HALF THE SIZE BUT TWICE THE MUM

MUM OF THREE NATALIE WENT FROM BINGE-EATING TO BIKINI MODELLING!

- Keeley Henderson

Looking at the photograph, Natalie Hirst burst into tears. At 130kg and a size 20, she knew she was overweight. But Natalie had no idea she was this big.

“I was mortified when I looked at the picture. It shocked me. I was devastated,” the 29-year-old says.

The mum of three usually insisted on being behind the lens. But after vowing to lose weight, she’d taken a snap of herself so she could document her progress.

Natalie, mum to Jakson, 6, Poppy, 4, and Leo, 3, had ballooned in size after three pregnancies in quick succession.

“I was living on packaged foods and takeaways, and my portions were way bigger than they needed to be,” she explains. “If I wanted something, I had it. I didn’t hold back or think of the consequences.”

A heart condition meant it wasn’t safe for Natalie to exercise while pregnant.

“Back-to-back pregnancies and eating bad foods – with no exercise – resulted in me being the biggest I’d ever been.”

But seeing that photo was a light bulb moment for Natalie.

“From that moment, I made it my mission to make new changes and choices,” she says.

Natalie started by reducing her portion sizes and she began to snack on healthier foods such as yoghurt, almonds and protein bars.

“Every week I gave myself a small goal to achieve. My first one was to drink two litres of water every day,” Natalie explains. “Once I got my water down pat, my next goal was to not have a big treat until the end of the week. I was trying to teach myself new habits.”