23-year-old Natalie Burtina was treading on thin ice. And that’s probably not the best idea if, at your heaviest, you weighed 297 pounds.
The dental assistant from Victoria, Australia let her weight spiral out of control after the birth of her first son, Layton, in 2013. The breakup with her boyfriend following her son’s birth contributed to her picking up some unhealthy habits: excess sugar intake, processed foods binges, and late night junk food feasts.
She packed on the pounds quickly and admits to not even being able to look at herself in the mirror. What’s worse is that she was losing the ability to keep up with her son, who had recently been diagnosed with autism.
She told Mirror:
“I found being overweight and having an energetic son was difficult – I couldn’t keep up with him.
“Being a single mum it was really tough and my weight was also impacting me in my full-time job as a dental assistant.”
“Also, I didn’t like my image, I had no confidence and knew I needed to change that.”
And that’s exactly what she did. At the beginning of 2015, Natalie cut out all processed foods, sugar and junk food. She also claims to have replaced all the sugary drinks she was relying on before with good old H20.
“I pretty much just eat fruit, veggies and meat and only drink water.”
Natalie also started going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Her healthier lifestyle resulted in her shedding nearly half her body weight. She now weighs 165 pounds and looks incredible.
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Natalie now wants to become a personal trainer so she can help train other mothers with disabled children.
[h/t Mirror]