Edenderry man to lead country on weight loss challenge

After being chosen last Monday as the first of five leaders for the fifth series of RTÉ's Operation Transformation, Edenderry's Adrian Brereton has until January 2 to get ready for two months of getting fit, losing up to three stones in weight and being followed by a camera crew all the while. Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week the owner of Pet's Paradise said he's up for the challenge, and can't wait to lose the weight that has in the past shamed him. Adrian's first official engagement is an Operation Transformation photoshoot this Saturday, which will mark each participant's starting point for the two month programme journey. From then until the beginning of programming Adrian plans to get a little fitter in order to really be ready for the mammoth task in hand. Adrian, who weighs in at 18 stones 13 pounds, is one of eight famous Edenderry boxing brothers. He says finding motivation will not be the tough part, but rather being followed by a camera crew. "It's going to be surreal," he said. "Imagine a camera crew following you around. That's going to be a laugh for the first few days, but go five more weeks into it and they're still by your side." Adrian said as a child weight was never a problem, with boxing "a religion" in his house and everyone conscious of their weight for pre-match weigh-ins. Boxing finished for Adrian at age 15 however, and he spent some time in England before getting married and returning home to Ireland. It was at this point, when he began to manage The Chariot snooker hall in Tullamore. "My breakfast was a fry before I went in, then at tea time you'd send one of the lads over to Supermacs," he explained. "Come 11pm the boys would still be playing snooker so you'd go for another feed." Adrian said he was unaware of weight gain for some time, as he never looked in mirrors and didn't have photos of himself, but there was no avoiding it when he arranged for a professional photographer to take pictures of his wife Anna and four children Cain (15), Sally (11), Jessie (ten tomorrow) and Colleen (seven). "She did photos of my kids and one of my wife and kids and she said to me: 'Now Adrian, you and the wife and kids', and I said: 'No'. I wasn't saying it to her, but I didn't want to get into it because I was fat, and I didn't like the way I looked." The same pictures are hanging on Adrian's sitting room walls now, but with none of him he feels like he's not part of the family. "That really hit," he admitted. Adrian also coaches the under 16 soccer team in Edenderry, and said he thinks it's a bit rich when he sends his charges off to do some gruelling exercise when he knows he couldn't do the same himself. A second incident pushed him to fill in the application form for Operation Transformation, however. Adrian does some pet shows as entertainment, and while doing one at a birthday party about five months ago he heard a child remark: "God, isn't that man fat?". "I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me up," Adrian said. "My daughter heard it. I had to act like everything was grand, but that's when I decided to put in the application form." Last Monday morning, live on the John Murray Show on RTÉ Radio One, Operation Transformation presenter Kathryn Thomas surprised Adrian with the news that he was the first leader chosen for the programme. Now he's determined to do his best on the show, and hopes everyone in Offaly will get behind him and join in. "Every week I used to say I'm going on a diet," he said. "Or we'll start Monday. Come Monday you might do well for a couple of days, but then fall apart on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to this discipline and getting into a routine. If I can do it, anyone can do it." At five foot nine inches tall with a 51 inch waist, Adrian is hoping to lose a total of up to six stones, though just three stones at most will be lost as part of the Operation Transformation programme in the New Year. Presenter Kathryn Thomas, wishing all the candidates good luck last week, said being a leader is a big commitment with no days off. "It's intense, but that's why it works," she said. "The opportunity to fall off the wagon just isn't there. Everyone, the camera crews, the production team, the experts and John and I all want the leaders to achieve their goals."