Dublin woman Orla has opened up to RSVP Magazine about the turning point to shed an impressive 13 stone and become the healthiest and happiest version of herself
Orla Ní Eochagain
A Dublin woman has shared how her 13 stone weight loss has completely transformed her health and wellness. Orla Ní Eochagain had struggled with her weight for many years, and despite making positive changes to her lifestyle, she still wasn’t making any progress when it came to losing weight. The right path for her was bariatric surgery and, now, five years on she has never looked back.
Here, she tells RSVP all about her experience and how it has changed her life.
“Six years ago, I had a brilliant GP at the time, and she said to me, maybe take a week off work to try out the gym,” Orla told us. “At that time, I was very overweight and she encouraged me to do something that might move my body a bit, but not necessarily for weight loss.
“At that time, I gave up alcohol for a month, I gave up cigarettes for a month and I decided I’d go and do some swimming. I joined the gym for the first time ever. I went with the intention of it being a month-long reset, but now I go to the gym all the time, I don’t drink and I don’t smoke.
“I was doing all of these positive changes but I wasn’t necessarily losing any weight.”
Orla’s sister works in the medical field, and suggested that Orla might consider bariatric surgery. Her first response was absolutely not, but after discussing it she realised that it may be the best option for her. She went into the Mater Private to have a consultation with the surgeon and any worries she had were immediately alleviated.
“He said, you have the disease of obesity and it is not your fault,” Orla recalled. “It was the first time that anyone had taken the shame and the self blame out of obesity for me. Self blame is the thing that blocked me from doing anything for a very long time. To have someone say, ‘You don’t need to blame yourself, it’s a medical disease and we’re going to help you with it’, was the most revolutionary thing.”
Orla underwent six months of preparation ahead of her surgery, including talking to a psychologist, meeting her surgeon a number of times, meeting with an endocrinologist and a dietitian. The surgery went smoothly and now, five years down the line and 13 stone down, Orla is so grateful that she went ahead with it.
“I have so much more energy,” she said. “I’m able to run, for the first time ever. I’m a teacher and able to have more energy with the children in my class and my nieces. I’m able to explore clothes that I wasn’t able to before. Before, there wasn’t one item in the whole of Dundrum Shopping Centre that I could buy.
“I had a routine surgery recently and they were checking over results and said they were pristine. All my medical stuff comes back perfect. It’s such a relief, for me and I’m sure for my family and friends. It was something that I was worried about but it felt too overwhelming to know where to start so I buried my head in the sand a little bit. It’s great to feel that’s not a worry anymore.”
Her weight loss has also had a positive impact on how she feels mentally.
“I’ve seen a huge difference in my confidence,” she said. “My view of myself and how I allow other people to treat me has changed.”
For Orla, she really wants to spread the attitude that obesity is a medical disease and should be treated as one.
“I would just love to totally take self blame away from anyone,” she said. “There hopefully is a movement towards that, of people maybe having less judgement and understanding it better.”
You can follow Orla on Instagram at @orlas.operation