Published: Wednesday, 9th June, 2010 4:30pm

Breaking bad habits to become a healthier you

Losing weight is always a struggle, but when you have the right tools and the right attitude you can turn your life around much quicker than you think, swapping bad habits for a healthy lifestyle, as Karen Downey found out:

I had a love-hate relationship with food for a long time - love to eat it, but hated its effects on me. But 20 weeks ago I joined the newly-opened Motivation Weight Management Clinic in Belhavel and have completely changed my attitude towards food, ridding me of guilt when I select certain foods and instead instilling an attitude of balance when it comes to eating.

Since joining the clinic, which was opened by Ruth O'Malley on January 4, I have completed the 20 week programme and lost 30lbs or two stone two pounds, in the process. While this in itself is an achievement, and one that I'm proud of, what was more important for me was tackling my bad habits when it came to eating. Probably my worst habit was skipping breakfast, or sometimes lunch, and then snacking on completely the wrong foods later in the day. I was always quick to reach for a sugar-fix of caffinated drink to lift my energy when I was busy at work, but through the motivation programme I've learned how to address these habits and live a healthier life.

Motivation is not just a diet plan, quite simply it's an education about food and an education about yourself. Before signing up for the programme I first underwent an analysis with Ruth, which took about half an hour and involved analysing my height, weight and body composition. I then filled out a mental weight questionnaire, which gave Ruth an idea of my lifestyle and the triggers that make me eat, which in my case was often stress or reward eating.

The mental health questionnaire is a vital part of the Motivation programme, and is updated each month with your consultant, to analyse how your habits and attitudes to food have changed.

A week later I was back for my first appointment, which takes about an hour, but weekly appointments thereafter will only take up about 15 minutes of your time. During the first appointment we went through the results of my mental weight questionnaire, with Ruth carefully explaining what the results meant. She then devised a nutrition plan for me, explaining each of the food groups, what quantities of each I would be taking in daily during the course of the plan, and answering any questions I had. I was then armed with my starter pack, which contained a different handout for each of the 20 weeks of the programme, a motivational CD, which you listen to daily, a book by the founder of the Motivation programme Dr Maurice Larocque and a sample diet plan for a week to give me some meal ideas. I was also given a food diary where I fill in the times of my meals and what I had eaten, but also if I had read my handouts and book, listened to the CD and whether I had done any exercise and if so for how long.

It may sound a little daunting, but I promise you it's not, and as someone who has been a serial dieter I can honestly say it works. The secret to success, for me anyway, was putting in the planning initially. Before I began I sat down and made out an eating plan for the first week and then went and bought the groceries I would need, careful not to put anything into the trolley that would tempt me! The key is eating three meals a day, two protein snacks and a third snack consisting of yogurt or fruit. (An example of my daily intake is below). I certainly don't feel deprived of any foods on the programme and if I really feel like having something I can have it without feeling guilty once I get back on the plan later that day or the next day.

And for those of you who are worried you will have to give up everything you love, it's just not like that. While you have a diet plan, the programme is flexible and you can eat off the plan occasionally, once you get back on.

In fact during the second half programme I had quite a number of slips, being unable to resist the temptation of an Easter egg, as well as having weekends away, birthday parties, retirement parties and hen parties, all of which led to increased eating and drinking - not good for the diet! But, the important thing to remember is that it is about balancing your food and so when I had events coming up I balanced before and after with my food and alcohol intake. The Motivation programme is not simply about weight loss, it's about giving you a healthy attitude towards your food and helping you adapt a healthier lifestyle, and this is something I've certainly achieved through the programme.

You can't simply stop living because you're on a diet and naturally you will have functions or parties to attend, or simply a day when you overeat or drink for whatever reason. But the important thing is to get back to healthy eating afterwards. In fact the motto of the Motivation programme is: "It is ok to slip, but not to drop out." I think that's something I've certainly taken to heart. On previous diets if I had a 'bad' weekend I'd most likely lose heart and let those bad habits continue into the week. Now I realise that you can still enjoy those weekends away and the important thing is to get back into your healthy habits straight away.

For more information you can contact Ruth O'Malley at the Motivation Weight Management Clinic, Unit 13 Inis Oir, Golden Island, Athlone, on 090 6479748 or 087 8528637 or log onto www.motivation.ie

PANEL

A sample day

Breakfast: One egg omelette with mushrooms, scallions or whatever veg is in the house. A piece of fruit.

Mid-morning: A yogurt and a piece of fruit.

Lunch: A wrap with chicken, lettuce, cucumber, tomato and relish.

Afternoon: Protein snack.

Dinner: 2 salmon darnes, sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli and a baby potato.

Evening: Protein snack.

Drinks: 2 litres of water throughout the day and 2-3 cups of tea or coffee.