I was the bulging bridesmaid!
I was the bulging bridesmaid! Now she’s shed 7st, Natalie Forty has a new lease of life…
Full of excitement, my best friend, Jen, logged on to Facebook and began scrolling through her wedding photos.
‘Wow, look at my beautiful bridesmaid,’ she smiled, passing me her phone.
‘More bulging than beautiful,’ I muttered, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. All I could see was my flabby upper arms spilling out of my size-22 dress. How had I let myself get so big?
As a youngster, I’d never had any weight issues, as I was active and ate healthily.
But when I moved in to a house in Swindon, Wiltshire, with my fiancé, William, in 2007, everything changed.
I loved the freedom of being away from home and able to eat whatever I fancied.
Both cooking and portion control were alien to me, so William and I lived on familysize ready meals, extra-large pizzas and Chinese takeaways.
I loved snacking, too, and could easily work my way through a tube of Pringles and hunks of cheese.
When I went dress shopping for William’s college graduation in summer 2006, I was dismayed to discover that I’d gone from a size 12 to a 14, but it wasn’t enough to motivate me to lose weight.
By 2009, I’d ballooned to a size 18 and decided to join Weight Watchers. By sticking to the Points plan and doing some aqua aerobics classes, I lost 2st. I was thrilled, but a few months later, complacency set in and I was back to square one.
In 2010, we decided it was time to get married, and I threw myself into wedding planning. Too busy to cook, I began to rely on convenience foods again, and often skipped meals in favour of snacks of crisps and sandwiches.
In the months leading up to our June 2011 wedding, I had to have my dress taken out three times to accommodate my growing size 16-18 bulk.
Our wedding day was fabulous. I felt like a fairy-tale princess – but, looking back, I was in denial about my weight.
Finding out in April 2015 that I was pregnant with Grace, now two, didn’t help matters. Using pregnancy as an excuse to constantly gorge on crisps and cheese, I ballooned to 18st.
Then, in December 2015, just a few weeks before I gave birth to Grace, Jen asked me to be her bridesmaid. Jen had been my best friend since our school days, so I was delighted to accept.
‘Can we wait until I’ve shifted some of this baby weight before we go dress shopping, though?’ I asked, thinking I’d lose a good few stone before the wedding. Only, being a new mum meant I had no time to think about myself.
Four months later, I tried on the bridesmaid dress Jen had chosen for her big day. I’d lost around 1st 7lb of baby weight by then, but I struggled to get the side zipper done up, and it felt really uncomfortable under my bust.
‘ We’ll have to put an extra panel of material in to give you some more room,’ the seamstress said.
In September 2016, on the day of Jen’s wedding, I squeezed myself into a pair of Spanx and, despite feeling a bit uncomfortable, had a wonderful time. It was only the next day, when I saw the photos, that something clicked.
‘I don’t want any of those photos of me in the house, I look terrible,’ I said to William.
But, despite my unhappiness about my size, I still did nothing about it.
Three months later, I was sat thinking about my New Year’s resolutions for 2017 – the year I’d be turning 30. I realised I had everything I’d ever wanted – a husband, a house, a baby, and my own nail-technician business that I’d recently set up.
‘The only thing I’m not
‘The best thing about losing 7st is being able to go shopping again’
happy about is my weight,’ I thought. Tipping the scales at a whopping 16st 7lb, I decided that rejoining Weight Watchers was my 2017 resolution.
This time, I was more focused, planning meals and snacks for the week ahead before I went shopping. I switched from wine to spirits, and opted for healthier takeaway options, such as tandoori chicken with a salad instead of rice and naan bread. Walking also became a far bigger part of my daily routine and I began to love going to the park with Grace.
Five months later, in May 2017, I went shopping for a dress for Grace’s christening and managed to get into a size 18.
By October 2017, I’d reached 11st and a size 14 – the size I’d been when I met William – and since then I’ve got myself down to 9st 9lb and a slinky size 8.
Now, at 30, I’m slimmer than I’ve ever been and I don’t ever want to go back to the size I was as Jen’s bridesmaid. I have tons more energy, I’m more flexible and can run around after Grace without losing my puff.
The best thing about losing 7st, though, is being able to go shopping again. Recently, I went back to the shop where I bought the size-18 dress for Grace’s christening.
‘ You’re going to need a size smaller,’ said the shop assistant when I put on the size 10. It was music to my ears!