“Going into my 60s sexier, slimmer and stronger than ever!” Cath Hartley’s story
Transform Hub Warrington is lucky to have Cath Hartley. She is one inspirational woman and since joining the Hub in January 2022, she’s achieved the most incredible physical and mental transformation.
“I’ll be 60 next January and I can honestly say I have never felt better,” said Cath.
She spoke to us just two weeks before her wedding and honeymoon around America. “I bought my dress a year ago and it doesn't fit! The seamstress has had to take it in by 6 inches and when I went for my final fitting last week she said “Your waist is tiny!”. It was a nice feeling looking into the mirror and thinking “Wow!”. You know, instead of hating what you see.`
Cath hated her body when she joined Transform Hub and wanted to change both her physical and mental health.
“When I joined the Hub, my mental health was not the best. I didn’t know it at the time but I had unresolved trauma from stopping someone from taking their own life.”
“It hit me further down the line and then with taking voluntary redundancy just before lockdown, it all got a bit much. I piled on the weight and struggled to think straight.”
“In 2017 I had to have life-saving surgery and had a stoma bag fitted. I’d always been plagued with a slow bowel and could go 2-3 weeks without a bowel movement. This caused me no end of health problems and I was regularly hospitalised every few months.”
“My inability to rid my body of waste caused me to develop ulcerative colitis which became so severe I was left with no choice but to get a stoma.”
“It took me a long time to accept it and accept that it was a disability.”
“Now I am so proud of it and the next set of ‘after’ pictures I get taken at the Hub, I want to have my stoma on show to help others see that a disability doesn’t mean you can’t still achieve your goals.”
Cath loves living a life full of fitness and fun
Cath enjoys a non-alcoholic ‘Nosecco’ on nights out now
Cath enjoyed her hen party
“I am super competitive and I know sometimes that might intimidate people but I am there for me and it’s me against me. Sometimes I do have to remind myself that I’m nearly 60 and I can’t always do what the ladies half my age can do in the Hub, but I will always try!”
Cath is so keen to try that she’s hoping to compete in the Hyrox championships - the fitness race that’s taking over the world.
Hyrox is gruelling with every competitor following the same fitness format; a 1km run followed by a functional workout, repeated 8 times.
Cath faces some adversity in the burpees section of the competition due to her stoma “The burpees go all the way flat to the floor and I need to train around my stoma bag to see if this can be achieved.”
“I am really hoping so! I really want to take part as it’s around the time of my 60th birthday. I want to show that disability doesn’t have to get in the way of living a full and active life.”
Cath in Jan 2022, March 2022, July 2022 and now, March 2024
Cath has lived a full and active life. Mum of two, grandmother of six and a high-flying career in the banking sector has kept Cath very busy before semi-retiring just before lockdown.
Recently, Cath has found a passion project in creating a memorial business to help people through grief and bereavement. “I capture ashes in jewellery or personal things like breast milk, hair or fur in resin to create memories for people.”
Cath understands the impact of bereavement, having lost her first husband to cancer. “I was 31 when I was widowed. My children were only 6 and 9 when they lost their father.”
“Having things and mementoes to remember those you have loved is important. My memorial business started as a labour of love after losing loved ones in lockdown. The price of putting ashes into jewellery was so expensive so I looked at how to train myself to do it. I invested in the tools and the equipment and it is a real honour to make these important items for others.”
Cath is passionate about helping others and goes out of her way to make new Hub members feel welcome in her role as a Hub ambassador.
“I’ve been there when you’re first starting out and I know what it feels like. I have made friends for life at Transform Hub, in fact, many of them will be attending my wedding in a couple of weeks.”
Cath’s wedding is also a result of her time at Transform Hub and building up her confidence. “I organised a surprise garden party for my partner, Dale.
It was for his birthday but he had no idea that his birthday cake wasn’t just that, it was also a proposal cake too and I was the one to ask him to marry me.”
Cath and Dale at his surprise birthday/proposal party
One side of Dale’s cake
Cath presented Dale with his cake
And then turned it around to reveal the proposal!
“I always said after losing my first husband and then the PTSD stuff I went through that that was it, I would never marry again, I would never live with anyone again.”
“But here I am, about to marry Dale and go on a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon across America which includes a chance to experience a full solar eclipse - something we will never be able to do again in our lifetime.”
Manager of Transform Hub Warrington, James Loughran with Cath
James Loughran, manager and coach at Transform Hub Warrington said,
“Cath's journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment and determination.”
“From day one, she's shown what's possible when you set your mind to it.”
“I couldn't be prouder of her incredible transformation and the positive impact she's making on others as one of our ambassadors. Keep shining, Cath!”.
Cath aged 31 in 1996
Cath added, “I have gone from a size 18 to a 12 but it’s not necessarily about the weight loss, it’s my body shape and tone. My lean muscle and the way my waist has pulled in is amazing. Also, what the Hub has done for me mentally has been wonderful.”
“I don’t know where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for the Hub. I don’t think I would’ve made the progress I have if I’d carried on at the gym. You go to a gym and have to wait for equipment, get chatting with people you know, and give up on stuff. But with the Hub, you come in, work your arse off and know what you’ve done has been effective and made a difference. It’s not like that with a normal gym and you don’t get the support and accountability from the coaches.”
“I’ve also done this without counting calories and weighing my food too. People say to me “What’s your diet?” but I don’t call it a diet. It’s about eating the right things, not depriving yourself and living life to the fullest.”
If you’d like to live life to the fullest like Cath, click the link below to find your local Transform Hub and join the next 6 Week-Challenge.