DAVID LOOBY
THE WEXFORD OPERATION TRANSFORMATION LEADER ENDURED A TOUGH WEEK ON THE RTE SHOW, BUT GUSSERANE NATIVE MAIRÉAD REDMOND IS DETERMINED TO STICK TO HER GOALS. SHE SPOKE WITH
OPERATION TRANSFORMATION leader Maireád Redmond has defended herself amid criticism that she isn’t doing all that she can to lose weight and has vowed to get down to around 13 stone by the summer time.
Maireád came under fire on Wednesday night’s show for not attending a community walk in her native Gusserane.
Having failed to meet her weight loss target of 4lbs in the first week, only to bounce back and lose five pounds in week two, Maireád is reeling from a set back in Week Three in which she lost half a pound, falling short of her 3lb target.
Dr Ciara Kelly expressed frustration on the programme at what she saw as Maireád’s lack of commitment.
She said: ‘I don’t think you’re taking advantage of the opportunity you’ve been given to be a leader on Operation Transformation, but my greatest disappointment, and I was quite shocked actually, was to see your community organise a walk and you, the leader, didn’t bother to turn up for it.’
Chocolatier and pastry chef Maireád said she was exhausted and had to pull over due to driver fatigue during her commute home from the Truffle Fairy chcoclate cafe in Thomastown, where she works. ‘I was driving home from work and I was just exhausted. I was ten minutes from home and I was literally veering off the side of the road so I said I’d stop for a few minutes, but I ended up on the side of the road for half an hour and missed the walk. I have just been flat out. They didn’t put it on the show because the optics wouldn’t be good.’
Maireád lives at home with her parents, Noel and Mary. Her younger brother Adrian (20) is in college in Waterford I.T. and she has two older brothers: Sean (27), living in Waterford, and James (25) who lives locally.
She said her family are behind her 100 per cent, as is her community.
‘ There has been a massive amount of support. My family have been really supportive of me and my brothers are out walking with me at weekends and texting me in the morning to see if I want them to join me for a work out. We’re a very close family and we’re very honest with each other.’
Maireád said she knew from the start that Operation Transformation would be challenging.
‘You don’t sign up for a holiday. You sign up to challenge yourself and push yourself. The first week I was getting used to the portions, it wasn’t the type of food. You felt you weren’t getting enough. The second week was much better.’
She said failing to reach her targets on weeks one and three was a big disappointment for her.
‘Last week I made a mistake. I didn’t eat any of my snacks. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and while at work, (which can be very busy), the last thing on your mind is stopping to have a banana. You’d be disappointed for yourself and for the people who are following you when you don’t hit your target and there’s the rejection as well. I’m always one to focus on the positive but it’s very hard sometimes with some of the feedback you get. People only see four minutes of my week on the show. They don’t see the rest.’
Maireád does three cardio sessions and three resistance training sessions per week and has taken part in several walks.
Her focus is now on running and she kicked