The Carlow native is now a weight loss coach as she uses her experience to help others achieve their goals - she shares of how she yo-yo dieted for years until she made a change that helped her be successful
Carlow woman Deirdre McDonald had struggled with her weight for years, finding herself in the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting. She could never quite find the weight loss plan that helped her long term as she struggled to stay on track with restrictive diets.
However, she ended up cracking the code and losing three and a half stone – a loss which she has maintained for 16 years. She spoke to RSVP Magazine about the changes she made and how it resulted in her becoming a weight loss coach. Read more:Cork woman Anne Shine was a 'ticking time bomb' before her inspirational three stone weight lossDeirdre had battled her weight as a young adult, after becoming heavier as a teenager. She told us, “I had always struggled a little bit, but then I had finished secondary school and put on a little bit of weight. I was uncomfortable in my clothes and I felt like I couldn’t fit into what was in fashion at the time. “Then as I got older, the health aspect came into it and played a bigger part than just, ‘I want to look good in that item of clothing’. When you get older, you realise your weight is important to your health and to age well. “I was always looking for the next fad diet, always on and off a diet, doing this and that to try to lose weight. I was doing these ridiculous, extreme plans where you lose weight, but then when you start eating normally you put it all back on. It was a vicious circle.” Deirdre had a number of weight loss stints, but none of them stuck until she finally realised she needed to be in the right mindset for it, and that a fad diet would never be the answer. “I realised that this is a journey and not a race,” she said. “I knew I had to start to build some different and new habits that I could keep up long term so I could keep any weight loss off.” For Deirdre, who has since gone on to become a weight loss coach, it was all about those small, sustainable changes to live a healthier lifestyle. “All of my other attempts were go big or go home,” she laughed. “I had these big, long lists of changes I needed to make and stick to – I must exercise like this, I can only eat this amount of calories or have that amount of points, but I realised that is not sustainable and I’ll never be able to keep it up. It’s about small changes, done consistently, day by day and week by week that actually add up to make the difference.” The key to these changes were to keep them as simple as possible – use less oil when cooking, cut down slightly on portion sizes, drink more water and try to get some movement every day. “It wasn’t going from zero to 5k in a week, like I used to try and do,” said Deirdre. “It was, ‘well come on Deirdre, can you do 15 minutes today?’ The more you do that consistently, the more you realise it’s working.” Deirdre’s weight loss journey was 16 years ago, and she has maintained her three-and-a-half-stone weight loss ever since. It has completely changed her life and her health. “You sleep better, you feel better, you have more energy,” she said. “You’re driven in everything you do – family life and work, because you are in control. You’re controlling what is going on in your life instead of feeling controlled by food, because a lot of us do use food as a crutch. It’s understanding your habits and why you are overweight, and you can start making adjustments from there.” It’s clear Deirdre has a huge passion for healthier living and not using overeating as a coping mechanism, which makes sense as she has gone on to help others lose weight with her business, My Weigh With Deirdre.“I love teaching people and I love helping people,” she said. “Sometimes as a coach, you’re with someone when they’re at a low point with their motivation and it’s great to help them come along and come out the other side of that.” Her simplest advice for anyone who wants to embark on a weight loss journey is not to overcomplicate it. “Keep it simple, figure out what action you need to take this week to get started,” she said. “What changes do I need to make? Start with learning your habits and behaviours.”
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