“Myself and my wife Michele are keen runners. Not only is running a way to get fi t, it is great to release
stress from the pressures of everyday life. It is also a way to enjoy the adrenaline rush of running with thousands of other like-minded individuals on the streets of Dublin or the back roads of Limerick. We got the running bug back in 2009 and since then we have ran the Dublin Marathon four times. We have managed to shave off 40 minutes from both our first marathon finishing times in the Dublin marathon, achieving personal bests of 3hr 34 minutes and 3hr 44 minutes respectively this year.

We approached Elaine back in May 2010 to seek dietary advice in order to lose weight and to aid our training regime. Our training involves runs up to 4 times a week, starting from May to October, with distances ranging from 4 miles up to 23 miles in October. Returning home from training late in the evenings meant that we had no structure around our meals and nutrition. Initially we believed that this intense training regime would give us a passport to eat whatever we wanted, from chips to Mars Bars! We couldn’t
understand why we weren’t losing weight after all our running. We found rather than losing weight we were struggling to stay at an even weight.

We sought advice off Elaine and after she saw our eating diaries she recommended a low and controlled carbohydrate diet. We believe this decision to get help from Elaine changed our lives. We got a shock
when Elaine told us that we were “really partying” when it came to our eating habits and that if we hadn’t started the running the previous year we would both be two stone heavier! Elaine quickly recommended a complete change to our diet. We would have to learn to control our carb intake dependent upon the intensity level of the training. It meant that we cut down on unmeasured portions of pasta and potatoes, eliminated sugar in our diet in the form of biscuits and chocolate bars, and embraced our new best friend porridge. She also departed great dietary advice concerning hydration, starting food diaries, and cutting down
alcohol intake.

The results of the new food plans are that we have both lost weight – Michele 9.2kg (1.5 stone) and Tony 6.3kg (1 stone). We can now maintain healthy body weights, and stay injury free. More importantly we have been able to drastically improve our running times and are comfortable and confident both in and out of our running clothes. Visiting Elaine has changed our lives as she has taught us how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, something we feel we would not have been able to achieve on our own.

In every 100 grams of food:

Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses

Limit your intake of red and processed meat
Try to have 1 meat free day per week

Eat less salt

Do not use dietary supplements as a replacement for healthy food

Use the Food Pyramid to help you plan your meals every day

Make a food diary to stay on top of what you’re eating (use an App such as myfitnesspal or go to myfitnesspal.com)

Limit your alcohol intake

Aim for at least 30 minutes physical activity everyday

Keep weight within healthy BMI range – 18.5- 24.9 weight (kg) / height (m2)

Even as a child I was taller and bigger built than average, because of this I have always been shy and a person of few words, as I headed into my 20’s and 30’s the weight seemed to slowly creep up on me. However, unfortunately in January 2008 I lost my father through tragic circumstances, and only a few days later became a Dad myself for the first time, after waiting thirteen years for our miracle to arrive.

Due to the loss of my Dad and all that goes with such a tragedy, I had to go on anti depressants which unfortunately made my weight balloon more. It didn’t help that during that period in my life, I had to deal with sleepless nights, the feelings of grief and negativity, I just seemed to be barely getting by each day, because of which it seemed I was unable to help myself and didn’t want to take on board that people were concerned about my growing weight.

In January, 2012 my wife asked me to go to my Doctor and see if there was anything that could be done about my weight, as we had a very happy and active four year old to consider. To my own amazement I agreed when my GP referred me to the Dietetic Clinic. My shyness had always held me back, and when I attended the Clinic Elaine made me feel very comfortable as she went through everything with me. I have to date, taken on board, all of Elaine’s advice, and at this juncture would like to thank her for her support, as Elaine helped me build a confidence in myself that I could achieve this.

I was finding it difficult recently especially after the Christmas, but since going back to Elaine, last Saturday I feel that I can achieve it. The only regret I have is that I did not contact the Clinic before now. It is fantastic to be able to fit back into clothes that have been waiting in my wardrobe for me to lose weight. Because of my weight loss I have new energy, and a new lease of life. I would encourage anyone who is struggling with weight to keep trying because the feeling I have these days is worth all the struggles to get there.

• 2 chicken breast fi llets, sliced (or meat of your choice)
• 4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornfl our
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 bag beansprouts
• 3 spring onions (green part), chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 teaspoon fi nely chopped ginger
• 150g green beans
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

Method

1. Place meat in 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and cornflour in the fridge for 4 hours to marinate.

2. Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook noodlesaccording to packet instructions. Once cooked, run under cold water to prevent sticking.
3. Heat oil in wok until very hot and fry meat until cooked. Add beansprouts, spring onions, carrot, ginger and green beans to the wok and cook for 5 minutes. Add to the cooked noodles and the meat.

4. Stir and add the remaining dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir thoroughly and serve.

For more information visit www.greatlimerickrun.com

I have continued to lose weight since my last appearance and recently reached the 5 stone weight loss mark, however it has not been easy!

It has been a very long slow process due to my body’s difficulty in losing weight as a result of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Therefore it is a daily struggle to prevent myself from undoing all that I have achieved to date. Life events such as moving away from home, starting a new degree, increased socializing events and falling in love all appear to cause increase in food intake. Although I do allow myself to indulge sometimes, it is important to bear in mind the effort that you put into losing weight and whether it is worth having the extra helping of dinner, or the high calorie dessert for the second night in a row.
For those of you who struggle with weight I would encourage you to never give up, it is so rewarding when you reach targets that you set yourself such as buying yourself a new outfit and being able to feel and
look great because of the hard work and commitment you have invested.

A diet high in red and processed meat may cause increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Sources: Oireachtas Report Feb 2013 and WHO recommendations

I’ve also included a delicious, warming and healthy recipe that you can have to hand at any time over December to help you to avoid overindulging at other times of the day.

Keep in mind my tips to get you going for the New Year.

See you next month when we can all start the New Year together with new, attainable goals for our health and wellbeing!

For now, here’s to a happy and healthy Christmas for you and your family!

Best Wishes,

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 6 garlic cloves (no need to remove outer skin)
• 3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 9 small button mushrooms
• 9 Brussels sprouts
• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil or a few sprays of lo-cal spray
• Half a pint of vegetable stock
• Pinch of thyme (fresh or dried)
• Pinch of pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Place the vegetables and thyme in a roasting tin and lightly cover with your olive oil or lo-cal spray. Roast for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables occasionally until tender.

Serving suggestions: serve on their own as a snack or warming lunch, or as an accompaniment to a meat, fish or chicken dish.

Other ingredients: Although the above is a particularly delicious combination of vegetables, you could also use red onion, swede, turnip, parsnips, butternut squash or celeriac in this recipe.

Have ‘free days’ – Take December 24, 25, 26, 31 and 1 January as ‘free days’ (when you relax your standards a little) and then simply get back on track on the other days.

Fill up on goodness – eat plenty of winter vegetables (see recipe!) and seasonal fruits at meal times in order to fill up and avoid overindulging on less healthy foods at other times of the day.

Watch the booze – studies show that alcohol stimulates food intake (‘the munchies’) and can also increase
subjective feelings of hunger (plus it is full of ‘empty calories’ – see here).

Stay Stable –  aim to be the same weight for January 3 – it’s normal to put a few pounds on over Christmas
Day and Stephen’s Day, but then cut back on the intervening days to avoid weight gain