A woman who ballooned to a size 20 has revealed how her boyfriend’s proposal motivated her to dropped six stone in under a year so that she could squeeze into her dream size eight wedding dress for her big day.
Customer service advisor Natalie Mellor, 29, from Brough, East Yorkshire, had always been larger than her friends when she was younger, but after giving birth to her son, she ballooned 15st 7lb.
When her boyfriend Gavin, 34, proposed, she was determined to lose weight for her big day and managed to lose six stone in under a year, dropping to 9st 7lbs, and squeezing into her dream size eight dress for her wedding.
She revealed: ‘I am more confident in myself and have a positive outlook. I feel like a new person and have left the old me behind.’
Natalie Mellor, 29, from Brough, East Yorkshire, ballooned to 15st 7lb and was a size-20 after the birth of her son, but after her boyfriend Gavin, 34, proposed she was motivated to lose six stone in less than a year, dropping to 9st 7lbs and a size 8
Natalie said she felt like ‘a princess’ in her size-eight wedding dress, having dropped six stone in just under a year (pictured with husband Gavin in June 2017)
When Natalie and her now husband Gavin, 34, discovered they were expecting their first child together in 2015, they were overjoyed, but pregnancy caused Natalie to gain weight rapidly.
Nearing the end of her pregnancy, she became aware that she was nearing morbid obesity and she wasn’t just putting herself at risk, but her son too.
She revealed: ‘I’ve always struggled with my weight from a young age, but I seemed to gradually get bigger and bigger compared to my friends.’
‘It was when I fell pregnant with my first child, Henry, that it was made apparent that I was morbidly obese and was putting us both at risk.’
Natalie admitted she always struggled with her weight, but said her weight ballooned after she gave birth to her son, Hugh (left). After her boyfriend Gavin proposed, she was motivated to ditch the takeaways, with her weight dropping to 9st 7lbs (right)
During the pregnancy, Natalie and Gavin got engaged, and as thrilled as they both were about their future nuptials, she realised that she didn’t want to be a bride in a size 20 dress.
She said: ‘During this time my husband asked me to marry him, which of course I was happy about, but it also filled me with dread because of the size I was.’
After welcoming the couple’s first child, Henry now four, Natalie’s weight didn’t improve because food had become an emotional crutch for her.
She admitted that she would eat when she was unhappy to console herself but she’d also eat celebratory treats when she was happy.
The mother-of-one said she grew concerned her size was stopping her from being the best parent she could be (pictured, left with her son Hugh, and right, after her weight loss)
She said: ‘I am an emotional eater; I surpass every emotion with food, like a celebratory takeaway or a condolence tub of ice cream.
‘Breakfast was a sausage or bacon sandwich on the go. For lunch I’d usually have an unhealthy fast food thing that was a grab and dash.
‘Dinner was a pasta bake with a full bag of grated cheese, so it was extra gooey, with garlic bread and a sticky toffee pudding to finish.’
She added: ‘Snacks were crisps, biscuits and chocolate. I also never factored in my alcohol intake, so I’d drink a lot of wine.’
Natalie’s embarrassment over her weight left her scared of socialising, and said her size held her back (pictured left before, and right, after)
Natalie’s weight reached 15st 7lb before she realised, and she felt ashamed of her large frame.
The embarrassment at having let her weight soar stopped Natalie from socialising because she didn’t want to be looked at and she didn’t wear the nice clothes she saw in shops because she didn’t like her figure.
She also feared that she wouldn’t be able to nimbly move around the children’s play areas with her son, making her feel uncomfortable as a mother.
She revealed: ‘I was embarrassed, ashamed and humiliated that I had let myself get so overweight.
Natalie revealed she felt ’embarrassed and ashamed’ of her body and that her weight loss gave her a new found confidence (pictured left, before her weight loss with son Hugh, and right, after)
‘It held me back from many things, such as wearing clothes that I wanted to wear, going for promotions at work, and being sociable in more high-end establishments.’
‘Being pregnant made me look back and reflect on when I’d spent time with my nephew and wasn’t able to squeeze myself into children’s play areas or be in a water park. It made me not want to feel that uncomfortable with my own children.’
After a holiday to Turkey in September 2014, Natalie deleted all of the images of herself because she was deeply unhappy with how she looked, blaming the angles that the photos were taken from.
However, she soon realised that maybe the angles weren’t to blame, so she joined Slimming World in 2016 to try and lose the weight which had troubled her for so long.
The mother-of-two said fitting into her dream wedding dress was her main motivation for losing the weight (pictured, right before the weight loss and left, trying on wedding dresses)
She said: ‘I no longer wanted to feel down and ashamed of myself. I went on holiday with my fiancé at the time, and on the flight home I realised I had deleted every image of myself because I didn’t like the angles. But then I had a pause and realised it might not be the angles.’
She set the goal of losing weight and fitting into her dream wedding dress in 2017, with the aim of looking immaculate.
She revealed: ‘I started attending Slimming World and educating myself on healthier food choices and calorie intake. My wedding was a target, but also wanting to be a healthy mum for my child. I also wanted to do it for my own mental health.’
She said she wanted to feel beautiful and to treasure all the photos from the day – rather than deleting them like she’d done with all her holiday snaps.
The mother-of-two said she found a new-found confidence after her weight loss, and no-longer shy’s away from having pictures with husband Gavin
In under a year, Natalie shed six stone and now she weighs just 9st 7lb and wears a size eight.
She revealed: ‘I cook my meals most nights now, adding a lot of the right things. I eat more fish and cut back on red meat, with the occasional vegetarian meal.
‘I can still have treats, but now it’s in moderation and I consistently keep on plan during the week.’
The mother-of-two explained: ‘For breakfast I have Greek yoghurt with honey or Weetabix and fruit. Lunch is a freshly prepared salad, then dinner is salmon with steamed vegetables and new potatoes usually.
The mother-of-two admitted when she returned to work after her weight loss many people thought she was ‘unrecognisable’
‘I try not to snack throughout the day, but if I do, I have fruit and I only have wine on a weekend.’
On her wedding day in June 2017 she felt incredible walking down the aisle in her size eight wedding gown.
She revealed: ‘I am more confident in myself and have a positive outlook. I feel like a new person and have left the old me behind.’
Natalie said ditching the takeaways and fast foot for healthy salads had transformed her diet and figure as well as her confidence
She added: ‘I can go in any shop now and I don’t hesitate about wearing a bikini in crowded places.
‘I have only happy memories of feeling like a princess in my wedding dress with all eyes on me for the right reasons, for a change. I didn’t delete any pictures, I kept them as happy memories.’
She added: ‘People think it’s fantastic and amazing, they have nothing but praise. When I went back to work after losing all my weight during maternity leave, people said I was unrecognisable.
Natalie revealed her weight loss has left her feeling like ‘a new person’ with confidence and a positive outlook on her life (pictured after her weight loss)
‘Everyone always asks how I have done it and for advice on what they can do.
‘What I say is to make a food diary because when you write things down it’s easier to put into perspective and see what changes you need to make. Drink more water, move more and educate yourself on the right foods.
‘It’s all about balance and if you eat right and stick to your plan, it will happen. Take measurements, sometimes you’ll lose inches but not pounds.’