Life-changing weight-loss for Therese

One year on from her momentous weight loss, Therese Young is maintaining her target weight and feeling better than ever, she tells Carol Byrne

‘THE pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change and the realist adjusts the sails,’ is a phrase that Kilrush woman Therese Young feels best describes her journey to weight loss, having lost 14 stone in a year and a half.
“I lead a very active life in the community of Kilrush and am very involved in all aspects pertaining to the sea, swimming, sailing and fundraising for the lifeboats. I see myself as a realist, having adjusted my views so that I could utilise my positive approach to life to modify my lifestyle to embrace my target goal. That is what I had to do to get to where I am today,” she told The Clare Champion.
Therese sought help three years ago from the Motivation Weight Management Clinic in Limerick, making the 120-mile round trip for the duration of her programme. Her maintenance visits are a little closer though, as Motivation recently opened a clinic in Ennis. The 51-year-old reveals that having gone from 26 stone to 12 stone, she hasn’t looked back since.
“Little did I think that in 2011 I would sit and discuss how I lost weight, as I am a very shy and private person, who never discussed my weight in the past. Whenever it was brought up in conversation I always changed the subject or got defensive,” she said.
This all changed in June 2008 when Therese was out sailing with her sister and family. While chatting on board, the two sisters decided to lose weight, so Therese’s sister contacted Motivation Weight Management and they attended an appointment the following week. On deciding to embark on the weight-loss programme, Therese knew it would be a huge challenge but one she was ready to embrace.
“I was not one for dieting and my response to my gaining weight was to ignore it and hope it would go away of its own accord. My social life has always been extremely dynamic and my involvement in community activities has always been such that my own health and well-being was always neglected. I always drove everywhere. Actual exercise did not figure in the day-to-day running of my life. I did not make time for it,” she explained.
Therese said she only realised she was putting on weight because she found it harder and harder to get clothes to fit her.
“I kept putting off the inevitable. I never lost any sick days due to my weight nor did I have any of the health problems people would normally assume go hand in hand with being overweight. Although I have severe lymphodema (fluid retention) in my lower body, I was never ill, never flagged or got too exhausted to fulfil my commitments to others. In all, because I experienced no real ‘adverse effects’, I didn’t see my weight as having a detrimental effect on me at all,” she revealed.
When she went for her first appointment with Motivation, Therese weighed in at 26 stone.
The clinic’s approach to weight loss is one that focuses on what people eat and why they eat and their programme is designed to help clients reach their desired weight and maintain it. Among the aspects the programme addresses are emotional reasons that may act as triggers to eating and they examine why certain behaviour exists through private, individual consultations. The clinics help design a nutritional plan suited to each individual and provide motivational material and a food diary that the client then uses throughout the programme.
“Every person’s experience with Motivation will be unique and each person will get different things out of it and be motivated by different things to achieve personal goals,” Therese added.
She found that keeping a food diary was very worthwhile, as it kept her focused on her eating habits, while the motivational CDs and books that she received through the programme and then, later, seeing the weight come off, were particularly encouraging to her.
“Another spur for me was the sheer determination to keep going and realise my goal. Most of all, my sister who joined with me but on a different programme was so supportive and was there for me constantly,” Therese added.
Therese admits that since she lost the weight, her life has changed. “If I thought I had energy before, I cannot believe the amount of energy I have now. My self-confidence has improved. I enjoy exercise now and look forward to it every day. To my utmost joy I can now walk into any shop and buy a selection of clothes that not only look great but make me feel fabulous,” she said.
Indeed, losing 14 stone, and maintaining her now size 10-12 figure, has meant that Therese has achieved one of her many goals.
“One of my goals when I lost weight was to participate in a swim of 1,000m from the rock to Cappa Pier in Kilrush. This I accomplished last year and I hope to participate again next Sunday at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to join me and many others on this leisurely swim in aid of Kilrush Lifeboat (RNLI),” she concluded.
For more information about motivation weight management, visit www.motivation.ie.