100kg DOWN FOR THE JOEL FAMILY!

After 40-odd years of battling to lose weight, Natalie and Howard Joel knew that it was time to make a serious lifestyle change. Together, they committed to eating low-carb, and the dramatic results speak for themselves.

- ASHLEIGH ROMAN

Over the years, Natalie Joel steadily put on more and more weight, particularly after the birth of each of her five children. ‘People would say to me: “Don’t worry – when you breastfeed, you’ll lose it,” but it only got worse,’ she says. ‘Between pregnancies, I would lose a bit of weight, then it would come right back. I struggled for about 43 years. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked.’

Natalie threw herself into exercise: she did boxing three times a week, attended spinning class and swam every day, but still failed to see any changes. ‘I was so tired of feeling the way I did. I was wearing a size XXXL. I had to tailor some of my clothing to fit – I was one size away from being unable to fit into the clothing at Donna!,’ she recalls.

After consulting a dietician, Natalie was given a strict eating plan as well as pills to control her appetite. ‘I tried it and I lost a bit, but after a few weeks I was starving again. So the dietician gave me a stronger pill, but it was the same story all over again.’