Dr Eddie Murphy

It’s week 4 of Op-Trans, so how are our five leaders shaping up?

Halfway there! One of the best things we did on OT this week was a climb up the Sugarloaf in Co Wicklow. I brought my two children, who are 11 and 9, and they reminded me that my resolution for 2019 is to strive for health and happiness for my family. Now that’s hardly a startling thing to focus on, but the key is to turn that wish into achievable goals.

e mountain in life

Mountains are a metaphor for the challenges we all experience. We are confronted with a height and we sometimes have to face our biggest fears and nd ways of overcoming them. By overcoming or avoiding obstacles, we learn more about ourselves. When we strive and push ourselves, we learn about our potential, we are required to learn new skills and new knowledge in order to move ahead safely and with freedom. We learn to read the ‘terrain’, just as in life we need to understand what’s around us. We learn as a shared activity that we need to trust others as this is required for our survival.

On mountains, we see new horizons and new summits: new opportunities or new insights into what we have seen before. Find your mountain, climb it, overcome it!

Jean Tierney BRUFF, CO LIMERICK

Jean has a smile that melts the nation. She wants to take control of her own body, her own future. is is very exciting and with her wedding in the near future, Jean is trying to lose 7 inches from her waist. With the help of Karl’s exercise programme, Jean is losing a pound a week. My life coaching session with her is coming up soon on the show – I hope you too can get something from this.

Pamela Swayne YOUGHAL, CO CORK

Pamela hit her target and was greatly relieved. For her, the big issue is about getting structure in her week. e more structure and planning, the better the outcomes for weight loss and sustaining that over the long term. I think Karl will be advising Pam about involving her three dogs in her exercise routine.

Cathal Gallagher BALLYSHANNON, CO DONEGAL

Another great week for Cathal, losing 6lbs and exceeding his target. Cathal did well on the mountain climb, considering he struggles on inclines. However Cathal has many more mountains to climb as his risk of heart attack or stroke as assessed by Dr Sumi was 25% within a ten-year period. Imagine 100 people of a similar age and weight. Of that group, 25 would develop a cardiovascular disease in 10 years. Big mountains, best avoided

Siobhán O’Brien CLONSILLA, DUBLIN 15

Siobhan the ex-athlete wants to take up a new sport that combines exercise and social aspects, so she chose soccer. It’s never too late to try something new. I recommend that everyone takes up something new every three years: set dancing, bridge, book club, etc. Regard new activities as a tasting menu – you never know what you might like.

Paul Murphy TUBBERCURRY, CO SLIGO

I worry a lot about Paul. In e ect, he is experiencing burn-out, when someone becomes completely exhausted by overwork. Essentially it’s a state of chronic stress. His stress is experienced by business owners all over Ireland. He can’t see the wood from the trees and his default mode is to go back to work. Asking Paul to step o the treadmill and take a day o causes him more stress. When we only work, we don’t have awareness of our body, which can lead to an accident or injury as we are not aware. I genuinely feel for Paul: his transformation cannot be complete if he just loses weight and maintains the same punishing schedule.

By overcoming or avoiding obstacles, we learn more about ourselves. When we strive and push ourselves, we learn about our potential