Eden's Adrian says bye bye to the fry

Edenderry pet shop owner Adrian Brereton vowed to wave goodbye to the fry last week as he made his debut as a leader on the fifth series of RTE television series Operation Transformation. He make his second television appearance of the week last Saturday on Brendan O'Connor's Saturday Night Show. Forty-one year old Adrian weighed in at just under 19 stone in the first show of Operation Transformation on Wednesday night last, but hopes to decrease that to 16 stone 13 pounds by the end of the eight week series. Speaking to the Offaly Independent Adrian said he cried as he watched the first programme with his friends and family. "Everybody thinks I'm great craic," he said last Thursday morning on his way to a funeral. "But there's no point in three years time people standing here in a graveyard saying 'Wasn't he a great character'. It's better they say: 'Look at Adrian Brereton now; isn't he in great shape?'. That's what I want now. I won't tell you a lie; I was actually kind of crying watching it. I even cried watching it a second time by myself when everyone left." Adrian, who currently has a 51" waist, was motivated to apply to the programme after being too ashamed to get involved with a family photo shoot and later hearing a little girl remark on how fat he was. As one of eight famous boxing brothers from Edenderry Adrian said weight was never an issue growing up, but later in life fry-ups and takeaways took their toll. He was the first of five leaders chosen to lead others on the televised weight loss challenge last November. Last Wednesday's show introduced Adrian to viewers, and showed his journey to being chosen as one of the show leaders before the dreaded first weigh in. Adrian's segment ended with him saying "Bye bye to the fry", which he says has become a bit of a catchphrase now. "Everyone is texting me now saying 'Bye bye to the fry'," he laughed. Last Thursday morning as he began his first day of being followed by a camera crew, he said healthy food no longer tastes like "rabbit food", but instead tastes "like life". "If I follow this I'll have my life back," he said. "There will be nothing as good as being able to run around again with my children."