Inside OPERATION TRANSFORMATION 2020
is year, OT has a new home in Tullamore, Co Offaly. As a Midlands man myself, it’s great to present OT’s well-being message from this o en overlooked but beautiful region. It will take me a few weeks to get ‘under the hood’ with each of the Leaders, to gure out what’s going on.
Lorraine
Starting weight 12st 5lbs
Lorraine is a barber, a businesswoman who has lost her way. She is our lightest leader. She has two children, Mia and the energetic toddler, Jodie, with her partner, Terry. She is the classic pear shape and her metabolic age at the start of the process was the oldest of the group, at 61, a reflection of the ratio of muscle/fat in the body. The general aim for OT is a 10% weight loss. As a former marathon runner who has raised thousands for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, I think Lorraine has what it takes to succeed.
She introduced me to a new word, a ‘foosie,’ a Cavan word for a treat. Too many chocolate foosies have been Lorraine’s downfall! Lorraine and I have work to do on her poor body image.
Shane
Starting weight 20st 7lbs
Busy, busy Shane: I can’t keep up! He is a teacher, a musical theatre director doing shows all over the country and a dad to four children. He is a classic apple shape, like myself, with weight carried in the abdomen, a higher cardiovascular risk. He is also a classic dashboard diner. I am curious about Shane, wondering how he makes time for everything he does. I have great admiration for Shane’s courage, stepping out in front of the nation.
Barry
Starting weight 29st 4lbs
Barry is big in all ways. A chartered physiotherapist, a rugby player and a height of 6’7” (2m). Barry is married to Andrea and they are our rst OT couple. Barry’s 29st 4lbs includes 16st 12lbs of muscle. As OT is all about sustainable weight loss, Barry’s high proportion of muscle, which has a higher metabolic rate, has prompted Aoife to increase his portions of food – possibly a rst on the show! Despite this, Barry has already reported feeling hungry, I have never heard of an OT leader hungry a lot of the time. I suppose it’s still a period of recalibration for him. I have challenged Barry to give up vaping; while it is de nitely better for you than smoking, there is increasing evidence that vaping is still bad for you!
Andrea
Starting weight 21st 2lbs
Andrea is a senior scientist in a pharmaceutical company. I think her biggest issue is that she has fallen into the habit of eating similar-sized portions to her husband Barry. It’s important that Andrea doesn’t compare her weight loss journey to Barry’s; men tend to have the advantage of greater muscle mass (and metabolic rate) when it comes to losing weight. They are a lovely couple, who are six months married and plan to have a child soon. Andrea is a driven professional person, and I would like to explore with her if that drive is entirely for herself or is there a component of trying to to please others?
Tanya
Starting weight 14st 11lbs
Tanya is a care worker and parent to four children: Abbie (16), Rian (10), Mark (5), and Odhran (1) – a busy lady. I suspect Tanya may have issues with her self- con dence and self- esteem. Practically, however, her biggest hurdle is that Tanya is a cola addict, drinking 10-12 cans of the full-fat variety per day. She even wakes up at night to drink coke and carefully plans her shopping so she never runs short, buying a slab of 24 cans every two days. Changing this behaviour is going to be tough for Tanya, as she deals with withdrawal and cravings. Even the thought of stopping her cola habit was overwhelming at the rst weigh-in. Fingers crossed for Tanya: if she cracks this, she will be well on the way.