In our second instalment of the turn-your-life-around challenge, Fiona Tyrrell catches up with our three participants who are hoping to change their lives for the better.
As week two enters week three, some of the candidates who signed up for a six-week programme to address their health, fitness and lifestyle concerns, are finding the going sometimes tough, but still rewarding and all are seeing tangible results already.
All three have lost weight - Dermot O'Sullivan has lost 7lb, Fiona Gilboy has lost 6lb and Martin Whelan has surpassed his goal by 2lb by losing a total of 9lb, in the first two weeks.
They are also all feeling more toned as their exercise regimes kick in.
All three are being advised by a panel of experts, including a stress management expert, nutritionist and life coach and a fitness coach. They are taking part in the VHI Turn Your Life Around Challenge.
They have each set their personal goals. You can keep up to date on their progress every Tuesday in the Health Supplement and by logging on to www. vhi.ie where the three will post regular updates on their activities.
• Martin Whelan (33), a human resource director from Kilcullen, Co Kildare, is married with one child. Goal: Health and happiness.
The real highlight of week two for Martin was realising that he had lost 9lb on Friday. "I was totally over the moon. In fact, I genuinely had to get up on the scales four times to convince myself that it was right."
Having set a target of 7lb in two weeks, Martin was ahead of target and ahead of time. Even better, this realisation came the day after Martin had given in to some serious cravings and indulged in some leftover Christmas chocolates and topped it off with some biscuits. Aside from that, the healthy eating programme has now become second nature for Martin. "The habit of the fruit snack worked exceptionally well this week. Usually where I really fall down is the petrol station. It's so easy to pick up some sweets when you are going in to pay. Having fruit in the car, even though I'm not supposed to eat in the car at all, was a life saver."
Nutritionist Nuala Collins told Martin to cut out butter and to use garlic, chilli and pepper as healthy flavour enhancers. Lunch of a salad and soup is easy at work as the canteen serves up some good options. Even a work lunch in L'Ecrivain went well. He had celery soup and lean pork medallion.
At the gym Martin is starting to focus on his stomach area with abdominal exercises and stomach crunches. Martin has noticed that he is toning up all over. He has now moved the emphasis away from weight loss to fitness and hopes to join a tennis club and a sailing club later this year.
• Dermot O'Sullivan (41), programme manager with Bank of Ireland, from Cabinteely, Co Dublin, married with two children. Goal: Get fit and trim.
In week two Dermot's challenge from nutritionist Nuala Collins was to eat more wholegrains. She told him to have three servings a week and to go for oats, bran and brown bread. Wholegrains provide you with lots of healthy nutrients and they fill you up, she explained. They are also a good source of selenium, which is a priority for Dermot, who was advised by Nuala to give up taking vitamin tablets and supplements and get all his nutrients from food. He had been taking cod liver oil, vitamins A, C and E and selenium, which is a good anti-oxidant. To up his wholegrain intake Dermot ate more wholegrain pasta and sprinkled oats onto his diet yoghurt and his breakfast cereal. He also ate brown bread.
The fitness routine of gym sessions and jogs at lunchtime went well and Dermot went for his second spinning class last week, which is a great fat-burning form of exercise.He also started wearing a pedometer, which has sometimes encouraged him to walk the stairs to his fifth-floor office.
Thanks to his exercise routine and changed diet, Dermot has lost half a stone in the past two weeks.
Karen Belshaw's stress management exercises are doing the trick, he said. Now instead of hitting the snooze button in the morning Dermot is getting out of bed and lying down on a bed in another room for his five-minute deep breathing sessions. It has "worked wonders" for his morning routine - he even ate breakfast with his children during the week.
• Fiona Gilboy (29) from Stepaside, Co Dublin, works in human resources. She is getting married on March 4th. Goal: Fitter and healthier.
Week two for Fiona proved a little more difficult with chocolate cravings and tiredness to contend with.
"Last week I really sailed through but this week I was fairly tired. I'm not sure if was the weather or what."
She has kept up going to the gym and has been very self-disciplined. A sore and swollen knee at the start of the programme has been greatly helped by exercises set by fitness coach Philip Phelan.
Fiona is beginning to see the fruits of her labour and she now weighs 9 stone 10lb, down from 10 stone 2lb two weeks ago. "I am getting toned and my belly is skinnier. When you see it working it's so much easier to be motivated. I'm very pleased because I was a little bit disappointed in the first week. I guess I thought the weight was going to fall off me."
Nutritionist Nuala Collins has told Fiona to drink a probiotic yoghurt drink rather than taking supplements. This also serves as a handy calcium portion for Fiona. She has also stopped taking a multivitamin and is getting her vitamins from fruit and vegetables.
Last week Fiona has become more aware of her own thoughts and the impact of negative thinking. She is also taking time out for breathing exercises and reflection on the day's events. "If I notice myself re-living old arguments, I stop myself." Stress levels are low and pre-wedding panics are non-existent.