Whether its losing those extra few pounds, learning how to cope with stress or perusing life goals, we all would like the chance to turn our lives around.
Three ordinary people looking to address their health, fitness and lifestyle concerns. have been selected to part take in an ambitious six-week programme. The aim is to help them turn their lives around in 2006.
A panel of experts, comprising nutritionist Nuala Collins, stress management expert Karen Belshaw, fitness expert Philip Phelan and life coach John Sharry, have developed an individual programme for each participant, which addresses their specific diet, exercise, stress and life issues.
Each participant has had a personal consultation with the experts to establish their goals and lifestyle demands so that their programme can be easily adapted into their lives.
The three participants are ordinary people with ordinary goals. Originally from Kerry Dermot O'Sullivan lives in Cabinteeley in Dublin with his wife and two children. Dermot's main goal is to improve his diet and lose weight.
He usually tries to go to the gym at work twice a week and has a 15-minute walk to the Dart station every day. He wants to learn how to "enjoy every day to the fullest" and have a healthy and fulfilling balance in his life.
Fiona Gilboy from Stepaside, Co Dublin, has never been a big exercise person before and immediate goal is to get fitter and to "to be able to breathe normally after walking the stairs".
Fiona is getting married on March 4th, which also happens to be her 30th birthday and she is determined to "start married life healthy and fit". She also wants to sort out her work-life balance.
Martin Whelan is married with one child and lives in Kilcullen, Co Kildare. Martin says he has a fairly sedentary life and he can spend up to three hours a day in his car. His goals are to address the key lifestyle issues of time management, relaxation, diet and exercise. He wants to "get the balance right and to enjoy my family".
The goals have been set, the programmes have been designed and you can keep up to date on the participants progress every Tuesday in the Health Supplement or by logging on to www.vhi.ie where Fiona, Dermot and Martin will post regular updates on their activities.
Dermot O'Sullivan (41), programme manager with Bank of Ireland from Cabinteely, Co Dublin, married with two children. Goal: Get fit and trim.
One week into the programme, Dermot has noticed his trousers are getting looser already. Nutritionist Nuala Collins told Dermot to eat foods with no more than 5g fat per serving. He substituted instant noodles with rice, which has a lot less fat, and instead of a dollop of olive oil for his stir fry he uses four squirts of spray olive oil, which significantly reduces his fat intake. Dermot swapped his breakfast of a cappuccino, toasted bagel and peanut butter with brown bread, jam, marmalade or honey and an ordinary coffee.
Although Dermot ran the marathon last year and is a regular at the gym, fitness coach Philip Phelan told Dermot that both his body mass index and body fat levels were high. He will do at least four fitness sessions a week - two in the gym and a 40-minute walk/jog twice a week.
Dermot found stress expert Karen Belshaw's recommend deep abdominal breathing exercises in the morning very useful last week. They really paid off during a normally stressful scenario last Monday when the family slept in and was running 30 minutes late. Dermot said he stopped to think before he reacted, was realistic about what was achievable time wise and kept "talking positive" to himself. "We got to school in time with no fighting and I didn't lose my temper."
Life coach John Sharry asked Dermot to complete some exercises from Jinny Ditzler's book Your Best Year Yet to help Dermot figure out his life goals. Dermot found the questions "fairly challenging". However, he has decided to focus on being a father this year and take time out with each of his children separately.
For himself, Dermot, who likes singing, is going to learn how to sight read
Fiona Gilboy (29) from Stepaside, Co Dublin works in human resources. She is getting married on March 4th. Goal: Fitter and healthier.
A week into the programme Fiona feels that it has given her a lot more focus. Just six weeks before her wedding this is "just what she needs", she said. It also serves to distract her from obsessing about "everything being perfect on the day", she added.
The most revolutionary aspect of the programme is going to the gym, which was a totally alien experience for Fiona. With a history of juvenile arthritis, fitness expert Phillip Phelan has designed a programme of non-impact activities for Fiona.
This incorporates swimming and the use of a cross trainer and rower in the gym as well as body conditioning exercises for the abdominals and lower back. The goal is to improve Fiona's fitness level, maintain joint flexibility and burn a small amount of body fat. After her first three-hour session in the gym and pool, Fiona had a fantastic night's sleep and had no difficulty getting out of bed - a rare occurrence.
Nutritionist Nuala Collins has advised Fiona to increase her carbohydrate and fluid intake to allow her to exercise better. She also needs to reduce her fat and calorie intake with the aim of losing one pound a week. Fast foods and ready meals are off the menu but she must take two portions of dairy calcium every day.
With a particularly hectic schedule last week Fiona found it hard to find time to eat at all. However, she has made a point of having breakfast every day - Weetabix mixed with All Bran and a spoonful of linseed topped off by skimmed milk. Cheese, milk and fruit have become nutritious mid-day snacks.
Breathing techniques suggested by Karen Belshaw, proved useful for Fiona too. In particular the tip of placing blue stickers in random places around the house worked, she said.
Martin Whelan (33) a human resource director from Kilcullen, Co Kildare. He is married with one child. Goal: Health and happiness.
Martin feels the programme is working well and is enjoying the exercise. Fitness coach Philip Phelan told Martin he was overweight and had a high body fat and body mass index. He went to the gym four times in the first week and spent between one and a half and two hours there.
"I feel great doing it. Pushing yourself feels good and I come out breathing stronger and feeling more energetic. It blows away the cobwebs."
Nutritionist Nuala Collins has set a healthy eating programme for Martin. Although he feels much better a week in he is a little disappointed that he hasn't lost much weight yet.
He has been told to never eat while driving and to reduce his portions. He has to cut out chocolate, sweets, crisps and fast food from his diet and must eat five pieces of fruit every day. She has also advised him to include three servings of low-fat dairy calcium a day. Dairy calcium is helpful when trying to lose weight from the stomach area, she said.
In week one Martin stuck to the rules for the most part and only had two lapses into crisp-and-chocolate mode during the week.
Breakfast was porridge, juice and some home-made brown bread. Typically lunch was a salad and soup and dinner usually involved lots of vegetables. When it came to his fruit portions, he learned it was just a case of getting organised early.
"Leaving the house with five pieces of fruit is kind of tricky when you are rushing out the door."
Martin found the relaxing and energising stress management exercises very helpful. In particular the deep breathing exercises worked a treat in the car while commuting to work or on the way to off-site meetings. He found he arrived at his destination "more energetic and awake".