Littleborough slimmer hits milestones by losing 5st and running the London Marathon

Natalie White after losing 5 stone

A slimmer from Littleborough is set to achieve her dream of running the 2022 London Marathon after her 5st weight loss.

On top of achieving her dream weight, Natalie White is now representing Slimming World in their 12-strong official marathon team this October. The Slimming World members, consultants, head office staff and managers come from across the UK and Ireland and between them have lost more than 68st.

The runners are raising money for Cancer Research UK, one of Slimming World’s official charity partners, as well as aiming to increase awareness of how keeping a healthy weight and being active can improve people’s health and reduce the risk of some types of cancer. Every year, around 43,600 people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West.* However, cancer survival is improving and has doubled in the last 40 years in the UK.

Natalie, 40, found the weight starting to creep up after giving birth to her twins and emotionally eating, turning to food for comfort during stressful times. She was very unhappy in herself; she disliked having photos taken and found clothes shopping very stressful believing people were looking and talking about her. Her energy levels were low and wanting to do fun things with her children made her decide something needed to change.

Natalie joined Slimming World to become a role model to her children, she says walking through the doors of the Littleborough Coach House Slimming World group for the first time was nerve-wracking: “I received such a warm welcome from my consultant Melanie and the other members, and soon realised I didn’t need to feel anxious. I really enjoyed my first group and something just... clicked! I knew I was in the right place to get the support I needed to lose weight for good.

“For a long time, I’d felt quite isolated because of my weight, and I would be very self-conscious in groups of people. Slimming World was different though because everyone was there for the same reason and I’ve never once felt judged or criticised – in fact, I’ve only ever received kindness and understanding, and I’ve made so many friends who’ve supported me from day one.”

As Natalie lost weight and grew in confidence, she decided to explore Slimming World’s Body Magic physical activity programme, which helps members to embrace active habits. The programme recognises a wide range of activities, to suit all ability levels and budgets, and supports members to increase activity from their own individual starting point and at their own pace. When lockdown happened and the gyms closed, Natalie began running outdoors. At first Natalie ran when no one could see her as she was self-conscious of her breathing and what she looked like. As her confidence grew and distances increased Natalie steadily took it up a gear – so much so that she decided to apply to represent Slimming World in the TCS London Marathon on October 2nd.

Natalie said: “There’s no way I’d have lost 5st or be running the marathon without the support and inspiration from my Slimming World group and consultant. They inspired me to take my first steps to getting more active, they keep me on track, and they’ve been there every step of the way to congratulate me whenever I reach a new weight loss or personal best. I feel part of such a special community – they helped me to believe that I could actually do this, and I know they’ll be cheering me on as I run past all the famous London landmarks later this year.”

Slimming World consultant Melanie Hartley said: “Natalie is a real inspiration to us all and we are so proud of her. When she first came through the door, she wanted to lose weight and emerge like a butterfly – however, she had no idea what a huge transformation was about to begin and certainly no idea that she would one day be running the London Marathon, it’s incredible! She is proof that with self-belief, determination and the right kind of support from a group of people who understand what it feels like to struggle with your weight and truly care about your success, anyone’s weight loss and activity dreams can be achieved. I’m so proud of both Natalie and another of my members who is also running the marathon as they have really supported each other during training.”

Money raised for Cancer Research UK helps fund life-saving research. Anyone who would like to sponsor the Slimming World Marathon team can do so by visiting: www.justgiving.com/campaign/SW-LondonMarathon2022