Big reveal for Lorraine tonight!
Cavan’s Lorraine O’Neill says she is “so proud” of her time on RTÉ’s Operation Transformation and has “no regrets” ahead of tonight’s Catwalk when the five leaders strut their stuff as the popular TV series comes to a close.
Last Saturday saw Lorraine and all the OT leaders complete a 5km challenge in Dublin’s Phoenix Park in which Lorraine was partnered with Kathryn Thomas to complete the distance in 37 minutes.
Though the season finale was filmed last Sunday, Lorraine is constrained on what she can reveal until after the show has aired later this evening (Wednesday).
She tells The Anglo-Celt: “I’ve loved every minute of it. I really have. It has changed me, as a person, and the way I think about things. It’s changed how I think about food, about exercise, even life and how I live it, and that nothing is impossible. If you want something, and you work hard enough, you can get it. It has shook me up, it’s woke me up!”
On last week’s show, Lorraine smashed her 2lb weight loss target to lose 3lbs. It was a particularly tough week as it marked her late sister Roisin’s birthday. She passed away from cancer five years ago. Lorraine brought the nation to tears as she reflected on the loss of her sister and the effect OT has had on her and her family.
The programme also aired the results of Lorraine’s health and fitness retests in DCU. She surprised Prof. Moyna the most during the re-tests. Lorraine’s back strength increased significantly, showing the work she is putting into her resistance training is starting to pay off. Her arteries and resting heart rate improved dramatically and Prof. Moyna was able to tell Lorraine she is now in the top 30 percentile for her age.
When The Anglo-Celt caught up with Lorraine on Monday evening last, she was enjoying a well-earned break and out socialising with OT colleagues, and now firm friends, Shane Farrell and Tanya Carroll.
The mum of two - Mia (11) and Jodie (2) - admits that prior to her participation in OT, she had become a “lazy person”. Lorraine says she knew that by signing-up to take part she had “no choice” but to address that fact.
Lorraine also, by her own admission, felt “burned out”, in part caused by her inability to say “no” to people when she was asked to get involved and help support various causes.
Since 2012, the Redhills native has, along with hundreds of local athletes and the support of the CF Cavan branch, helped fundraise for the provision of new and improved CF specific services at Cavan General. It saw her train and complete the Dublin Marathon on several occasions over that period.
Even still, she says she “probably wouldn’t have done any of it differently. I still enjoyed it. I still enjoyed doing those things. But I suppose I did spread myself like a fine butter.”
Lorraine explains that OT showed her that she needed to concentrate and spend more time on herself and family.
“If I was asked to do anything my answer was always ‘yes’. So I had to pull back. I was afraid to ever say ‘no’ to anybody, but I had to learn that it was sometimes the option better for me.
“[OT] gave me back ‘me’ time. It has made me think differently about where my life is going and what I have to do. If I hadn’t have done something soon, I’d have had another stone on in a year’s time and I would have been an awful lot more unhappy.
“It wasn’t like I had been putting on weight overnight, it was a gradual process. Every time, I looked in the mirror I was hating myself. But I feel I’ve made the change, this process has changed me, and for the better. I’ve never been happier.”