After eight sensational weeks, this year's Operation Transformation comes to and end tonight, as the five leaders have their final check-ins and show off the results of their hard work.
Michelle Rogan, Darragh Fitzgerald, Anne Cushen, Noel O'Connell, and Edel O'Malley will walk the catwalk on tonight's finale, after transforming their lives and bringing the public on their journey with them. We've seen them cook, exercise and open up about the ups and downs of the experience, but this is just the beginning for them.
Speaking ahead of the finale, registered dietitian Sophie Pratt spoke to RTÉ Lifestyle about the efforts of the leaders and the importance of balanced and realistic information and guidance when it comes to food.
Reflecting on this year compared to last, which was her first on the show as one of the OT experts, Pratt said that it was "definitely easier".
"It's difficult to get used to the cameras and things like that, but in terms of, obviously the messages and things like that, it's the same as you do in clinic, so that's fine."
Pratt impressed viewers with her ability to talk about food in an encouraging and informative way, which she said was an aim of hers.
"It is a very difficult subject, I think, because it is so individualised and everyone has kind of different relationships with food. And I suppose what I do in clinic is just tailor it to the individual. You kind of gauge where they're at in terms of that relationship with food and they'll state what they want to achieve out of the consultation and you can just try to kind of fulfil those needs.
"Obviously, if there are areas that they find difficult to talk about discussed, you don't delve into too much", she added. "If it is a certain health issue that's discussed, and if it is kind of more, we'll say a mental health issue, then that is also discussed within reason."
Spreading dietary advice about specific conditions such as diabetes was also a focus, particularly when it came to leader Noel. "It's like for an individual who's just been diagnosed with diabetes, to never have got any sort of nutritional education is mind blowing", Pratt said, adding that while there are supports out there, they can be hard to access for some people.
"It's very difficult to manage something like diabetes, which is very, very much controlled through nutrition as well as medication at times. And to not have any idea of what foods are important and what foods are kind of going to exacerbate it is quite concerning. You need to be able to empower people so that they can look after their health a little bit more."
In her two years of working on the show, Pratt has seen the reach Operation Transformation has in real time, particularly when it comes to younger generations. "There's a lot of kind of, we'll say teenage girls coming up to me just kind of find out how it's improving their relationship with food, which is phenomenal", she said.
"It's an area where we're really struggling with at the minute, that kind of age group and body image is a huge thing. We have kind of different messages coming from all directions. Social media, as you said, there's so many things going on so to hit that age group, I think it's fantastic.
"And for a programme like that, when some people may see it as a targeting a specific audience, I argue against that. I think it's quite open to a large audience, of various ages."
When it comes to subtly and effectively improving what we eat, Pratt said to always simplify it.
"I know it's kind of something that everyone says, but honestly, we need to kind of bring it back to the basics of a healthy balanced regular eating approach. And I think once we kind of just push all those messages, look at our diet, actually think of the pattern and whether we're eating.
"It's only when there's kind of periods of restriction or there's kind of other health issues that are leading us to need supplements.
"As I kind of always say as well, we sometimes overthink things and we just really need to pare it back. Ten minutes of walking every single day is better than no, you know, and then build from there."
Watch the finale of Operation Transformation on Wednesday at 9:35pm on RTÉ One.
