Terry Prone tells Patricia Weston there is nothing she does not know about diets
Do you take regular exercise?
In recent years, yes. I work between the US and Ireland and work out in a gym in Florida called 'Curves Fitness'. They have them here in Ireland. It's a half-an-hour workout on different machines to music. The machines are arranged in an oval and each machine has a padded mat in between so you can dance or run on it until a voice tells you to move on to the next machine.
Why do you exercise?
I have a friend in America who makes me go along to the gym and I suppose once you hit 50 you have to think about osteoporosis and preventing it.
Do you do any other activity?
When I'm at home in Ireland I use free weights and have a stepper in the house and a punch bag on a pedestal. The punch bag is great; it feels wonderful to knock the hell out of it.
Did you play sports at school?
I despised exercise at school. I had bad asthma so I was exempt from all games and physical education. It was the ultimate excuse. I kept away from every activity except swimming. I tried out for the camogie team once but saw a girl getting her front teeth knocked out so I decided to give that a miss.
Are you conscious about what you eat?
I used to be five stone heavier than I am now. I'm on a half-assed Atkins diet. I eat a lot of seafood, eggs and naked salads. Then on weekends all bets are off and the chocolate breaks out.
Have you ever dieted?
In the school yearbook my classmates wrote that there was nothing I didn't know about diets. There's no diet I haven't tried. I've tried the drinking man's diet, the eating man's diet, you name it, I've tried it. I think they're all hugely beneficial once you're on them; it's when you stop you pile on the pounds.
Patricia Weston recommends:
Curves is a fitness franchise. It's a workout designed for women only. For 30 minutes you work your way around a circuit of 16 hydraulic resistance machines that strengthen and tone muscles. There's a mat in between each machine where you can perform an aerobic activity such as dancing or jogging on the spot.
According to Ann Daly, who runs the Douglas franchise in Cork: "It's specifically designed for women because the machines are simple and unintimidating unlike heavy weight machines in gyms."
Patricia Weston is an NCEHS fitness instructor, personal trainer and Pilates instructor.