People say I look great but that’s because I really feel great
Mum Michelle Rogan on setting up a healthy routine
SHE made herself a promise when she started Operation Transformation that target.she would fit back into her wedding dress. And in a few short weeks Michelle Rogan has hit her
The 36-year-old who is originally from Dublin but now lives inKilmessan Co Meath, with her husband David and their three children Layla, 11, Danny, 10, and one-yearold Sam, had used food as a crutch since the death of her sister Elizabeth from sudden cardiac arrest.
‘I suppose after Elizabeth died I used to ring David and say I wasn’t in the mood to cook so we would either go out for food or get a takeaway.
‘And if we went out, instead of just having the main course, I was eating starters, main course and dessert. That was twice a week, and then the takeaway was probably twice a week too.’
Michelle did go to the gym and exercise classes regularly but still found herself gaining weight.
‘I used food as a comfort and the weight piled on as you can’t out train a bad choice.’
With three children and the youngest still only one, Michelle also found it hard to get time for herself — something that will be familiar to many mothers.
‘I was only 24, having Layla, and then 25 having Danny and then Sam I had ten years after that.
You’re up half the night feeding but when the alarm goes off for school at 7am, you have to carry on
‘Having Layla and Danny so close together meant that when they were small, I didn’t have to run to football or tennis, or whatever other sports they do.
‘They are all on different days, there could be a number of drops and I had to bring Sam with me all the time. And I was just wrecked, I had no energy because I was eating so much rubbish and not exercising properly, not putting myself first.
‘And you are tired anyway — little ones are hard work, they take all the energy from you because you’re up half the night, anyway, feeding, and then life still goes on.
‘So when the alarm goes off at 7am for school for the other two, all you want to do is sleep because you’ve been up half the night and we just have to carry on.
‘And I suppose I didn’t sit down and have a good breakfast, even though the kids were having theirs and I was making it. While they were eating I would go and put on a wash or stick the dishwasher on as it is hard to keep on top of everything else.’
So one of the biggest changes that Michelle has made is that she now eats three regular meals every day.
‘It’s hard work to put yourself first,’ she says. ‘It was easier to just have the crap food and not train — that’s what I felt was the easier option. But you have to do it for you, not only your physical health, but your mental health as well.
‘So now I have three proper meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I know the food is going to fuel my body for energy and I make sure I eat as healthily as I can with nutritious and proper food.’
Another thing Michelle realises now is that one bad day doesn’t mean you should give up for good and with the help of dietician Sophie Pratt, she has restructured her eating regime and now fits back into that wedding dress.
‘I needed a push,’ she says. ‘With Sophie’s help I have realised I don’t need the take-aways or the bar of chocolate. I relied on food as a crutch and I didn’t realise it.
I feel absolutely wonderful. It was a lot of determination but I just want to be healthy. I want to be the healthiest version of me that I can possibly be for the kids as well.
‘And to show them that exercise and eating healthy food is good, it’s important.’
On this week’s programme Michelle gets given a clean bill of health by a cardiologist, an important moment for her.
‘And I do fit into my wedding dress again. It was a tight wedding dress and fitting back into it was a goal for me.
‘What I have found is my body shape completely changed since starting the show. The inches came off me a lot quicker than the scale moved down. What I was trying to prove with the wedding dress was don’t give up, even if the scale isn’t coming down quick enough for you. The change in my body shape was enough proof to keep me going.’
Now Michelle is excited about doing the 5kms in Phoenix Park this Saturday and she says her advice to others would be to have some self-belief.
‘Start small,’ she says. ‘You don’t have to go hell for leather with the exercise. You can just walk and fuel yourself with proper food. Believe in yourself and have the determination to do it.
‘In the space of seven short weeks my confidence has gone from two to I’d say about eight. People will say to me I look great but it is because I feel great. I feel a hundred times better since coming into the show.’
■ Operation Transformation is on RTE One on Wednesdays at 9.30pm and on the RTE Player.