What started as a goal to improve her health ahead of her daughter’s wedding has become a life-changing journey for Natalie, who has gone from spending most of her time on the sofa to training for the London Marathon.
Natalie from Scholar Green joined the Active Lives programme after a difficult period in her life.
Alongside wanting to lose weight and improve her fitness, she knew becoming more active could help support her mental wellbeing.
“My eldest daughter got engaged and was going to get married in April 27, so I knew I’d got a decent amount of time to lose some weight.
I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror because I was so revolted by how big I’d managed to get myself. So I sort of decided that this was my really good chance to lose some weight and get fitter.
I’d also had quite a significant mental health issue and I felt like I’d got a little bit better in that way, but I really needed to help myself by getting more physically active because I knew that would really help my mental health.”
After being referred to Active Lives by her GP, Natalie took the first step towards making lasting changes and took part at Alsager and Congleton Leisure Centre.
Before joining the programme, being active wasn’t part of her everyday routine.
“I mostly lay on the setee. Didn’t really ever do anything. I was very good at watching box sets on the TV.
I knew that I had to commit long term, that 12-weeks wasn’t going to save everything and change everything, I needed to put my whole being into it and sort of look long-term for it. And I think that’s what I’ve done.”
Like many people starting something new, Natalie found the first few weeks challenging. However, with support from her Active Lives Coach, James, she found the encouragement she needed to keep going.
“I’m not going to lie, the first six weeks I really struggled with getting my head around being part of it. I sat down with James for a little pep talk, and he made sense of it all for me and we just drew a line, started again and it was just what I needed, that motivation to sort of really get me going.”
Since then, Natalie has embraced opportunities she never thought she would from regularly using the gym, swimming, taking part in walking netball, aquarobics and dance classes she has now become an Everybody member.
“Classes were something that I would never ever have considered, but James was really encouraging about going and, you know, was worried about being the most out of breath person or the largest person in the room.
And he was like, “But nobody’s going to be looking at you. they don’t care what you look like, just go and enjoy it.
I think that was really important for me, I’m here for me. It doesn’t matter what I look like.”
Natalie has become fitter and more active, however the biggest change has been in her confidence and the way she feels about herself.
“I met some university friends that I’ve not seen for about 30 years a couple of weeks ago and I felt fab meeting them. I feel like I found myself again. I think it’s fair to say it’s really changed my life.”
The woman who once struggled to look at herself in the mirror is now setting herself an incredible challenge.
“I am far more comfortable having my photo taken now. I also quite impulsively entered the ballot for the London Marathon and then a couple of months ago I found out that I got a place, so I am now training for the London Marathon, which is just quite funny really.
I’m so excited about it and so determined to get there and get stuck in and really enjoy the day. Even thinking that I can do the marathon is wild, I’m going to be 55 when I do that.”
Looking back, Natalie believes the programme gave her more than just a 12-week introduction to physical activity. It gave her the confidence and tools to make lasting changes for the future.
“Above everything, it’s given me confidence and I think during those 12 weeks, it equipped me to realise that it wasn’t a 12-week journey that I was going on, that I had to do life changes, and I was happy to do that, and it really empowered me to be able to do that.
Going forwards, I can see that this is a long-term thing now. It’s not just a 12-week thing, but it’s really equipped me to be able to go long-term thinking.”
Natalie hopes her story will encourage others who may be nervous about taking that first step.
“If you’re scared of going into the gym because you think you might not be very fit or you might think that everybody else is dead slim and really fit, they’re not going to look at you, just be you and just go and do what you need to do.
It doesn’t matter what you look like, your age, your size or anything like that.
Go do it and be proud of doing it and take it as an empowered thing that you’re doing.”
Natalie’s journey is a reminder that lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with one step, one decision and the courage to begin.
From watching box sets on the sofa to training for one of the world’s most iconic races, she has proved that it’s never too late to invest in your health, rebuild your confidence and achieve things you never thought possible.
Watch Natalies video interview here: From the Sofa to the Start Line
Congratulations, Natalie, on your incredible transformation and your upcoming London Marathon challenge. Everyone at One You Cheshire East is cheering you on every step of the way.
If you would like to find out more about Active Lives, visit our website here or contact the team on 0300 123 5026.
If you would like to donate to Natalie’s fundraising page for her two chosen charities you can do that here.