Noeleen Lynam, 2016
RECENTLY retired teacher Noeleen admitted: “I didn’t fall off the wagon during Covid – I jumped off.”
The 58-year-old – who was a popular leader in 2016 – lost her mother Maureen during the pandemic.
She said: “My mum was in a nursing home but she didn’t understand the lockdown and why we weren’t visiting. She died in October 2020. I took to food, thinking, ‘What’s the point?’ So I comforted myself with food. It was a self sabotaging thing.”
During her time as OT leader, The Ray D’arcy Show sent Noeleen on a blind date with a mystery man and although she is still single, finding a partner isn’t top of her to-do list.
She added: “I’m starting a new chapter in my life. I’ve been travelling all around the world. I haven’t found Prince Charming – yet. But it wouldn’t be No1 on my to-do list.”
A year after OT, Noeleen fit into a bridesmaid dress she wore to a pal’s 1996 wedding. She added: “If I don’t eat properly, I feel like a slug and that doesn’t help mentally. OT made me see how interconnected everything is. There’s healthy eating and exercise but mentally, getting into the right frame of mind is so important.
“I still follow the food plan with all the past OT recipes and eat them five nights out of seven. It became my way of life. Weight-wise, I kept it right off until lockdown.
“Now I’m at the stage, I’m retired, so no more blaming lockdown - it’s time to get back in order.
“I like swimming and I started cycling after OT as the Great Dublin Bike Ride asked me to be an ambassador so that got me back into that. I love it. OT really works if you follow it.
“Going on the show was the best thing I’ve done in my life and I’ve done a lot.”
‘Weight-wise I kept it all off until the start of lockdown’