It's dark, cold and dreary and these days meal prepping and staying healthy might be that bit more difficult. If you're feeling sapped of motivation, don't worry: Operation Transformation is back for its 13th season! So Whip out the leggings, start counting those steps and buckle up for what will no doubt be an emotional journey.
The inspiring show will be bringing its winning mix of real life people, inspiring stories and helpful lifestyle tips from experts to our screens again, with Kathryn Thomas guiding five motivational and relatable leaders towards their health goals.
Thomas will be joined by the same expert panel as before: personal trainer Karl Henry, dietitian Aoife Hearne, clinical psychologist Eddie Murphy and GP Dr Sumi Dunne, who will be joining the team again for her second year. The show returns in January 2020.
Speaking at the launch today, Thomas shared why she thinks the show has becoming an enduring success.
"I think after 13 years of Operation Transformation it's very obvious that the reason it is so successful is the leaders", she said.
"I think it's a real reflection that in this day and age there is a lack of honesty and transparency and there's filters, comparisons and social media platforms that make us compare ourselves to everybody else."
"It's refreshing when you've got five people who stand there every week who are themselves, who talk about themselves, where they're struggling, owning it that this is the time that they need to change their lives."
And this year there could be an added twist, as the show may be welcoming its first couple!
Among the aspiring 21 Leaders today are couples Lorna and Eoin Browne from Limerick and Barry and Andrea Rea from Cork, hoping to become the first pair to participate in Operation Transformation.
Counting as one leader among the five, a pair of loved up hopefuls could be chasing their goals together. Speaking at the launch today, Kathryn told RTÉ Lifestyle that she couldn't believe the idea hadn't been tried before.
"When they said that to me a couple of weeks ago, it was like, 'How has that not happened before because it makes perfect sense?'"
"When I got together with Padraig first, you put on the few pounds because you're in love and you're having date nights and you're looking longingly and lovingly into each other's eyes, you're eating and drinking and it's fabulous, and then you go, 'Okay, we need to put the brakes on here!'
"For that reason, a lot of couples will relate. When you get married, it can tend to get into a routine, you're eating the same things, bad habits can transfer onto someone else."
"It'll be refreshing and interesting to see the competition that comes between a couple as well, because there's always one person who's more competitive in the relationship than the other - I know who that is in my relationship!"
Will they be each other's support through the trials and tribulations of the show, or will they bicker and get competitive, landing themselves in front of Dr Eddie Murphy for some couples' therapy?
We'll certainly be waiting with bated breath to see whether we have a twosome among our leaders!
Get your first look at the five new Operation Transformation leaders next week from 12:30pm, Monday to Friday, on RTÉ Lifestyle.
