WHEN Natalie Welsh’s boyfriend proposed to her on top of the Empire State Building there was one thought running around her mind - she didn’t want to be a fat bride.
For most of her life, the 37-year-old had struggled with her weight, and recalls being nicknamed ‘Fatty Natty’ by school bullies.
But as soon as she said ‘yes’ she knew there was no way she was going to get married looking like Fatty Natty.
“I knew I had to take action,” she said.
Natalie embarked on her weight loss journey before fat jabs became available, but says she wouldn’t have chosen them as a way to lose weight, preferring the surgery she had instead.
“I’m glad I had the surgery, as it was the best option for me, and I would pick that again over the jabs.
“85 per cent of my stomach was removed during the operation, which meant I wouldn’t be able to slip back into my old habits and pile the weight back on again.
“The jabs are an accessible way to lose weight for some people, who may not be able to have weight loss surgery.
“Surgery isn’t an easy option, but it was a permanent one, which I felt suited me best.”
And her decision certainly paid off. As she managed to walk down the aisle on her wedding day to marry partner Darren eight stone lighter.
“Darren said I looked incredible when he saw me in my wedding dress - he’d told me that many times before, but for the first time ever, I believed it.”
Natalie’s battle with her weight began when she was just eight.
“I would hide away in the playground eating my sandwich and hoping no-one would spot me,’ she remembers.
“But then someone would shout across the playground ‘Alright Fatty Natty’, and I’d turn crimson with embarrassment.
"The nickname followed me all through primary school and into secondary too.
“My sweet tooth and lack of portion control were my downfalls, along with a habit of snacking.”
By the time she was 15, Natalie, who lives in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, weighed a hefty 16 stone.
Determined that others wouldn’t suffer like she did, she decided to become a teacher, and show them that looks didn’t matter.
I’d find a diet, shed a few stone and feel great. But then I’d treat myself to a takeaway for tea, or scoff a packet of biscuits after a bad day, and the weight I’d lost would just pile back on
Natalie Welsh
But she still wanted to be a healthy role model and tried to diet, but nothing worked.
“I’d find a diet, shed a few stone and feel great. But then I’d treat myself to a takeaway for tea, or scoff a packet of biscuits after a bad day, and the weight I’d lost would just pile back on.
“It was still yo-yoing when I started working as a primary school teacher at the age of 22. I was a size 20 and weighed 17 stone.
“I would teach PE and I’d be wobbling all over, as I demonstrated star jumps.
"I could still hear all those taunts of ‘Fatty Natty’ in my head. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t stick to a diet.”
After having son Harry in July 2017 she ballooned even more, and then after giving birth to daughter Ella in October 2019.
She was self conscious about her size when she started dating partner Darren, 44, in 2021.
“He would tell me I looked great, but I didn’t feel it,” she confessed.
“My weight was stopping me from being the mum I wanted to be. I couldn’t follow the kids around on the soft play. I was too big to go up the slide after Harry and I could feel the other parents staring at me as I tried to get him to come down.”
Darren whisked Natalie away on a romantic trip to New York in February 2023, and proposed to her on top of the Empire State Building.
She was thrilled, but knew that she had to take drastic action. She decided that diets hadn’t worked in the past, so decided to have a gastric sleeve operation, where doctors would remove 85 per cent of her stomach. She found a clinic in Turkey, and spent £2600 on the operation.
She said: “I was in pain afterwards, but it didn’t matter. I just thought about the new life I was going to have. I was going to be able to chase after Harry in the playground, and marry Darren in a slinky wedding dress.”
She ate tiny portions, as it was all she could manage, and began losing weight fast.
In six months, she had lost five stone.
And by May last year, she had lost eight stone, weighing a much slimmer 9 stone 10.
The couple got married in Gretna Green, and she wore a size eight wedding dress.
She said: “I felt fantastic on my wedding day - it was Fatty Natty no more. The kids love having a mum who can do more with them. And I still teach the kids at school that kindness counts, but I’m also the healthy role model that I always wanted to be.”
For many people who are overweight or obese, they may feel they have exhausted options for weight loss and want to try something more drastic.
Weight loss surgery may be available to them on the NHS if they have a BMI over 40 and have a condition that may be improved with weight loss, such as diabetes.
But the availability of these procedures largely depends on where you live in the UK. People can also pay privately.
Weight loss surgery is a common and safe procedure. However, as with any operation, there are risks, such as a blood clot, a band slipping out of place, a stomach infection, gallstones and excessive skin from weight loss that in most cases, won’t be removed on the NHS.
In all of the following options, the space in the stomach is reduced, therefore a person feels fuller after eating less food. They lose weight as a result.
However, it is necessary for them to also learn good eating habits and have a healthy balanced diet, too.
Gastric bypass
The stomach is divided into two using a staple. The smaller part is connected to the intestines, effectively cutting how much space there is in the stomach by half.
The operation takes around two hours.
Gastric band
A band is tied around the top of the stomach and inflated so that it tightens.
The operation takes three to four hours.
Gastric balloon
Patients swallow an empty balloon which is attached to a tube.
The balloon is filled with water via the tube, taking around 20 minutes, so that it fills around two-thirds of the stomach space.
Sleeve gastrectomy
Around 80 per cent of the stomach is removed in surgery to make it much smaller and a sleeve shape.
The operation takes between one and three hours.
