In the first of six installments over the next six weeks we hear firsthand about one Limerick girl’s transformation with the help of the Ultimate Health Clinic and in association with personal trainer Dave Sheahan.

Meet our candidate: Edelle O’Brien.
Edelle is probably your average 31 year old. She loves to live life and enjoys the finer things: pints, wine, cigarettes and tayto sandwiches! Last year she made the first steps to a healthier lifestyle by joining a women’s rugby team and now she’s more eager than ever to get her life on a healthier track for once and for all.
“Hi, my name is Edelle O’Brien, I am a Caherdavin girl, born and reared in Limerick. I work in Goldmine Jewellers on Catherine Street. I started playing rugby for Young Munster last August and I’m loving it. Since August obviously I have been getting much fitter but found myself eating more because I could tell myself “sur’, I’ll run it off on Friday at training”. I like to go out at the weekends, smoke many cigarettes and drink many pints! So, as you can see, I’m your fairly typical girl. I know I should be looking after myself better but I’m young and like to enjoy myself. Or so I thought.
“You see, while trying fad diets and sporadic periods of ‘being good’ I have done some damage to my insides. I suffer from chronic heartburn from a yeast intolerance (I blame tayto sandwiches) and bad digestive problems. Hence I was put in touch with the Ultimate Health Clinic who I knew dealt with digestive problems and skin problems but mostly colonic irrigations. Imagine, I thought, staring with a completely clean slate shall we say…
“I met Lisa and Caroline at the UHC on a Thursday. Can I just say the clinic is immaculate the girls are so friendly and easy to talk to, nothing is taboo and yet so professional. I knew straight away I was going to be in good hands. I have to explain one thing at this point, when I went to meet the girls I was off the cigarettes two weeks (it is January – you have to try) and I had the cold from hell. They had no sympathy for me. They were right. To get the best results they gave me a detox diet. Just to write it like that seems so easy, it wasn’t, it was hard (which is why I had wine, taytos and a wispa the night before starting!). The detox diet consists of porridge for my breakfast, soup for my lunch and because I’m not a fish person I ate mostly chicken with potatoes (thank god) and vegetables, doesn’t sound too bad? I forgot to mention NO salt NO dairy NO sugar NO tea or coffee for five to seven days! Now I hope you’re reading this sitting down because with this diet alone, which as you can tell didn’t kill me, I lost nine pounds!!!!!
“I have to admit I cried a little when they told me. I didn’t lose that much in two months at other weight loss classes. Most importantly, bland and all as the diet was, I wasn’t hungry and had no heartburn or other problems. Also, I was on a bacterial supplement, a good bacteria called acidophilus, which makes your skin glow its amazing.
“Now for the best bit‚ the colonic! Don’t worry, I’m not going to be graphic, I’ll just say that it was nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be. A moment’s discomfort and 45 minutes that fly by. Caroline is a professional and makes you feel relaxed and at ease. I expected it to be painful but it wasn’t at all, there was just a little pressure on my tummy and back, and just when you think it’s becoming too much, it’s all over. The energy you have afterwards is awesome. Just to feel that good after a week – what will I be like after all of them? That’s right, I’ll be back next week with more. Including my first meeting with local fitness expert Dave Sheahan as this is “Operation Transformation” -Limerick style!”

Last week we met our candidate Edelle O’Brien from Caherdavin who was on a big detox rejuvenation from the inside out with the Ultimate Health Clinic. This week she also started her tough training regime with personal trainer Dave Sheahan…
 
“Hello again everybody. This week I have to tell you about the world of Dave Sheehan’s Gym. You may have guessed from last week’s excerpt on my transformation that, besides rugby, I don’t do much exercise. I personally HATE the gym. I think they smell, they are full of ‘skinny malinkies’ and staff that I always felt judged me. Dave’s gym is very different. Every shape of person is here, from every age group, and they have very helpful staff. SERIOUSLY! I met Dave after work on the Tuesday and brought with me a list of the foods I used to eat – mostly made of taytos funnily enough and of course the list of my new food intake. Dave himself is a very charismatic, knowledgeable guy and most importantly he really makes you feel that anything is possible – you just know you’re in good hands! He weighed me, took measurements and checked body fat with some kind of pinchy thing. Dave asked me what I wanted to achieve and I said that ‘I want to play rugby for the next few years and obviously try and change my shape to a smaller less roundy one’, he nodded at me as if this is no problem and, guess what, I totally believe him. Then we go straight to the dreaded treadmill.
 
“I am not naturally drawn to the treadmill but as Dave says, it’s not like I’m going to be rowing or cycling on the pitch! I do some fast walking to jogging to running… You cannot care what you look like at this point, and all the while Dave is beside me encouraging me and in control of speeds etc. From the treadmill we move on to weights which I’m not too bad at – good to know seeing as I’m a prop! (my position on the field for any non-rugby following readers) I will be visiting the gym now every week for four days. Two with Dave and two with just me and the lovely treadmill! When I write it like that it doesn’t sound so bad – and hey, I’m doing it!! So far Dave is really nice and encouraging. The gym itself is clean, everyone is really friendly, genuine and helpful (especially to the silly girl who couldn’t start the treadmill on her own …stop laughing… it was embarrassing!)
 
“The good and the bad news now in food land. This week I was allowed more food yippee!! Or so I thought. I replaced one of my meals (lunch was the easiest) with a smoothie. I was to have 80 per cent from alkaline foods such as more veggies, skim milk, much more fruit (except bananas) and seeds. Then other 20 per cent then was from a list of acid foods like red meat and some fish for example are considered acidic but at least I could have more flavours, spices and garlic! You may notice I used the word ‘seeds’, just a little word, they themselves are only small, but they should come with a big calorie warning sign! I shall explain: I did not lose an ounce this week, and it was all because of seeds! On my list seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower, sesame etc. are mentioned so as I am such a good girl I was having them on everything. Sesame seeds on my porridg, a handful of sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and linseed in my smoothies, and loads more in my salads for the week thinking I was awesome! Guess what? It was possibly the worst thing I could have done. Let’s say I’m allowed 1500 calories a day, the seeds I was eating are worth around 1800 in total! Add them all together and it makes a lot of calories – and makes me not very bright!! When I told Caroline and Lisa at the UHC they found it very amusing, and when they eventually stopped laughing and we decided to go again with the list of foods. Two to three carbohydrates a day and I am still going to replace a meal with a smoothie and eat mostly fresh veg and fruit.
 
“This week, after all that, I was in for a little TLC however. I had a deep abdominal massage which sounds like it should hurt a little but I have to say it doesn’t at all. It is intense but not uncomfortable. It lasts about 30-45 minutes and it is all based on your tummy, hence its name. The relaxation feeling afterwards alone is worth it – mix that with your tummy being flatter and the massage could become addictive. I am now also on digestive enzymes which will actually help with my day-to-day digestion. As usual the girls are supportive, especially after the amusement at my seeds story! Now you may laugh… Talk to you next week when I have to leave the comfort of my own kitchen…”

Our candidate Edelle O’Brien from Caherdavin is three weeks into her six week transformation, on the inside and out, with the Ultimate Health Clinic and personal trainer Dave Sheahan…
 
Hello everybody! Well I am three weeks into this and still alive, still off the cigarettes and still not hungry. This week I managed not to eat my own body weight in seeds, which as I learned from last week is a good thing. Also I have created one of the healthiest puppies in Limerick. Lucie is up early in the morning and also has her porridge with me and eats pineapples, kiwi skins, apple skins and my smoothies. If Dave Sheehan would let her into the gym I reckon she would run on a treadmill too.
I had a work trip to Birmingham’s NEC to visit a trade show this week. The boss and I left on Sunday afternoon. I had my porridge before I left thank God! We were very busy that afternoon and didn’t even get a chance to eat. That evening after checking into our hotel we decided to go and get something to eat. The menu looked and sounded gorgeous – for someone NOT restricted to chicken, fish and vegetables. So I decided to have a quarter roast chicken with potatoes and vegetables. The potatoes on offer were dauphinoise (garlic and cream) potatoes or chips. Guess what I had? The chips of course, and you know, it wasn’t worth it. The chicken had been micro-nuked and the chips were burned so that was a bit crap. I know I sound like I’m whinging but I had to sit across from my mother who was eating a beautiful steak and chips and more. Torture! The next day wasn’t too bad, breakfast was fruit and a cereal and for lunch we found a kosher restaurant with lovely soup and rye bread. That night I found a restaurant that was like a steakhouse. I managed to find chicken and baby potatoes with salad. I did give into the temptation and tasted some spare ribs of my mothers and a piece of lamb skewer and felt like death the next day so I suffered for my need for red meat! There is a reason why I’m not supposed to eat any yet and I had to find out the hard way. I was down a few pounds when I went back to Caroline at the Ultimate Health Clinic but when you leave the comforts of your own kitchen things can get hard. My eating won’t be as strict and as severe forever but while I’m getting the results it won’t kill me. I had a lovely abdominal massage again and another colonic with a bit more pressure this week as it was a much deeper treatment but still honestly there’s nothing to it and I mean that. It is uncomfortable like I said for about two seconds and then it’s all over. This week I have a tip though, it is one that I heard before from one of those skinny malinkies: CHEW YOUR FOOD you really do fill up faster. I have spent all these years inhaling my food and we can all see where that got me. Caroline says your food should be liquid leaving your mouth – it sounds gross but makes sense. By the end of the week I felt great again after it all.
Now I’m not technically afraid of exercise – I mean I used to be an outdoor pursuits instructor, but the training for that was in winter with ice and snow in wetsuits, though at least it had regular enough hours… Let me explain, Dave Sheahan continued this week with my interval training on the treadmill and the weights.  I did notice however that the machines and weights are faster, heavier and more of it. My senses tell me that the first week he may have been easy on me, lulling me into a false sense of security, and NOW it’s time for lots of red face and sweating… When I got home off the plane I went straight into Dave. I did tell him I wasn’t feeling well and he had a little sympathy for me, as in he slowed down the treadmill twice! I really do appreciate his work on me though because guess what – in the airport my jeans fell down! A sure sign he’s doing something good! The second day I was with him was an eye opener, it was a different planet from my previous visit. Firstly it was a cold Friday morning at 6am. I mean really 6AM! I wasn’t the only one there though, there was a few of us. I was feeling a bit better, well when I went in I was, and because I had had the colonic the evening before I had a bit more energy. The amount of people that were there when I was leaving was amazing.  Quite a lot of people were taking a spinning class at that time –  it makes sense if you are going to make a commitment to go to the gym, why not get it out of the way early in the morning? I have found that after I go, I am full of energy and vitality. Later that evening I went to rugby training and we had to do suicide sprints, which I didn’t have to stand out of or vomit over which in my rugby career is a massive change! It is getting slightly easier. I can’t wait to play a match and see does it make a huge difference. With the exercise I definitely feel more toned and clothes are fitting me better. I do think having someone there encouraging me all the time helps especially as I am not a gym person or “gym bunny” I think it’s called, you never know maybe I will be after this…

Our candidate Edelle O’Brien from Caherdavin is now four weeks into her six week transformation, on the inside and out, with the Ultimate Health Clinic and personal trainer Dave Sheahan…
 
“Hello, it’s me again. This week I feel so good. Losing the few pounds last week was obviously a boost and it means that lifting all the weights and stuff with Dave is balancing out. I was worried that even though clothes were fitting better etc. that I would still weigh heavier. Worries over! I have to say that I don’t ever remember feeling this great. All my previous digestive problems have disappeared. I had lived in a world where I could not be too far away from a bottle of Gaviscon or a box of Rennie, in my car, my bedroom, even the kitchen, everywhere! Now it’s like freedom.
 
The girls in the UHC gave me a list of recipes this time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Things like lamb, stir-fry beef and Spanish omelette (which I could live on, it’s yummy). Even, get ready for this, a fry on Saturday morning! I know it was turkey sausages and rashers but they looked like pork and taste really nice. More importantly it was a fry and it tasted bold! With my dinners I was not to have any carbohydrates after 3pm which I expected to be a nightmare. No rice? I stocked up on many many vegetables and I’d forgotten how much I love asparagus. I was allowed to have the Spanish omelette that has potato in it as a dinner and it saved my life. It tastes sooo good and is very filling. I decided not to change my breakfast from porridge because I am so used to it now I’ll be making it a habit to keep. The girls this week said they could see a huge difference in my face when I went to the UHC. After my massage I got to stay in the clinic while I waited for my colonic, and I actually fell asleep. So relaxing… I feel like it’s a haven. Then at the weigh-in I got quite a shock. I have been trying not to count weight loss because, for me, the treatments are making me feel so much better in general – “like a new woman!” – I feel amazing already after just a few weeks, so any weight loss is a bonus. But while I’m here, feeling all righteous, I have lost 19lbs altogether! It’s more than I lost in months going to other weight loss classes etc. but to be honest I don’t think I was ready then. This takes a lot of will power and hard work. If you’re not committed and ready to make the change it won’t work. Hee hee it feels so good writing down those numbers!
 
Do you know how beautiful the city looks when you are all bleary eyed and half- awake on a crisp (frozen) Tuesday morning? Well I do! I was up at 5ish to be in the gym at 6am. I expected to be nearly comatose but it wasn’t that bad. I am setting my alarm anyway so I set it a little earlier and I get up to go to the gym. Also I was home in time to get back into the bed for 40 winks before work! It definitely gives you more energy for the rest of the day. I can see how the gym could become addictive. When you can see the results it makes it all easier. With other weight loss programmes they recommend walking to gain points for food, boost energy, increase weight loss and muscle tone. I am not a very patient person and even though I was content to go along with that as it’s not too strenuous, with Dave’s programme the progress is faster. In 3 weeks my bingo wings are nearly gone, my training pants are looser, my jeans fell down in the airport as I mentioned last week and, one day I was running through a shop when my work pants slipped down and nearly took my knickers with them! Embarrassing I know but it’s all happening for the best reason ever.
With the interval training over the past few weeks I can feel a difference on the training pitch as well with my fitness and maybe the skill will follow some day! Things like suicide sprints and even the thoughts of a long match of forwards play doesn’t seem so daunting. On Monday evening after fundraising for Young Munster’s Womens XV I went to a flexibility class given by Dave himself. When this is all over I think I might even keep attending this class. It’s not easy by any means. I have decided he feels no pain as he is so fit. I thought I would have been fairly flexible – I so am not! The class is an hour-ish of intense stretching and I mean intense. Working your legs, hips, chest and neck. The neck stretch is great, especially after coming from the scrum machine. The most important thing that happened this week is… cue drum roll… I lost four inches from my chest, waist and hips, one and a half inches from my thighs, and ten and a half mills in fat! Pretty cool eh? I am so thrilled. I have never taken measurements before so it feels really good to not only see the difference, but to have physical evidence on paper is the way of the future!”

Our candidate Edelle O’Brien from Caherdavin is now five weeks into her six-week transformation, on the inside and out, with the Ultimate Health Clinic and personal trainer Dave Sheahan…
 
“Four down, two to go. Since I was last talking to you, Young Munster Women’s XV won to Clan William 5-0. This means we are through to an away quarter-final in Kinsale and then a home semi-final all going to plan. But at this match the difference in my fitness was incredible. I was coming out of a scrum faster and was able to get around the pitch much easier. Even my teammates noticed which means more to me than anything. This just proves that Dave Sheehan—tough and all as he is—really gets the desired results. So getting up with the dawn chorus does work – its getting a little easier now too but don’t tell him I said that!
 
“I don’t know if you heard me on the radio this week, I was on Ray Darcy’s ‘Odd One Out’ quiz because they were looking for people in their pyjamas. I was lying in bed in mine because I was doing something through the Ultimate Health Clinic that’s very very good for you, but it tasted a little gross - a Liver Flush! Did you know you can get stones in your liver? I didn’t! My ordeal started at the beginning of the week. I had to drink one litre of apple juice daily (the Copella brand). As nice and all as it is, by litre number five I was done. So on Wednesday I ate my last meal by 2pm and nothing after that. Now to the hard part. I mixed four tablespoons of Epsom salts with water and put it in the fridge (for taste and convenience). At 6pm I drank the first three quarter cup of the mixture. And waited. For anyone who has not been introduced to Epsom salts before (people like me) WHOAH! They should have a warning sticker – you do not need me to be any more graphic. At 8pm I repeated the Epsom salts procedure to similar effects. You think that’s bad; I then mixed a half cup of OLIVE OIL with a fresh GRAPEFRUIT to make a kind of cocktail. Sound disgusting? Well when I looked at the mixture it looked like a small amount, HA! My information told me to drink it within five minutes, again HA! It was hard to get down as it tastes mingin! It is do-able though, it doesn’t kill you and think of it – a brand new working liver! Afterwards I lay on my back and I could feel the liver stones actually moving, travelling down – which is where they come out eventually and FAST! The following morning it was a repeat of the Epsom salts when I woke up and again two hours later. Then it was over until I had a colonic, which I didn’t think I needed but you can guess the rest. The treatment was very intense and Caroline assures me this is normal as it is very deep into the colon. It makes you realise if I still needed a colonic after all that I went through with the liver flush how bad had I been beforehand? Once it was over I felt great. Every bit of it is really worth it.
 
“This week in the gym Dave changed things too a little. I was on the rowing machine. I have to say I like it. Even though I was working hard on it I was not as out of breath as I would be running. Also I had a little timer thingy on the machine that you have to beat and I really like that. I know that you can change your speed on a treadmill and beat the clock and all sorts to push yourself but I like trying to get your numbers lower on this clock. It has to do with time it takes to do 500 metres or something like that. I just know that it is still like interval training and you have to get your numbers lower for 30 seconds every minute. I like it!! You know when you see the programmes on the telly about the weight loss people doing boxing with their personal trainers. Well I did that. I felt a little silly at the time but as the day wore on my arms were hanging off me, so it’s Edelle 1 Bingo Wings 0!”

New Year Transformation – week 6
 
Our candidate Edelle O’Brien from Caherdavin has underwent six rigorous weeks of intense treatment for this transformation, on the inside and out, with the Ultimate Health Clinic and personal trainer Dave Sheahan. In doing so, she has lost a staggering 26lbs and 18.5 inches, dropping two dress sizes. Here’s Edelle’s final diary entry…
 
“Hi everyone, well it’s all over and I’m still alive, yay! I did it! It hasn’t been easy though. You all know about what I have had to go through with the colonics, and training with Dave Sheehan. What you all didn’t hear is about the sacrifices I have made – like when I went to a party in my friend Karen’s house, she was having a lovely cheese fondue party with breads and meats etc. and I had to have chicken and rocket salad! Or when I spent Valentine’s Day in the gym because I couldn’t go out that night anyway due to a match the next day but it was all a little depressing and worse still, there was no eye candy there either – now that’s commitment! Most importantly, I’ve had no red wine the whole time and anyone who knows me, knows how much of a sacrifice that has been. I may actually have been the cause of the huge drop in Shiraz sales in Australia!
 
“For every minus of course, there must be a plus, and I have a huge amount of fat clothes in a pile waiting to go to the charity shop! As well as that, I have cut my hair, well, I let a lovely man cut my hair! I went to Cats and met Louise first who coloured my hair and then Mikey who convinced me to cut my hair but I have to say I like it! The fear when Mikey started to cut it was horrendous – I nearly had the shakes because I have been growing it for so long (due to a mullet injury years and years ago!). Also, I had my first spray tan of 2009 and it was a lot faster as there was less of me!! I go to my friend Monique in Shades of Beauty on William Street, she is the only other person to see me near to naked since this all started she said she could really see a difference in me.
 
“Last Sunday I had a great day taking photos in the Strand Hotel. I went to Katie Janes in the Castletroy Shopping Centre where I met Michelle and had a lovely time picking out clothes. She was very nice and very honest – I think I may have tried on every outfit in the shop, and if it was not nice she told me. I left with three dresses and two coats, one of the coats is now in my wardrobe! I felt I needed it in my life and had a problem giving it back to her (by the way it’s a size 14 yipee!!). Later that same day I went into Michael Gleeson Shoes and met Dearbhla there who looked at the dresses and chose four pairs of shoes in about 2.5 seconds – she really knows her shoes!!
  
“The day of the photo shoot was hectic, Mikey came to the hotel and blow-dried my hair. A lovely girl from Newport Health & Beauty called Danielle did my make-up, which was really lovely and it was hard work as I have sun damage on my face from the mountains and the wilds of Achill Island. Note to everyone: wear your sun factor! Then I became a model for two hours! It was hilarious with much giggling on my part (lucky I knew the photographer, anyone else would have killed me) and seemingly I have a blinking problem, but it was great fun. Dave and Caroline and Lisa and Marese all came for their photo too. They are all so proud of me. They have changed my shape and, corny and all as it sounds, it has also changed my life somewhat. There is no way I could have done this on my own, not getting these results this fast. People have asked what was different this time and I think I myself am a different person this time. I really wanted it to work and if it didn’t I was disappointing two other people also. Caroline and Dave have been so good to me it would have killed me not to succeed for them. Can you believe I am a gym bunny! Well nearly! I take back all the bad things I said about gyms, maybe it’s just when you find one that works for you…
 
“I do have some advice for anyone who is going to try this. Keep an open mind about colonics, they are not as bad as you think. Don’t be hungry. For the best results, listen to your personal trainer, the gym really really works. If you have any digestive problems and there is even a small thought of something serious happening in your tummy just try a colonic. Also talk to these people (Caroline and Dave) as they really are experts.
 
“Now for the most amazing news: with Caroline and the Ultimate Health Clinic I lost a total of 26lbs!!! With Dave the super trainer I lost a total of 18.5 inches all over, almost two dress sizes and 21mm of yucky fat!!! I feel awesome. Nothing has ever worked like this. Bring on 2009. Anything is possible. I’m telling you, with all of my heart, being 32 years of age if I can do it, anyone can. It has been hard but worth every bead of sweat and every missed dessert and missed tayto sandwich and snackbox and Chinese takeaway. Thanks to everyone who supported me, to those who stopped me in the street to offer support, those who called into me at work to wish me luck and mostly thank you to all at the UHC and scary Dave who isn’t that scary after all!! And of course to you the Limerick Post readers, for listening to me going on and keeping me going by noticing the difference and telling me. Thanks!”