Highway To Health

Odile 5FEB22

ccording to the very bould Jimmy Carr, for the first few weeks of any diet, you’re just finding your feet.

In truth, those setting out to get healthier and, eh, sveltier are searching for something within rather than without.

If you get our drift.

They’re finding a new way to approach their daily bread by breaking old bad habits and establishing some new, healthier ones.

For Odile Agnini, taking part in RTÉ’s long-running Operation Transformation was a chance to shake off the doldrums and the extra pounds two years of lockdowns and personal upheavals can bring whilst avoiding the easy pitfall of no longer enjoying her food.

Good healthy walks along the South Beach and homemade but healthy treats are the name of the game.

In the first of a series, Odile is keeping a diary of her Operation Transformation experience for the Guide – starting with just why it was that she signed up…

The most obvious answer would be: to lose weight. This is actually only partially true though…

From the beginning, I viewed my participation in this show as a chance, as a lifeline thrown my way. You see, I used to be a very outgoing, spontaneous, full of life and carefree person. My life was all about family, friends and a lot – and I mean a lot – of travelling.

Then, after 8 years of marriage, we decided that it was time to expand our family unit. My husband Paul and I naively believed that this would be straightforward and easy as many women, men and couples had been down this road before.

It all went swimmingly well until we had to say goodbye to our baby at just 16 weeks. This was a life-shattering moment that has forever changed us as a couple, and as individuals, and it forever altered the course of our lives.

The trauma from losing our baby stripped me of my confidence and ability to communicate. I have since realised that I knew very little about grief. Grief is such a complex and personal road that cannot be understood unless you have walked it and survived it.

And if you have, I am really sorry for the loved one you have lost. This is the thing, we hurt because we’ve loved so. This in itself is comforting, I find.

One of the hardest parts of this process initially was, strangely enough, managing other people’s reactions. I have lost one of my best friends as she simply could not comprehend what I was going through.

I have been extremely lucky to have been able to receive continuous professional support, plus unexpected support from family and friends – and, most importantly, from my truly amazing husband, who I can only describe as my best friend. Words can not describe how grateful I am for Paul’s love and patience.

The pandemic has been challenging for everyone, and over the past two years, we managed to add two pregnancies, one loss, grieving during lockdown, being pregnant in lockdown, selling and buying houses to get to Greystones, moving a business, dealing with work challenges, renovating a house, and all the other day-to-day fun and games. Suffice to say, it’s been exhausting…

I became a mum again with the birth of our daughter Evie, who was born in September 2020. I am now fulfilling my best and most challenging role to date.

The move to Greystones was a major milestone for us, one that we had been working on for years. This was not just about physically moving but about a lifestyle change too, an opportunity to turn a page and continue writing our life stories but with newfound hope and a new outlook on life.

While I was working on my emotions, one area I had been struggling with was my weight and this was a consequence, in a way, of my emotions.

I had not been looking after myself the way I should have, and giving up cigarettes a few years ago (I was smoking a pack a day!) only added some digits to the scales. I would have considered myself quite well-informed on nutrition and to be honest, we ate well – or so we thought. I therefore could not figure out why or what my issue was when it came to putting on the pounds.

Getting a gastric sleeve did cross my mind but, as well as being terrified of this kind of intervention, I’m not sure I would have been a good candidate. So, when I happened upon the ad about the Operation Transformation, it just clicked.

It was obvious that I had to do it; I had to apply. Yes, Ireland might be watching my every step, my every bite but, that might actually be a good thing.

The one thing I have learnt is that no matter what you are going through and how lonely and isolated you may feel, you are not alone. You must believe that. There are others who have been there before and are there right now.

If you feel like crying, cry. If you want to scream, do just that: scream. Do whatever you can to let it but, be kind and gentle to yourself.

There are people around you who want to help you, listen to you, there are people who truly care about you and are waiting for you…

AS Cecelia Ahern says, “So now, all alone or not, you gotta walk ahead. Thing to remember is, if we’re all alone, then we’re all together in that too.”

So, you see, contrary to what many people think, Operation Transformation is not just about weight loss, it is not just about the numbers on a scale, it is so much more. It is now about a more holistic journey to health and wellbeing. It is about changing what you are not happy with, confront your emotions and unlocking what is holding you back and/or preventing you from being yourself.

For my part, if my story brings some comfort to someone reading this, that’s a much more important weight lifted…

You can keep up with Odile’s progress over on the Operation Transformation Instagram page here and Facebook here.