Operation Transformation review: Burnout fears force Lorraine off her exercise plan
Primary school principal, Lorraine Dempsey was taken off the exercise plan this week.
In an Operation Transformation first, one of the show’s participants was taken off of their exercise plan this week as the experts were concerned about the possibility of burnout.
It’s week four and our ‘leaders’ are still getting used to their new meal and exercise plans but it seems to be paying off for most, with four out of five of our leaders seeing improvements this week — though some intervention was needed.
We start in Wicklow where school principal Lorraine Dempsey sat down with Dr Eddie Murphy to discuss how she can best manage her stress. Dr Murphy fears she is close to the point of burnout and her homework for the week is to stop checking her work phone in the evenings.
The mother of three celebrated her birthday this week as did our host Kathryn Thomas. Sat on top of Lorraine’s cake were the number ‘2’ and ‘1’ — “lovely to be 21 again,” she jokes.
At check-in, Lorraine is down three pounds but she is given a stern warning and for the first time, Karl Henry makes the decision to take her off of the exercise plan. He says she's exhausted while Dr Murphy admits they are concerned about her.
So, there’s no running and no resistance work for Lorraine and instead, she has to replace those sessions with some gentle, easy movement.
In Tipperary, Marie Clear is on her bike and off to Centre Parcs in Longford for her holidays.
As Marie was born with Achondroplasia, dietician Sophie Pratt has made some changes to her meal plan to help increase her muscle mass. The changes caused some confusion in the kitchen but as is becoming a weekly tradition, mammy Angela was at hand for some words of wisdom and a bit of tough love.
In week one, Marie struggled with seeing herself on TV and now, she tells Dr Murphy that she wants to work on accepting herself.
“There’s no point in me telling everyone to be kind when I can’t be kind to myself,” she says.
But there’s a pep in her step as Marie is surprised to learn she is down three pounds.
Kathryn Thomas and her daughter Grace visit Stephanie Bowden and her daughter Aoife for a play date. By the end of the week, the Dublin leader is given the all-clear to get back running after her injury last week. However, there is a twist.
Karl is determined to get Stephanie running on her own which is a major step in overcoming her fear of having a heart attack. Previously, she brought running companions out of fear that something might happen.
With Westlife in her ears for motivation, she heads out and while “petrified”, she does it. And it’s paid off — she’s down four pounds at check-in.
In Portlaoise, Andrea Daly has been struggling with her meal plan, so Sophie Pratt stops by to help her spice things up in the kitchen.
The food on her meal plan is a little bland, Andrea says and despite the Daly’s not being the biggest fans of fish, Sophie seems demined and they get stuck in with some fish cakes. Sitting around the kitchen table, they don’t look too impressed but thankfully husband Joe is there to eat the leftovers.
In another surprise visit, 2021 OT leader Andrew Burke Hannon stops by for a resistance workout and a touching moment with an emotional Andrea as he offers up some motivating words and tells her she's "well able". Surprisingly at check in Andrea is up one and a half pounds — it’s the fish, she says. But the good news is her general movement has increased significantly.
Meanwhile, Longford man Thomas Hynes is in with the cardiologist to undergo some tests following his heart attack in 2018 and it is determined that a sleep study may be needed in order to see if he is suffering from sleep apnea.
He unites with Tipperary leader Marie for a walk with the staff and clients with St Cristopher’s special school in Longford and all in all, it’s been a good week. Thomas is down five pounds with an overall loss of 13.5 pounds so far.
