Cathy Stevenson sheds seven stone in marathon diet effort (From York Press)

Cathy Stevenson sheds seven stone in marathon diet effort

9:30am Saturday 31st July 2010 in

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TWO-AND-A-HALF years ago Cathy Stevenson weighed almost 22 stone and could not even run for a bus.

Today, the 33-year-old is in training for September’s Great North Run after shedding seven stone and dropping five dress sizes.

Cathy has already tackled the 2008 York Race For Life and 2009 Jane Tomlinson York 10k – and next year she has her sights set on completing the London Marathon.

She said: “I hated exercise before. PE was my worst subject at school and I wouldn’t walk anywhere. I would either catch a bus or get a taxi. But now my life is just so different. I’m always out doing things whereas before I was just sitting at home watching the TV and stuffing my face. I have always really loved my food and I love cooking.

“What I was eating was all home- cooked, good food, just a lot of it.

“If I made a big lasagne for six to eight people I would probably demolish half of it – there was never much left.”

Cathy, who is 5ft 11ins tall and lives in Strensall, said she realised she needed to make some serious changes to her lifestyle after her health started to deteriorate.

She said: “I was suffering from aches and pains in weird places and my asthma was really bad.

“It got to the point where I thought enough is enough, I need to get myself healthy.

“The big kick came when I was trying to find a dress for a Christmas do a couple of years ago and my normal shops didn’t really cater for my size, so I ended up plumping for something that wasn’t very glamorous.”

Cathy, who works as a records assistant at Network Rail, started attending a boxing class and then plucked up the courage to join a gym.

She now exercises nearly every day, whether it is at the gym, in the swimming pool or on the roads.

She said: “My asthma is tons better. I had always used it as an excuse not to exercise, but actually exercise has helped to regulate my breathing.”

Cathy now weighs 14 stone, nine pounds and has dropped from a size 26 to 16 – but still hopes to lose another stone to reach her goal.

She is raising money for Asthma UK and has an online fundraising page at justgiving.com/bigCathrunning