On today's Ray D'Arcy show on RTÉ Radio 1, Petula Martyn spoke to the five leaders from Operation Transformation ahead of tonight's grand finale.
Eight weeks ago, five inspiring leaders took on the Operation Transformation challenge, looking to a panel of experts for guidance and information that would help them gain and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
Ahead of tonight's grand finale, our fab five joined Petula Martyn on RTÉ Radio 1 to chat about their experience on the show.
Kate Jones
At just 24-years of age, Katie Jones is the youngest leader of Operation Transformation 2022. Living in Swords with her partner Michael and their 18-month-old son, Joshua, the retail assistant joined the show with the aim to become a healthy and energetic mum who could live life to the full.
During her time on the show, however, she realised that a lot of her issues came down to her lack of self confidence and her inability to say no to people.
Speaking about her about her journey to self-love with the assistance of Dr Eddie, Katie told Petula that she has come a long way in just eight weeks: "Now after going through this experience and having the help from the experts, I actually really like myself now, I'm on such a good road and and I can't see myself coming off this amazing journey that I'm on".
John Ryan
Hailing from from Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny, John Ryan is a 49-year-old truck driver who lives with his wife, Selena, and their three children.
The avid U2 fan is a self-proclaimed workaholic and told experts at the beginning of his journey that he loved his job but that the sedentary nature was taking its toll both physically and mentally.
Having dealt with depression in the past, and having lost his nephew, mother and father all within a few months of each other a few years back, John knew that he needed a push to get both his mental and physical health back on track.
Speaking on his OT experience today, John says that the show has done just that: "When the depression kicked in with me, I just totally gave up. I knew that for me to get back to where I wanted to be, I needed to get help in relation to that. My biggest fear was getting out the front door. I needed someone to give me a kick up the backside to get me out the front door."
Reflecting on the highs and lows of the show, John says that his phone call from U2's Adam Clayton in was "the highlight of the show" and says he's still "on a high" from it.
Kathleen Hurley Mullins
A woman of many talents, Kathleen is a beautician, salon owner and farmer from Co. Cork, and lives on her farm in Carrignavar with her husband Tony and their two children.
Kathleen told Petula that she joined Operation Transformation in honour of her sister who died of ovarian cancer, and that she joined the show with a mission to shine a light on women's health issues, especially those affecting the "invisible generation" of women over 45 such as menopause and incontinence.
"I don't feel invisible anymore, but I am very conscious of the way that women can feel like that and I'm conscious of how you can slip into that quite easily."
"My thing is to feel fab at 50," she continued. "I do feel great at 50 but I would like a lot of other women to feel good at 50 and at other ages."
Stefano Sweetman
Stefano lives in Clonmel in Co Tipperary with his husband Gerard. Over the past year, the 32-year-old hairdresser says he's noticed his weight creeping up and was determined to get his health back on track.
A smoker since the age of 12, Stefano had been on 30 and 40 cigarettes a day but with some help from the experts he has managed to break the habit.
"I'm proud to say that I'm four weeks off the cigarettes," he told Petula. "I'm smoking since I was 12, its 20 years I'm smoking. I had tried numerous times before but I probably lasted a day. I think with all the health checks I had done, I got a fright this time around."
"I had to make that change for me and for my family."
Sarah O'Connor Ryan
38-year-old Sarah O'Connor Ryan from Tipperary is based in Ballina with her husband Padraig and their four children.
The singer said that she had lost her zest for life before joining OT and struggled to find the motivated to go out walking or running after a full day of work and looking after the kids. She told Petula that simple changes such as batch cooking has helped her get things on track.
"Its something so simple and it frees up so much time. It takes the weight off your head for the day, you don't have to think about what you're going to cook or what you're going to do."
"I don't think I ever gave myself credit for being able to cook," she adds. "The show has shown me that I can cook and I can do batch cooking and get it right."
She also spoke about her incredible experience of singing on The Late Late Show: "I was so nervous but the opportunity... there's no way I could pass it up."
Operation Transformation finale to air on Wednesday, 23rd February at 9:35pm on RTÉ One.
