cardiac problems. Doctors still don’t know what triggered the attack. It just shows that you can’t be too careful.

“To see him come through that made me determined not to waste another minute. It turned me into an ambassador for a healthy, fit lifestyle.”

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Jody hired a personal trainer, went to the gym twice daily, and changed her diet to lose fat and reveal underlying muscle. She also began training for bodybuilding contests.

She says of her diet: “It gets taxing around competition time — I miss chocolate and bread and rarely drink now.

“But people say my physical change is amazing — and I’m also much more confident, relaxed and happy.

“I started filming for the show in September last year. It helped me achieve my goal knowing that each week I’d have to record my progress.”

Jody has qualified for this month’s UK Ultimate Physiques contest and aims to compete at the Body Power Expo in May 2017.

She also married Jeeves, from Sri Lanka, last Easter.

Jody says: “That horrible situation brought us even closer together. We knew if we could get through that tough time, we can do anything.

“Our wedding was a fantastic day. We are so happy and looking forward to our future together being fit and healthy.”

This Time Next Year is on ITV1 tonight at 8pm