I’ll never be skinny. I have to work hard at being trim, says Mairéad

MAIRÉAD Ronan says she will never be a skinnymalink but the Ireland’s Fittest Family host says she has to work out a lot to keep herself in shape.

‘I’ll never be a skinny minnie. I’ve an underactive thyroid gland which is the bane of a lot of Irish people,’ the RTÉ presenter, right, said.

The condition, which causes the thyroid not to produce enough hormones, can lead to tiredness, weight gain and depression.

The mother-of-two, pictured right, said that gym work has helped her keep trim but that she still gets people commenting on her image.

‘The biggest back-handed compliment that I get, and I got it about 50 or 60 times at an event last week is, “You’re tiny” and I say, “I know I’m so fat on TV!” and I’m not. I just have a big bust and I’m small in height so when you’re small and you’ve a big bust, you just look bigger than you actually are. So I will always have to do some sort of workout.’

The former Today FM producer, 37, has just taken up yoga and works out regularly. ‘I’m in a local gym in Glasnevin three days a week and recently I do yoga on Wednesdays,’ she said. ‘I’ve always wanted to do it but never had the time. I now make the time for yoga.’

And when it comes to diet, meals are very much a family affair, as she likes to cook wholesome meals from scratch for her businessman husband Louis Ronan, her son Dara and daughter Eliza.

‘I’m a home cook,’ she says. ‘ We cook everything from scratch, I love Derval O’Rourke’s cookbooks, her first one is my favourite. There are about five or six things in that I do a lot of. They are really simple, really taste, wholesome, good for the family.

‘My food is a lot of shepherd’s pie and chickens and a lot of mammy dinners and I’m happy with that, I’ve plenty of energy. I’m not avocado-on-toast mummy, I’m scrambled-egg-on-toast mummy.’

The Dubliner welcomed baby Eliza with husband Louis in 2016. They married in June 2015.

Her son Dara is from her first marriage to Eddie Fitzpatrick and she says the ten-year-old is a great help with toddler Eliza.

The presenter, who helped develop a range of hair brushes that launched in 2016, is delighted to lend her support to this year’s Great Irish Bake for Temple Street as an ambassador for the event.

The annual campaign encourages people all over Ireland to host a bake sale to raise vital funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. You can register online at templestreet.ie/greatirishbake today to receive your toolkit with everything you need to make your fundraising cake sale a tasty triumph.