Mum loses 11 stone and now she’s running the London Marathon
A DERBY mum who struggled to tie her shoelaces due to her size will run next weekend’s London Marathon after losing nearly 12st.
Maria Bullock tipped the scales at just over 23st at her heaviest in January 2015, when it dawned on her that she might not live to see her two daughters get married or have children due to the way her obesity could affect her long-term health.
This realisation gave her the motivation she needed to transform her diet of chocolate, cake and takeaways. She began cooking healthy, wholesome meals from scratch, including her favourite dish of spaghetti Bolognese, and after slimming down to 15st. Then she took up running.
Thanks to transforming her diet and regularly going running, the 55-year-old from Littleover slimmed down to 11st 5lb, a weight she has managed to maintain.
Now, her love for running, which has seen her take part in events including the Derby Half-Marathon and Derby 10k, has led her to take on her biggest challenge yet – this year’s London Marathon, to be held on Sunday.
Maria, who is mum to Arianne, 20, and Hannah, 18, who are both currently at university, said: “I can’t believe I’m running the marathon after not even being able to tie my shoelaces just six years ago when I was 49.
“I went to put my trainers on, and I just couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t bend down to tie them.
“I was quite an old mum, I didn’t have my children until I was 35 and 37. I was thinking ‘oh my God,’ my kids are actually still quite young, I was on high blood pressure tablets at the time and was thinking what on earth will happen to them?
“It wasn’t something that suddenly happened overnight, the weight just crept on and crept on. But that was an eye-opener that I really had to do something about it.”
Maria had been overweight for most of her life – as the first grandchild she was spoilt with treat foods growing up.
She didn’t like exercise and avoided stairs, keeping a basket at the bottom so she would only need to make one trip up them a day.
Looking back at the struggles she faced before losing weight, Maria said: “I enjoyed eating an awful lot of food and had real difficulty knowing when I was full.
“I had a busy lifestyle so it was always very much eating for convenience and I used to grab whatever there was around, like takeaways.”
Maria went on to speak about how she managed to lose 11st 10lb, with the majority of her weight loss coming in an 18-month period.
She was supported through her diet changes by Jane Tucker after joining one of her Slimming World groups in Derby in January 2015. Exercise – the other key aspect which influenced her weight loss – came from her own motivation to build fitness.
Maria, who has gone from a size 30 to a size 12 to 14, said: “I’d always been a walker, whatever weight I was at, I would walk into town from Littleover.
“Once I’d got down to 18st I joined the gym at Derby Arena and then once I was at 15st I started running and gradually built it up. Eventually I got to the stage where I could run the Derby Half-Marathon, park run, the 10ks and the 5ks around Derby.
“I’m so much happier and healthier and by losing weight I know I’ve reduced my chances of developing a range of health problems.”
Maria then set about inspiring others to lose weight, becoming a Slimming World consultant herself in January 2018.
She runs the Littleover groups held at Grange Hall Community Centre, every Tuesday at 5.30pm and 7pm, or Wednesday at 9am and 10.30am, and will be representing Slimming World in a national team of slimmers from across the UK at the London Marathon.
The team will be running to raise money for Cancer Research UK and the Irish Cancer Society, with an aim to increase awareness of how keeping a healthy weight can reduce the risk of developing some types of cancer.
Supporting the charity’s research is particularly important to Maria, who lost a close friend to cancer. Maria, who aims to complete her first marathon in under five hours, said: “After spending years watching the race on TV and thinking it could never be me, to be actually running the worldfamous London Marathon is a real dream come true! “I need all the fuel I can get for marathon training – so potatoes, pasta, and rice are all regularly on the menu.
“I can’t wait for the atmosphere on race day and to cross that finish line. Achieving this dream would never have been possible before losing weight. I’m excited to give something back and raise money for Cancer Research UK and the Irish Cancer Society.”
I had a busy lifestyle so it was always very much eating for convenience.
Maria Bullock