Philippa Kennedy, 75, journalist
"At the age of 75 I’ve probably tried every diet there is! The grapefruit diet, intermittent fasting, Atkins, keto, low-carb and the wonderfully named wine-lovers’ diet are just a few.
They all work for a bit, but over the years the weight just comes right back and settles around my middle. I was shocked to see I had put on two stones and six pounds since my wedding day in 1975.
When my weight reached 13 stone 9 lbs I decided that something serious had to be done.
This time I asked my GP to recommend a nutritionist which led me to Rose Shinnick who works in Bishopstown, Cork.
Rose herself is a sylph-like Size Zero who still follows a similar eating plan so she’s a good role model. After she weighed me and made a note of my height, she asked me what I wanted to achieve.
I wanted to lose a stone at least, be able to run after my grand-daughters, play golf without
pain, clamber on and off our boat and tuck my T shirt into the waistband of my jeans.
Something about Rose’s relaxed attitude made me feel confident that we could do this together. But first I needed to accept that there are no quick fixes. This was going to take the full 10 weeks of my new course at a rough average of two pounds a week.
This time I’m determined not going to let the weight creep on again. I’ll never be skinny and I don’t care, but I now know I can lose the excess blubber if I take it slowly.
And I can now tuck my T shirt into my jeans."
