From 2007
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| Vanessa Gavalya; hair & makeup: Loren Holt/Kim Dawson Agency; Natalie is wearing Laurie B. Rag Doll Coat ($193/Sussie’s), Laurie B. Bal Dress ($167/Sussie’s), and Omnatura necklaces in Onyx and Amethyst ($148 & $143/L. Bartlett, west village) |
Age: 32
Profession: Account maintenance clerk for auto finance company
Motivation: Garrett, her son
Would Never Give Up: Thin-crust hamburger pizza
Starting Weight: 232
Pounds Lost: 73
LEAN AND LOVING IT
After struggling with obesity her entire life, Natalie Bullock knew she had to make a permanent change. Diabetes runs in her family, and the single mom wanted to be healthy for her 9-year-old son. “My son only has me,” she says. “Anything could happen, but … I wanted to do things to contribute to a healthier me.”
Natalie had tried Atkins, sipped her fair share of Slim-Fast drinks, and had even resorted to diet pills. But in April 2004, she turned to Weight Watchers and began monitoring her diet using the program’s Points® plan. Her encouragement came from a good friend who had dropped 100 pounds. “I knew if she could do it, I could do it.”
Natalie couldn’t afford a gym membership, but she walked for an hour every day during work breaks and lunch. Three or four days a week, in the evenings, she varied her workouts: bike riding with friends, walking at a nearby junior high track (while her son pedaled along on his scooter) or on a treadmill, or working out to a Billy Blanks Boot Camp video.
Challenges arose when girls’ night out rolled around. “You’ve got to have your days,” she says. “I gave myself at least once a week to do what I wanted and have what I wanted.”
By September 2006, she had dropped 73 pounds. “When I got into a size 10, I almost fell over. That was the, ‘Wow, I actually did it.’”
Since then, she has enrolled in night courses to become a registered nurse. She also has more energy for activities with her son. “I even went skating with him,” she says. “I hadn’t skated since junior high.”
And she’s not slowing down. Her goal is to lose another 28 pounds. “I feel like a completely different person now,” she says. “I have so much more energy and have really enjoyed the new wardrobe. It’s been a long and difficult road but well worth it.”