WEEK 6: Ciara McDonnell’s six-week weight loss programme comes to an end
For six weeks I have been training with the team behind One Arena, a new fitness concept that will open in Cork later this year.
My trainer, Edward Finn has teamed up with well-known proprietors of Perry Street Market Café, Paul Coffey and Brian Drinan to create One Arena.
The idea is to harness the expertise of Brian and Paul in food and hospitality and Eddie in fitness and nutrition, to create a fitness, nutrition and lifestyle service the likes of which does not exist in Ireland at the moment.
I have been their willing guinea pig, and while there have been highs and lows on my journey, there is no denying that this stuff works.
I am literally less of a woman.
Over the six weeks I have shed 6.5kg (just over a stone), and 12.5 inches from my body.
I have gone from wearing a size 16/18 dress to a 12 with a generous 14 covering my more than ample bum in trousers.
As someone who had become resigned to always being the bigger girl in the room, I literally can’t believe how far I’ve come.
I feel distinct imposter syndrome — as though one morning I will wake up and it will all be a dream and I will be back in that changing room, staring at my larger than life self under fluorescent lighting.
My perception of fitness has changed dramatically.
Eddie has taught me a huge amount about the way muscles work during training, and now that I have an idea of the mechanics of becoming fitter, I have a huge respect for my body, and the work that it does for me.
During the last week, I started to panic about what I was going to do without my thrice-weekly sessions, and decided to give running a try.
It’s an easy exercise solution for me.
I loved to run during my late teens, and I live on the Old Head of Kinsale, which is one of the most beautiful places in the country, so the idea that my daily exercise can be done on my doorstep, in heavenly surroundings, in is an added bonus.
I can run 5km in just over half an hour, which coming from someone who couldn’t run to her postbox without wheezing six weeks ago, is a testament to the work that I have done with Eddie.
The training goes hand in hand, as far as I see it.
Without all of the strengthening work that I have done with Eddie, I would never be able to run 5km.
Without the core work he makes me do (and I hate every bit of), my hips or my back would be giving out, especially on hills.
I can’t stop now. I feel as though I am on the road to somewhere I really want to be, and I am determined to keep the exercising up.
My plan is to run four to five times a week and supplement it with strength training, to maintain muscle strength and prevent injury.
I want to be able to run a 10k in the next two to three months.
I can’t believe I am writing this — the old fat me is laughing in my head — but I want to challenge myself.
Mostly, I want to continue to become healthy.
And so, to food. I haven’t eaten bread or potatoes, or rice or pasta in almost two months, and after the initial heartache of saying goodbye to my best friend, Pepperoni Pizza, I feel much better for it.
That’s not to say that I will never have pizza again, just that it will be a rare treat, rather than a twice-weekly dinner of choice.
Eddie has suggested an 80:20 approach to food, and I like it.
I have worked hard to eat in this new way, and re-educate myself in terms of how my kitchen can work for me.
The results are good; I have developed family meals that I know are packed with nutrition, and better yet, my whole family will eat.
I will stick to a high protein and good fat meal plan during the week, with one or two treats at the weekend.
That way, I hope to be able to maintain this new way of life.
There is no denying that it is a more expensive way to live; particularly if you want to eat meat that is reared in a higher welfare way (and I absolutely do), but I supplement meat a lot with eggs and pulses, both for my digestion and for my wallet.
The best, most rewarding thing happened to me last week, and it is the reason why I know that this journey was a crucial one for me to make.
I was running down from the top of the Old Head, towards my house. It was a drizzly, very early morning and the workout had been hard.
The curtains in one of our front bedrooms twitched and two little faces appeared from underneath - my sons.
I stumbled in the door five minutes later and my five year old ran into the kitchen, exclaiming, “Mammy! I saw you running down the hill! I can’t wait until I am big enough to go running with you!”
My child wants to go running with me.
My son thinks I am fit, and that it is cool to want to be fit.
In that moment, all the hateful things I have thought of myself over the years dissipated, because I know with absolute certainty, that this journey with One Arena has changed my family’s approach to fitness and health, forever.
88kg
38in
14 inches
42½ inches
L: 12in R: 12in
33¼ inches
42¼ inches
L: 25in R: 26in
81.5kg
34in
13.5 inches
42¼ inches
L: 11.5in R:11.5in
31 ¼ inches
40 ¾ inches
L: 24in R: 25in
6.5kg lost, 12.5 inches lost
100g dates without stones 150g ground almonds
100g desiccated coconut
70g cashew butter
20g crunchy peanut butter
200g dates without stones
200g 70%-80% cocoa chocolate
50g toasted crushed hazelnuts
50g dried gogi or cranberries
Pulse the dates in blender with a spoonful or two of water until you get a paste. Place paste in a bowl and add coconut and almonds, and mix well until totally combined.
Stretch some cling film over a square tray. Pour in the base mix and spread to edges and pat it down. Place in freezer for 10 minutes.
Put the cashew butter, peanut butter, and dates in blender. Blend until you have a thick filling. Take base from freezer and pour in filling, spread it into edges of tin and pat it down. Place back in freezer for 10 minutes.
Melt the chocolate. Pour on top of the filling and move tray from side to side until it is completely covered in chocolate. While chocolate is still soft sprinkle with hazelnuts and berries.
Food Diary
Scone, butter, and raspberry jam.
Bowl homemade root vegetable soup, white bread toasted sandwich with Cheddar, onion, and tomato.
Two mini Snickers or a handful of chocolate peanuts.
Homemade chilli con carne served in three white tortilla wraps, loaded with guacamole, salsa, cheese, and lettuce, with some tortilla chips and extra guacamole on the side.
Tea and biscuits.
30g porridge made with water, with homemade rhubarb compote. If I am training I have a boiled egg. Mid-morning snack, a rice cake with Meridian peanut butter, and banana slices.
Lettuce, cucumber, scallions, tomato, peppers, leftover chicken, satay dressing, roasted peanuts.
Handful roasted almonds or wasabi peas.
Mexican beef with sweetcorn, guacamole, black beans, lime and coriander, tomato salsa and lettuce.
0% fat Greek yoghurt with ½ tsp honey and 1 tsp Meridian peanut butter.
Ciara has just finished her six weeks with me. She lost 6.5kg, which is just over a stone, and inches everywhere. For me, this is only part of the success.
Ciara’s whole mind-set towards nutrition and exercise has changed.
As I told her from day one, the weight loss and physical change would happen.
It would be a by-product of eating right and training hard.
The main thing was that Ciara enjoyed it and found a way to incorporate it into her busy schedule.
There were ups and downs with training and nutrition.
This is all part of the journey, and life can get in the way. Ciara now has a nutrition plan that works for her, and has incorporated exercise as a daily routine in her life.
* edward@onearena.ie or Facebook: Edward Finn Fitness & Personal Training.
At Home Workout
The Glute Bridge is a brilliant exercise for building your hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and extensors, with support from the muscles of the lower back.
If you keep the muscles of your posterior chain strong and active, you will not only get a great butt, but also improve your posture and avoid lower back pain, one of most common aches for sedentary workers.
Lie on your back with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Keep your back straight, with a neutral spine.
Drive your hips in the air, pushing up through your heels.
Squeeze glutes at the top of the movement.
Hold position for 30-60 seconds and repeat three times
