130lbs weight loss - Ozempic, Bariatric Surgery, & tips for Christmas with Rob Cumiskey - The Dose with Paddy and Belinda

Episode Transcript
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(00:09):
Welcome to The Dose with Paddy and Belinda where we talk all
things Munjaro, Ozempic and more, supporting you on your
health and Wellness weight loss journey.
Today's conversation is with RobComiskey who shares his insights
into his journey on bariatric surgery and Ozempic and how
these experiences have now changed and formed the life he
lives today. We hope you enjoy the

(00:31):
conversation. If you do, don't forget to leave
a review. A reminder also that none of
this conversation should be taken as medical advice for you.
Before starting or changing any medical or Wellness treatment,
always consult your GP and medical care team.

(00:52):
So folks, I am delighted this episode to be joined by Rob
Comiskey from Venue Health Coaching.
Rob, you're very welcome to the dose.
It's I'm riding solo today. I've known Belinda, so I don't,
so I've known Debbie McGee. I know it's a shame, so it's
time to have the two years together but also delighted to
join yourself on your own and great to be here, so thanks for

(01:13):
having me Paddy. No, thanks.
Thanks for making the time. I really appreciate it.
So my kind of intro question forany of the guests that we have
on or have coming on is what is your elevator pitch about who
you are and what you are and what your story is within like
15 to 20 seconds? Wow.
OK, umm, so who I am, Rob Crumsky and uh, what I do is I'm

(01:36):
a health, nutrition and exercisecoach, but specifically for the
world of medical weight loss, and that includes weight loss
injections and, umm, bariatric, umm, surgery, I suppose.
Bariatric surgery patients. So yeah, that's under 20
seconds. Yeah, that's good.

(01:57):
And so there's a bit more to it than that.
Now, you're not just somebody that like, went to college to
get like a health qualification.And that's why now you're
deciding, oh, here I'm going to jump on this bandwagon because
there seems to be a surge in like, weight loss medication and
people jumping on that. So let's dig a little bit more
into that. What led you down this path of

(02:18):
the world of coaching? Yeah, I mean, it's, it's exactly
what is behind it, I suppose my own personal experience with the
disease of obesity and with challenges, uh, related to that
for 1520 years. And like I, you know, I'm, I'm

(02:38):
talking about really from my mid20s onwards, just struggling
consistently with umm, with gaining weight with umm, you
know, I suppose dealing gradually with the added
complications from being overweight.
And then getting to a point about, I would say, you know,

(02:58):
four or five years ago where, where I where I realized that
this was not something that was within my control, that it was
something that I needed, you know, significant help with
medical help with. And it wasn't going to be solved
by, you know, what I've been doing, which was dieting and
exercising and all the things that people do.

(03:21):
And I suppose I gradually got intouch with the right people.
So, you know, looking back two to three years ago as
particularly Ozempic was starting to hit the shelves as
it was gaining, I suppose some. Yeah, as doctors, we're, we're
gaining some awareness of it over here and the power that it

(03:44):
had or the potential that it had.
And I, I suppose I got an early access to it about about two to
three years ago, had some success with it and really
learned at that stage, you know,what it was that I was actually
dealing with and, and how much of it was in my, uh, you know,

(04:08):
my, my genes, my DNA, my family history, my makeup and a little
control I had over that. And, you know, it was through a
different approach that I began to, to battle it.
And I had some initial success with Ozempic.
I was a responder. I, umm, I didn't have many
complications to side effects and I had a good result.

(04:30):
I think I had about, you know, ultimately about 12 or 15%
weight loss, but then I had a very frank conversation with the
doctor at the time and he said, you know, you've still got
hypertension, you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Uh, I had joint issues, I had lower back issues.
And, and he said like, like really the next stage is, is

(04:54):
bariatric surgery. And I had to really go away and,
and think about that as, as an option.
And so I, I had the surgery in January of this year.
So I'm almost a year post bariatric surgery with an
amazing surgeon, having Hanniganin Saint Vincent's private and

(05:16):
her team fantastic. And I am, I suppose from my
highest point, which was just after COVID, I'm 60 kilos down
in weight overall. I've reversed most of the
hypertension, uh, the cholesterol issues, the sleep
apnea, uh, the joint issues, theback issues and, and you know,

(05:39):
for the first time in, you know,my adult life, really, I could
say that I'm healthy and close to a healthy weight for me.
That's like phenomenal and a weight loss 60 kilos.
I'm I'm trying to Google here, but my keyboard won't work.
For context folks, later before we went live, I spilled like a

(06:00):
full mug of water all over the desk.
So then I thought, no, I've ruined the podcast, but it's
fine. But like.
He was super calm about. It's like, it's fine, Sure, I
can't fix it now, but like 60 kilos that is.
Do you know what that is in pounds or stones?
Roughly, yeah, I'd say it's about 100 lbs or it's, it's over
100 lbs. I mean, you're talking a, a

(06:22):
small person. Like I'm not going, I'm not
going to say who, but like a family member of mine would be
less than 60 kilos. You know, that's kind of, you
know, it's a small person and you know. 9 Stone 5.
Wow. OK, Yeah.
Yeah. Wow, yeah, in old money in.

(06:44):
Old money, it's gas like becausethat's the thing I find like
being on social media is you, you'll put stuff out there in a
particular way and then someone like what's that in pounds
though? And then someone.
Else yeah. So like I, I've gotten a little
bit better, but it's still kind of excuse a little bit like.
And then in terms of pounds, that's £132.
OK, right. It's even OK.
I thought it was. I knew it was over 100 lbs and

(07:07):
that had been kind of my initialgoal.
And, uh, in, in kilos terms, youknow, of probably, you know,
like, because like when you meetwith a bariatric team and you
meet kind of initially to, as you're making those decisions
that they really are careful to set the expectations, you know,
because you know, it's, it's so important at that stage to

(07:29):
understand what you're dealing with and umm, you know, what the
norms and what the evidence willsay.
Umm, And, uh, so I've been absolutely delighted with, with
the results. And, and I mean, that's not like
I'm a year post umm and you know, I've, I've obviously got
a, a background now in on the health coaching exercise side.
And I've learned a huge amount, particularly about the area of

(07:51):
obesity and how to manage the bariatric side of things.
But it's still, you know, it's still early in the journey of a
bariatric patient. Yeah.
And if we go back then, back when you maybe first had the
realization that do you know what, maybe my weight is higher
than it should be, or maybe there's something different

(08:15):
about my weight in person to other people or that or, or or
that. What kind of age would that have
been at? Like, I started to really gain
an awareness of it. I'd say it was coming into my
late 20s. And, you know, it comes from a
combination of places. It's, you know, the clothes that

(08:35):
you're wearing, it's your own image of your, it's your own
self-image or, or how you see yourself.
It's the comments that people make.
It's the comments that doctors make.
Umm, or the blame that's put on,you know, well, if you could
just lose some of that weight, umm, it, and it's, it's just a
general feeling of, of, of just not being, umm, happy in myself

(08:59):
or, or, or comfortable in my ownskin, you know, And, you know,
even from a social perspective or from a, a career perspective,
it, it has, you know, it starts to have an impact.
Umm, And I think initially for me, it was sort of this
subconscious thing or, you know,something that I was pushing to
one side and not really taking seriously.
But it was late 20s when I was starting to, to get a sense of,

(09:23):
OK, this is becoming a problem for me, you know?
And would you have been living with like excess weight prior to
that? And it was just that you'd
realization then like say duringyour teens or that what would
you like say you're in school? Or was it a case that it was
more so during your your 20s that you found the weight maybe

(09:45):
starting to increase during thatperiod?
Or what was that like? That kind of, yeah.
Teen years, Yeah. It's interesting because I was
actually thinking that coming into the podcast and like, I
don't come from a sporty family and I come from even just my
wider family aren't particularly, you know, sporty
people that there would be wasteissues kind of throughout the

(10:07):
wider family. And, but I was an active, I'd
say I was an active kid and thenjust from my own relation was a,
a sporty teenager. I played soccer all through
school in, you know, to a decentlevel, uh, rugby in the first
couple of years in school athletics.
And I look back on photos of myself then, you know, I was a

(10:27):
trim, healthy teenager. And umm, I, I think coming into
my late teens and early 20s, I started to develop bad habits.
Umm, you know, I also, I, I, youknow, I think about the, umm,
the career direction I took and I've made a huge change in that
over the past 18 months. Umm, that really kind of had a,

(10:50):
an impact on my own kind of self-image and, and stress and
anxiety at an early point. And I, I developed coping
mechanisms and habits at an early stage that I didn't shift,
you know, there wasn't as much of an awareness back then.
And, you know, these aren't things that are kind of, you
know, they're, they're, they're behind closed doors, you know,
it's, it's the, the binging in the evening time because you

(11:11):
feel crap about something or it's the, you know, the sort of
pulling back from exercise because you don't have the
energy for it. So I think the crossover into
sort of adulthood and career anddeveloping those habits that
that was a bad stage to develop.And they, they kind of took hold
themselves almost to that point.But I feel like it was always

(11:34):
waiting to happen. It was always there.
It was always in me. I just happened to be more
active. And you know, it sort of came
crashing, crashing in at that point.
Yeah, it like I look back at that thing like looking back at
photos as well and like I look at whether it's a baby photo or

(11:55):
whether it's like say in my teens or whatever.
And I think I looking at the photos because again, there
wasn't a huge amount of cameras in the house back in those days
like what we have now, but it seemed like a chubby baby, I
guess, like so many babies are, and kind of younger teen.
And then it looks like maybe around 8/9, 10:00-ish.

(12:17):
I was maybe a little bit less chubby from my age.
But then definitely from that kind of, I would say early
adolescence into secondary school like I was, I was quite
young going into secondary school.
I think I was 11. Yeah, OK, one of the youngest
one when I started secondary school.

(12:40):
And 11:12, yeah, I think, yeah, I was the youngest for second
youngest in my class pretty muchfor all the years.
But when I started secondary school and for all throughout
it, I had literally, and I said this once, twice for one stone
of weight nearly per whatever year old I was.
So like when I was 17, I was already 1617 stone.

(13:03):
And that continued into the 20s,yes, up until I was I'd say
reached his steady point probably for a long time of
probably like 20-2 ish stone, which is probably where I spent
nearly all of my 20s then. So like, I never really remember

(13:27):
a time in my life bar one time like which we touched on a
minute, like 12 years or whatever, when I was when I was,
had lost weight. But pretty much all of my life,
I, I, I had weight as a thing for me.
But I think what's really interesting is, you know, some
people might have that journey, but that's not the case for
everyone like you, whereby because of changes in behavior

(13:51):
or lifestyle or environment around us that they happen And
and suddenly it can be a case where you're like.
When did this happen? Yeah, it just kind of catches
up. No, it's a really good point,
though, and I I so often hear that, you know, that, that very.
I suppose. Yeah, understandable story of,

(14:12):
you know, I've, I've struggled with this through childhood,
through teenage years. And, you know, I, I would say I
was possibly, you know, AI was ahealthy weight as a child, but I
was I was definitely Fisher as ateenager.
And you know, I suppose the old way of maybe explaining that
would be the metabolism caught up on me.
But we know it's not all about metabolism.

(14:32):
It's it's you know, that there are other things at play.
But, but I think the interestingthing as well is the the
self-image at that time would not have, you know, in terms of
how we spoke to myself or I saw myself in the mirror.
I would not have seen myself as a, you know, as, you know, a
fish healthy, even a, a, a slim teenager.

(14:54):
You know, that was not how I wastalking about myself.
And that's one of the most frustrating things when I look
back on pictures like we're talking about now and.
Is that because like, would you have thought in your mind that
you were unfit or that you did have weighed on you then or or
what image did you have of yourself at that time?
Yeah, just just excess weight. You know, I kind of knew that I

(15:16):
was sporty or I was, you know, Ihad some, some talent there,
like not, not had a, a professional level or anything
like it, but like I was good, I was quick, I was sporty, but it
was much more about the excess weight.
And you know, yeah, I, I still dig to kind of really understand
where some of that comes, comes from or came from at that stage.
Umm, but that has been umm, I suppose the psychological and

(15:40):
the, the mental health side of it has been as important in the
last couple of years trying to come out of that and you know,
do this for myself and do it forthe right reasons and to kind of
work on that side has been really, really important.
Umm, that self-image and that kind of, umm, that self talk,
you know? Yeah.

(16:00):
And would there have been anything environmentally around
you like in school or the sportsclubs or that that ever would
have made you think that you hadthat that you weren't say, you
know, slender and fit or that like any kind of I.
I just think that now there's, there's a much better

(16:20):
understanding of, of boundaries and of how we should deal with
the disease of obesity and people who are suffering from
that and, and, and have those challenges.
And particularly even in, in terms of how, you know, you
know, how I talk to my kids and how I hear my kids talking to

(16:41):
their friends about these thingsand how they're teachers and
sports teachers deal with these things, you know, like, and
we're not talking like we're talking about the, the 90s and
naughties when I was in, in school and secondary school.
So it's not, it doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but I
feel like a huge amount has changed in terms of, of how we
deal with that. There's still a really long way

(17:02):
to go. By the way, Bush like there's
been some good, you know, some good developments there.
So I, I just think it was a general environmental thing.
Bush, Bush. Like I, I don't come from a
family who, you know, you know, were super sporty and and had
had made maybe had as good of, of an awareness at that stage

(17:26):
compared to how they have now, you know?
Gotcha. Yeah, I know it's great.
It's a great question. It's just it's, it's such an
important part of the OR piece of the jigsaw, I think.
Coming, Yeah, Yeah. Because like again, when I when
I think of school and what school was for me, it was a
place I I liked because it had my comfort place off the tuck

(17:50):
shop at lunchtime when everyone else was off.
I was never into sport ever. Still, still Amit.
And sport was like the worst thing for me.
And I often wonder was that something because of my weight
and could I actually enjoyed it?Like I remember one of the
teachers quite a few times trying to get me into rugby
because I was a bigger fella. And I often kind of think, what

(18:12):
would that a trajectory of beinglike if ever I did?
Yeah, and. Yeah, like, like, who knows?
I could have loved it, I tell you what I thought, but I was
definitely more the kind of the public speaking, the debating.
And then we got little school radio station going and that's
where I found my kind of comfortplace.
But like, I remember there probably wasn't a day went by
where I wasn't called like Patrick instead of Patrick in

(18:34):
school or where like, my weight was brought up quite directly to
me during those school years. And there's such formative
years, you know, that's, that's a really difficult thing to deal
with at that age. And did that be really just did
that get in and become part of who you saw yourself as then?

(18:58):
Oh. Absolutely, absolutely.
Yeah. And, and like even well into my
20s and and and 30s, like I would have definitely, and it's
only I was only thinking about this particular topic this week
in my own head that I would haveprobably spent the majority of
my life feeling a deep inferiority to other fellas

(19:21):
because of my like that purely because of my waist.
There's no way I could be as good as any other fellas.
And I, and I know how crazy thatsounds saying those words out,
but I think there's a lot of people that when you have that
weight on you, that it can make you feel for some reason that

(19:42):
you're some way not as good as somebody else, which isn't true
at all, as we know. But like I remember one day in
particular, walking over the theschoolyard was non uniform jet.
I hated non uniform jets. Hated them.
Because I'd have to think about oh.
My God. And it wasn't even a what would
be nice. It's what's going to fit me.

(20:04):
Yeah, how am I going to get get,you know, get into something and
and feel like myself and put myself out in front of this
group now that say all these things?
Because like it was, it was a case as well that like Evan
would have had their like branded like, you know, their
brands like their Nike, their Adidas or their whatever like.
And again, at that age, trying to get clothing that fitted me

(20:28):
that was anyway comparable to what other lads in school were
was wearing because I went to anold boys school and wasn't
really, really feasible. So I remember this day I've been
been in school and I thought, you know, you look look decent.
I was kind of happy enough for what I picked out more.
I remember just walking across the school yard and getting
egged on what I was wearing. And I remember just thinking,

(20:49):
what have I don't deserve this like, but I've done nothing to
any of these people. Would have been quite kind of
yeah, uncontroversial, you know,wouldn't be fairly independent
in schools. But but, but not really an aggro
type person and all that I couldever bring that back to was it's
'cause my weight do you know? And that just made you a target
for this kind of bullying, you know, like 'cause they'll call

(21:11):
it what it is. Like that's just pure bullying.
And I, I mean, I don't know whatit's like now to, to be in
school and, and, and have those challenges, but I, I just, I
hope that, you know, the things have moved on enough, you know,
and that people don't have to gothrough that because that's, as
I said, it's such a formative time.

(21:32):
And then to come out of those years with those memories and
with that part of your makeup and identity, you know, it's
really, it must be really, really challenging.
Yeah. Now, I mean, I think I, I
suppose I feel, I feel lucky that that wasn't a huge thing at
that age and that, you know, it was more something that I think

(21:57):
I was dealing with internally than it was, you know, an extra
like, what's the word I'm looking for like an external or
a bullying thing at that age. But I suppose picking up on the
point that you made there about like the comparison and how you
feel compared to other people and men in particular, that that

(22:19):
sounds more familiar for me coming into my 20s and at a time
where, you know, people are starting to kind of settle down.
And I mean, the amount of of weddings that I went to through
my mid 20s and late 20s. And, you know, I suppose what
you're saying about like non uniform days, like trying to
find suits that trying to find, you know, you know, if I wasn't

(22:45):
part of the wedding party or something, something else nice
to wear and, you know, even adults making comments about
things. And, you know, I think there was
probably two or three moments that I can look back on and go
these these were sort of like wow moments for me.
You know, it was like like one Iwas on the long haul flight for
work and the air Hostess came over and handed me a belt

(23:08):
extender, but I didn't ask for. And it was like, yeah, sorry,
what? Where did this come from?
Do I need this? You know, and then there was a
family holiday where, you know, I was basically frog marched off
the the roller coaster because it wouldn't close properly.
And I did this walk of shame along in front of the whole

(23:30):
group of them on the on the roller coaster.
It was moments like that where where, yeah, you have, you have
that in your mind. You're like, what did I like?
What did I do something wrong here?
Like, I mean, like, and those were sort of moments as well.
It was like, I need to do something.
But, you know, hopefully you're,you're choosing it for yourself
rather than for the people who are putting that on you, you

(23:52):
know? And then those very moments can
be the ones then that a lot of people can turn to.
Well, my comfort here to make mefeel better is going to be food.
Absolutely. Yeah, Well, that's what I know.
That's what I'm familiar with. Yeah, it's like the one constant
for me throughout all those years my best friend was food.
It understood anything that was going on and it always would be

(24:15):
a better. It would always be there for you
and, you know, you could rely onit.
And yeah, I'd, I'd come home andthe, the late evenings from some
of my earlier jobs and stressed out of my mind and unhappy and
whatever. And that was what was there.
And to a smaller degree, you know, wine maybe.

(24:37):
But, you know, I think the the binging or the reliance is more
on food and you know, like, yeah, it was.
I had a disordered relationship with it through through my sort
of like early early adulthood. Yeah, one of one of the best
things I ever did do back when Istarted regaining weight, maybe

(25:00):
8 what I was regaining before them.
But when I thought, oh, the I could identify this behaviour of
episodes of binging. And there was there was one in
particular. I spoke with it on one of the
podcasts a while ago, but whereby basically metastricity
at work and I bought a pack of wagon wheels and said I'd have
these and I go home and that I was working in Sandyford at the

(25:22):
time and I was living down in just inside Greystones.
So like literally 20 minute drive by the time every single
one of those wagon wheels was gone and I when I got home, I
was like I, I hadn't even registered that I had done it.
But you were just still consciously doing it was just
going, yeah. That learned behaviour of this

(25:42):
is what I do to make myself feelbetter and just all gone and
that for me was one of my major kind of back then kind of aha
moments like somewhat weight related with more so the the
habits around food. Yeah, exactly the weight and I
and I went indeed like therapy around binge eating and it was
the best thing ever done. And I always like even now when

(26:05):
people are asking me all you know, will Monjar or Willows
empty kind of fix my binge eating?
That's like, no it it will be a tool to maybe help numb some of
the cravings, but it's absolutely fix it.
Oh, you're absolutely right. And, and one of the things that
they say to you in the bariatricclinic is this, this isn't
surgery on your brain. You know, this is surgery.

(26:25):
It gives it on your stomach and it gives you a tool and it is a
tool. But there are many other things
that you know will be really helpful for, for you as the
individual. And it's very personal thing
because it'll be like different for everyone, but there will be,
there will be a number of thingsthat that you will need to work
on and develop new habits around.
And you have a, to some degree, you have a window to, to work on

(26:49):
that. And the tool is there and it's a
powerful one. But you know the particularly I
think that the mental health side and the psychological side
is such a big part of that. Yeah.
So when you were in your second late 20s when you said you kind
of started having back kind of realization off, OK, something
needs to change. How did you go about kind of I

(27:13):
guess exploring how do I change this?
It was just, it was just such haphazard, you know, oh, I'll
try this. Oh, that didn't work.
I'm gonna try this. Oh, that didn't work.
And you know, everything, you know, I went to, uh, you know, I
listened to the, uh, hypnotherapy stuff.

(27:35):
I went to umm, Weight Watchers, I went to Slamming World, I went
to all of the brand names. You know, I went to personal
trainers, I did the Atkins diet.I did, you know, you name it,
I've done it. And in some cases, you know, I,
I had really good results. You know, probably the best one

(28:00):
was I got them close to the weight that I am now, but I
would say within four or five months I was close to backup and
more. It was that short an amount of
time, you know, and every, and the shame that I felt at that
point, I would say I was 2728 atthat point.
You know, it was like the early days of CrossFit and I was

(28:22):
working with a great coach and he did some amazing work and
whatever it pushed it just, it was the wrong time for me.
And it was there weren't enough of the, the right things in
place or framework in place to help me maintain that It wasn't
sustainable enough. And, you know, I just got busy
with work, busy with family and within four months right back up

(28:42):
again. And I was coming back out and
some people hadn't seen, you know, I think it was around that
Christmas of that year, you know, and just the reaction you
get from people and it's just like, you know, what am I doing?
You know, and you know, that wasthe case all the way into my
early 30s, you know, early 30s. And I tried to start even a

(29:04):
company, umm, nearly 88810 yearsago, 8-8 years ago, umm, in the
nutrition space, A health tech company.
And umm, that was such an eye opener in terms of umm, I
suppose turning around within 12months or, you know, going, what
am I doing here? Because I am the person kind of

(29:26):
pushing this brand out there andI can't control this.
And I didn't really get into it for that reason.
I got into it to help people like myself.
But the link between the two wasjust not right for me.
And that that was one of those real points of, of realization.
It was like I, I, you know, I'vegot a real need to do something

(29:49):
different here. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Come back to the point about like what the things people say.
I'd be fascinated like, and it, it kind of gets me angry now
when I see somebody saying something to another person.
I I've gotten quite good at justif somebody say something to me
now I'm like whatever like. And it doesn't bother you.

(30:10):
Not now, not now. It's it's take me to this point,
like even though the night was on live on TikTok and somebody
come in being really kind of negative in it.
And I was like, you know, I said, look, I, I was like, I, I
feel really sorry that this is your outlook on life and on, on
people like myself and this thatare trying to treat it.
I'd really encourage you to takesome time to reflect on

(30:33):
yourself. And it sounds like you might
actually need a little bit of, you know, self development work
to kind of understand the world with better blah, blah, blah.
So I kind of, yeah, some kind of, but it's take like I'm
almost 43. So like it's taken a long point
but the reverse of that And and and extended family member who I

(30:54):
don't even know if they ever recall this happening but after
her I lost. The one time I ever lost
significant weight was after thebiggest losers I was 20/10/2011
and I would have been quite social at that time.
Like my new body new confidence.As I said before I thought it
was fixed because I was now 18. I thought that was the equation

(31:17):
10 = 6 equal equals happy, whichI know was not the case that
yeah, I kind of, yeah, without kind of, you know, meeting
people and at things and stuff like that.
So a lot of people would have crossed paths with a lot of
people when I was that smaller version of myself.
And then more than what you're saying yourself, like after
within the few years after that weight started creeping up

(31:38):
pretty quickly, pretty pretty quickly.
And I like within 18 to 24 months, all that weight was back
on again. Like that kind of six and one or
whatever it lost. But I went to a an event.
Yeah, I went to an event and this person who extended family

(32:00):
or who I would know, but like I wouldn't say best he's with.
And they just walked up. I'd say I'd plan maybe, I'd say
maybe 2 1/2 to 3 stone, maybe from the last time they'd seen
me and they walked up to me in front of a group of people and
the first thing out of their mouth was Jesus, Patty, what
have you been doing besides you?I mean just like and exactly as

(32:25):
you said they I would say 100% don't even recall that yet, no.
No, I'd say, I'd say they. I'd say they don't.
But I remember at that moment intime, like how oddly I was hyper
aware of my weight. I lost the weight and was and
was regaining it and. And it must have been really
tough for you as well, like if you're, you know, doing

(32:47):
something public and doing something that exciting and
like, like we were talking abouta few minutes ago, just start
feeling of, of go back out now. And yeah, you'd probably want to
see me, you know? Yeah, yeah, that.
Can't be easy. It was the one that jumps from
Justin. He said that I I went to a
funeral, pay my respects to an an extended family member and

(33:09):
the another family member as I gave my respects literally at
the top of the church said, you know, oh, thanks.
And, you know, but it looked like that.
What have you done to yourself? Like what, like God, you've
gotten very big, you know, and like a queue of people behind
me. I was like, I cannot believe
that I'm having this conversation in this place at

(33:29):
this time. And that's what I'm hoping we're
moving into, a place where people are more conscious of
this and the impact that it has.Because that played around in my
head for days, weeks probably. And like you, I've probably
gotten to a point where I'm a bit stronger with this, more

(33:50):
resilient that I've built copingmechanisms that you realize that
it's in many cases, you're not always, sometimes people just
make comments, but in many cases, it's more about them than
it is about you. And that's a really important
realization. But you know, it stings.
And particularly for people, youknow, for kids or for teenagers,

(34:11):
it's really damaging at that ageto hear that.
Like it's, it's gas as well, I think because you would hear so
much about like, say, diet culture and body shaming and and
that kind of thing within the kind of female space.
But yeah, if you go to any magazine shop, you can, yeah,
you can see I'm just look at allthe men's magazines.
I will guarantee you that every single one of them will have

(34:36):
something about Lose X pounds fat or something related to body
image on the front cover and we hear very little spoken about
that And even like ourselves on this chat, it's not that common
that you will hear Maine talkingabout.
Really important to have conversations like this.
You're absolutely right. It's not, you know, I, I, I, I

(34:59):
would not have had these conversations often, if at all
with male friends or male colleagues or, and like having
gone recently through a lot of, you know, sort of study and you
know, uh, I suppose additional education in the physical, umm,
physical training and, and personal training space.

(35:20):
You know, actually, just to yourpoint, there's an awful lot
still around, umm, I suppose an unhealthy desire for a
particular body type or a particular like hypertrophy
training, bodybuilding training.And you know, that those
conversations do need to be had because, you know, I suppose

(35:42):
you're, you're, you're driving the, the wrong, the wrong
motivation and the wrong desire there.
And at, at at an age that where someone is very, very vulnerable
or very, you know, very easily pushed in the wrong direction.
And I, I think things can reallygo in the wrong direction at at
that point, you know? And particularly with social

(36:05):
media, like we're seeing a lot more people now that are being
more aware and compassionate about kind of body image and,
and, and weight and shape and size and all that kind of thing.
But I remember like up until, I'd say that's still a
relatively newish movement over the last maybe 5:00-ish years.
Like before that, anytime you would look at anything fitness

(36:27):
related on Instagram or anythinglike that, it was all just ABS
and, you know, broccoli and brown rice.
And that that was the epitome ofwhat health was.
When the reality was that those people are probably on the other
end of the spectrum of having unhealthy relationships as well,
just in a body that looks different, you know?

(36:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or or or you're just not hearing
the full story. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Not hearing or getting the, the God honest truth of like what it
is taking to get to that point, what they've really done to get
that point, the challenges to get to that point.
Umm, uh, you know, I think, yeah, social media is an
amplifier for good or for bad. And locally, people like

(37:12):
yourself and Belinda are tellinga true story and a true version
of events and the real challenges that are involved.
And more of that needs to happenif we're going to use the, you
know, continue to use, you know,Instagram, TikTok, whatever new
channel rears its heads. But that's what we need.
It's, it's not, you know, there's, this is an awful lot of

(37:35):
of, of danger, I suppose, from, from that kind of like, here's
the perfect version of the storyand that's what you're saying.
Yeah. So then when a, when you kind of
I guess how did you first heard hear about Azampic?
Was it suggested to you or was it something that you heard
about and then were researching to see if you could kind of if

(37:56):
it would be a good fit for you or.
Yeah, what was that kind of whole process like for you or
had you considered other optionsat that point?
Obviously you'd mentioned you'd done the other diets as such,
like, like a lot of us with see more of the Weight Watchers,
the, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Yeah. Where then, did maybe an
alternative treatment start to raise its head Few as a
possibility? Well, like, like touching the

(38:20):
idea that I had 810 years ago around my own health tech
company and, you know, trying tobuild something there.
Like I, I've been even through all of the weight challenges,
I've been a nerd around nutrition and and health to sort
of figure out a way to, to help myself or help others with those

(38:40):
challenges. So, yeah, I would have been deep
in particularly the likes of the, the Peter Tia, umm, world
of podcasts and books and umm, Iwas looking for something
evidence based, medically driven, safe, umm, and this was
really starting to, to blow up in the States at that point.

(39:02):
So that's where I first heard about it.
And then, you know, coming across, umm, the likes of Prof
Karlaroo and My best Weight and other, other places, you know,
been able to have a relatively like without being a doctor or
educated in that sphere, been able to at least say I've heard
of this thing. These are the things that I
think I understand about it here, you know, the side effects

(39:24):
and the, you know, the pros. And it had just kind of started
being prescribed at that point. Yeah, yeah, cool.
And when you had that first conversation, then was there any
concerns in your mind about it or were you from the gecko?
No, absolutely. This is what I want to try.

(39:45):
I was really, really sure about it and I'm, I, I think I was
lucky that it hadn't hit the popular media.
I'm trying to sound like a hipster, but it hadn't hit the
popular media. So I wasn't getting the echo
Chamber of bought all of these things.
So it was much more of a, you know.
This is doing significantly wellfor people.

(40:06):
Why don't you try it? And by the way, it's very safe
and here's the things that couldhappen.
But like we're confident that you're going to have a good
result from this. So I think I was lucky that I
got it at that point and I was very sure.
I was like, no, I need somethingdifferent.
I need something that's, you know, backed by this.
And again, luckily it also included you need to mind your

(40:29):
nutrition. You need to be physically
active. You know, I had been strength
training even with all of the additional weight I had, you
know, pushed myself for a while there.
So there was probably a strong ish person in there somewhere
and it was like, you have to continue doing that and making

(40:49):
sure that you're not losing the bone density and the muscle loss
and you know, the protein and the fiber intake and all the
good stuff. And you know, within two or
like, again, like the expectation setting was so
different. It wasn't like, you know, within
eight weeks we're going to have X amount of weight off you, you
know, it's like this is a process and you're going to need

(41:12):
to work with us on this. And umm, you know, it was four
to six months before I started to, to see a shift, but it was,
you know, being, being able to go.
No, no, that's, that's what we said.
And I'm seeing that and the feeling, you know, umm, like
that feeling of like, umm, I, I,I, I remember being on holidays,
I was in Lisbon with a friend ofmine and, and I was relatively

(41:34):
new to it. And you know, as, as we would
have done, we went for a pint and a burger.
And I took a sip of the pint anda bite of the burger and I
literally could not put another bite in my, like, it was so
visceral and so strong. And I was like, wow, this is
this is different, you know, so it was having those early

(41:54):
feelings and then seeing the results that they said we would
see within that timeline and doing it sustainably, you know,
within six months, four to six months, I was starting to feel
like this is really the right decision.
And you know, and also then the expectation of at a certain
point it will, it will stop and they're going to need to keep,
keep taking this. Yeah, Yeah.

(42:15):
It's an interest among that ideaof the expectations.
I would say there is not a day goes by if I don't get Adm from
somebody where they're like, oh,I'm on Monjaro usually for two
weeks now. I'm not seeing any results as it
were continuing. So I think there's still like a
huge amount of work to do in terms of that education piece

(42:36):
because again, a lot of people are accessing it different ways.
Yes, not, not everybody via thatkind of multidisciplinary
approach, which you know, I'm a huge fan of because I think, you
know, yeah, you're getting more proper support that way through
the kind of professionals that can that can kind of help you
and inform you and and guide youon your way.
I think that's the operative wayto describe it.

(42:58):
It's like, yeah, it, it depends on, on where it's coming from
and, and who's prescribing and, and, and how it's being
prescribed. But I completely agree.
Multidisciplinary, you know, needs to include the, the
holistic approach and the expectation settings.
Huge. And I mean, like bariatric
surgery is, is, is similar, you know, I, I, I hear it all the

(43:18):
time, you know, the different forums that I'm on or clients
that I work with, you know, I'm whatever, 6-8 weeks out of
surgery. And this is the disaster.
And you know, unlike you've madea huge decision and you've had
surgery, but it like, it's no different.
It takes time for your body to readjust and for it to kick in

(43:39):
in the right way. And, you know, it can be the
first couple of months are tricky because you know, your,
your, your body does things whenit is put under pressure to lose
weight. It holds, it holds, you know,
you know, water, it holds weightto save itself.
And, you know, so yeah, it's, itis a different mindset to that

(44:01):
diet culture that we've all beenso close to for so long.
Yeah, absolutely. And during that period of time
then when you started on Ozempichad you side effects, how was
your quality of life as you're on it?
Because that's probably, I'd sayone of the other most common
questions that both myself and Belinda get is can you talk

(44:22):
about the side effects? I've been very fortunate on
Monday on it almost. So in another week and a half,
I'll be on it six months. And I'm very fortunate that I've
had minimal, minimal side effects.
Touchwood, Touchwood. But then you hear, you do hear
some people that have had it a bit worse.

(44:42):
What was your experience like when you were starting?
Out again, I think I was fairly lucky with that.
I was a strong responder and youknow, I, I really don't you
know, I've been a while off it, but I really don't remember
having significant side effects.So there, you know, what you
would call dumping syndrome, like there were, there were one

(45:02):
or two occasions, but I, I really feel like I could, I
could pinpoint what I ate or what I did at that point in
time. And like, again, in terms of
the, the coaching side and in terms of even just like, you
know, people on a similar journey with the bariatric
surgery, it's, you know, you have those conversations and you

(45:25):
need to, I suppose what, what was important for me anyway was
to be really aware of what I waseating when I was eating.
And you know, that way you can, there's a, there's a cause and
equal or what, what's, what's the word cause and effect
exactly. And that was more of what I was
aware of. Like there wasn't anything

(45:46):
specific that just kept happening or, you know, like
people will have, you know, strong reactions or bad
experiences from time to time. And, you know, obviously then
you need to go back and have a conversation to doctor about
what's happening. And, you know, maybe it's not
right. Maybe there's something else
that, that you can have instead.But for me, it was, it was very,

(46:10):
it was relatively straightforward.
So I'm, I'm yeah, I'm lucky thatit was that way.
Yeah, no, I'm actually, it's interesting to hear you say that
because I always say when peopleask me about the side effects as
well, that anytime I've had the minimum, by the first weekend,
the first weekend I was freezingcold, like I yeah, like, I mean

(46:32):
Baltic like absolutely could not.
Is that a known? Is that specific to Manjar's and
a known thing? Yeah, I didn't, I didn't know
that at the, at the gecko, but it is quite common and for
people to, to, to feel cold or shivers.
Some of it can be due to the reduced cap and calorie intake
that your body is actually trying to stay warm.
And I don't know if it's if it'sall that.

(46:52):
I, I took my first dose on a Friday night after being at a
wedding, literally talking at midnight, because then it's like
all of my, my injections, it could be Friday or Saturday like
that. In my mind, that was the logic.
But anyway, I woke up on the Saturday and it was like I was
in the North Pole, like I had the fire on in the middle of
summer. I had like fleece blankets on.

(47:14):
I just couldn't get warm whatsoever.
That only lasted, it lasted 2 days and then I was fine.
But on the Sunday I booked into the one of the saunas nearby and
went out there for like an hour or whatever.
And that was, yeah, that was lovely.
But that was that was the only one.
But since then, I would say any of the mild kind of side
effects, if ever they've raised their head equally, I can

(47:35):
probably link it back to whetheryou didn't drink enough water
that day or do you know what, you had a bit more shitty food
that day or whatever the case. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I think, I think being mindful of that, even keeping a
diary like a year on, I would say there's only one or two
days. I was never like this before,
you know, pushed. I I keep most of a food diary
every day for myself because notonly does it help me stay on top

(47:58):
of the protein intake, but it also reminds me of what I ate or
when, when I ate it. And normally.
Yeah, there, there was a, there was a link there.
But, you know, obviously from time to time you hear someone
who's just been really unlucky and, and for whatever reason,
there's something just isn't working in the body, you know,
with that particular medication.And, you know, then it's a case

(48:20):
of of, you know, you need to go back and have a chat with the
doctor. Yeah.
And when you started on Ozempic,what was your starting weight on
that? Can you recall?
Wow, my starting weight at my heaviest was 155 kilos and so
we're going to have to go into old money again.
I would imagine it was in. Heavenish stone would have been.

(48:44):
I, I, wow, yeah. That's like I that was coming
out of COVID where I'd started, like everyone, you know, walking
and cycling and, you know, I wasfish and then it, things just
escalated so quickly. Not that heavy, it was that so I

(49:05):
just did a quick. Thing probably 24, at least 25.
South the The ironic thing with that Rob, is that when I started
a Manjaro, I was exactly 24 stone.
Wow. OK, so very.
I, I didn't have the kilo numberin my mind because I only used
the kilo actually doing it, but I didn't have that's I, so I
would not have thought I was 155kilos.

(49:27):
So that's my that's a bit of a head fuck for me now think.
About that, yeah. I mean, I don't know what it is
that is like I I have almost exclusively thought in kilos
centimeters for yeah, for 10 to 15 years.
Basically as long as I've been sort of in any sort of like
weight lifting and growth fit and stuff.

(49:49):
That's kind of what's got me in probably what got me more into
the mindset. But again, as you said it there
20 I was like what? Well over 20 stone.
No, but it was you know, and like that was that was where I
was at and I could not sifted below a certain point without it
rebounding and then gaining moreeach time.

(50:11):
And if for me anyway, if it had just been the weight alone, you
know, I I would have been happier to just kind of keep
chipping away. There's, I was waiting for
Monjaro at the time, you know, it hadn't, it wasn't available
at all. But when I started getting, so,
you know, I went for a, a cardiology, sort of a

(50:34):
preventative cardiology checkup.My dad had a heart attack in his
early 60s and then he had a second heart attack.
And you know, I was getting really conscious about, you
know, I, I had a high cholesterol for years.
I knew my blood pressure was, was way too high and I went for
this, this checkup and my blood pressure was worse than I ever
thought it was. But there was also familial

(50:55):
stuff there. Umm, so there's a, a blood mark
at the LPA check that some cardiologists will do and
they're kind of saying like, obviously weight is a factor,
but even if you'd lost the weight, you would still have
this familial tendency towards, uh, high cholesterol and, and
cardiac challenges. And, and then I got a diagnosis

(51:17):
of sleep apnea on top of that. I was like, these are stacking
up. Like this is really bad.
You know, if it was just the weight, you know, umm, or you
know, maybe the, the cholesterol, I could take, take
a, a more sustainable approach to it, you know, and, and do it
over time. But it was the list of things
that were growing, the differenthealth impact that it was

(51:39):
having. And it's frustrating when, say,
like, say when you're on the Ozempic and you've lost a
considerable mental weight, how much did you use, can you recall
on your period of time on Ozempic?
Yeah, I mean, so I got down to around 125 kilos.
So I lost about and I lose 30 kilos, maybe between 25 and 30

(52:01):
kilos. So I was on the on the higher
end of the expectation. But I did regain a little bit.
And then coming into the surgeryI had to come off the drug and I
regained quite a lot quite quickly because I wasn't, to be
honest with you, mentally, I wasn't ready to come off it.

(52:22):
And there was sort of a bounce back.
So I went into the surgery, I think at around 1:44.
So I'd held off about 12/12/13 kilos.
But yeah, like a good 2530 kilosdropped.
I think we said at the time it was in that sort of like 15
percent, 16% body weight loss territory, which is a really

(52:43):
good result. So like having that and you're
probably feeling really confident, really proud that you
have moved that. But then for the medical team
tell you, well actually you still have ABC and D to.
Exactly. Yeah.
And what are you going to and and what can we do about it?
And I was like, I don't know what, what can we do?
Because I was. Like, OK, so there's all these
drugs coming down the track, butlike we don't know when and the
house, you know, the efficacy ofthem or whatever.

(53:06):
Yeah, I. Remember when?
So the lowest I ever was after The Biggest Loser was 14 1/2
stone. So I'm about 6 foot 1:00-ish and
fairly broad as well. So I was, I was really happy
with for the most part obviouslylike I had soft skin.
So shall we say like it wasn't what you'd see like loose skin

(53:29):
the way you see it in some people.
It was just a bit more a little bit of pockets of fat and stuff
like that. But the one thing I had done,
all that work, you know, all that effort and like living in
the gym and starving myself somedays, and the one area of my
body that did not change one iota was my chest.

(53:51):
And that's when I went and spoketo specialists like that.
And they're like, well, no, that's kind of capacity.
No matter how much weight you lose, that's still going to be
there. And I was like, are you kidding
me after? All this.
This is one of the main parts ofmy body physically that makes me
feel less masculine. And you're telling me that even

(54:12):
if I try and go and lose anotherstone, this isn't going to fix
this? Like, no, it's literally like
excess breast tissue. And they're like, yes, obesity
can absolutely be a factor. You could be a really fit 19
year old out without playing Gaelic every day or whatever,
and you could have it as well. Like and I was like crazy.
This is. Crazy.

(54:32):
I mean there's definitely an element to that as well.
I mean, like, obviously, you know, coming out of significant
weight loss as well, like, you know, I've been relatively
lucky. You know, I think the sort of
lower stomach area has been, youknow, just from that amount of
weight loss, like your body overtime and with age and stuff, it

(54:55):
just doesn't recover in the sameway.
And, and that's a big thing for a lot of men and women coming
out of bariatric surgery is the,the extra skin and, and that,
that is a factor. And I think what makes it more
challenging as well in Ireland is that it's not part of the
overall package, if you like, orthe, the, you know, the service

(55:16):
offering. So it's like, OK, we get the
bariatric surgery and then now what should we do about the
excess skin? And most of the health insurers
say we won't cover it and there isn't a dedicated kind of group
of plastic surgeons who'll deal with it.
So you're going to have to find your own route, get out of
pocket, you know, deal with the after effects of it.
So that that that part is, is definitely a tricky, you know,

(55:41):
one to kind of consider coming out of bariatric surgery or any
major weight loss. Yeah, I, I queered that with the
HSC before about all you know. So hypothetically if at last
considerable amount of weight, where's the support
specialization for things like the loose skin and stuff like

(56:01):
that? I know it's like.
Oh, yeah. I mean, there's there's no real
awareness. And then the health insurance
that's cosmetic and you're like,OK, so it was what I did to get
here cosmetic because I don't think it was.
And, you know, that's kind of where you're left with this,
unfortunately. So there's definitely work to be

(56:22):
done there. So when you had the weight
initial weight loss weight Ozempic and been really proud of
that and then you were told OK, bariatric surgery, what was that
like when I was said to you? Was it a case of oh, Jesus, or

(56:43):
was the case of no point this grant, I get it.
This is part of the journey thatthis is this is Part 2 of this
or Part 3 or whatever the case might be.
What? What was the?
It was really, it was actually really hard to hear and it was
really hard to umm to come around to umm And honestly, like
I hate saying this, but like my first thought was I'm not

(57:05):
someone who gets bariatric Sir. I'm somebody who needs bariatric
Sir. What are you talking about?
You know, that was, uh, sort of the ignorance of it, to be
honest. And, umm, the history of some of
the types of, of, uh, gastric surgeries that, that, you know,
that we've done over the years and the public's view of it and

(57:26):
how that works is, is like, and compared to what they do now,
you know, it's, it's damaging, Isuppose, where we haven't quite
caught up with like how effective and safe and well
managed, you know, the, the mainbariatric surgeries are now
compared to the, the way they were.
So I was dealing with, you know,a lack of information, lack of
knowledge about it. And then my own self view of

(57:50):
like who I thought I was and wow, now this is, this is where
I am like, so it was really, really tricky.
It took me, you know, a number of weeks to kind of come around
to it. And was there any part of you?
So when did those initial discussions about bariatric
surgery happen? So we're in what year is it now,

(58:11):
2024? And I had the surgery in early
2024 and I was a Goodyear at least waiting for it.
So yeah, we probably would have been having these chats in late
2022, early 2023. And you really have to go
through a journey with us. And I'm glad you do because it's
a huge decision to make. So you have to have that initial

(58:33):
conversation probably with the surgeon or with someone on the
bariatric team. And then you have to go through
the clinic and which is the multidisciplinary team.
So you're talking with the psychologist, you're talking
with the dietician, the physician, and that's where
they're setting those expectations about what they
think you could achieve and whatwas really involved.
And I suppose there's an elementof making sure that you're doing

(58:54):
it for the right reasons as well, which is safe.
And, you know, there's a, there's a lot of, I suppose,
transfer addictions and stuff that can happen, you know, when
you, when you have bariatric surgery and that that isn't
something that is a huge, you know, sort of underlying
problem. And they want to kind of under
like understand all of that in advance.

(59:15):
And then I suppose it goes to a type of, you know, approval
through the, the MDT And then, you know, you start thinking
about the date and there's generally an upper endoscopy as
well that needs to happen beforethey can actually put you under
the knife. So yes, it's a good 12 to 18
months. And and that's for, for me, you

(59:39):
know, in the privileged positionto be able to at the time pay
for private healthcare, you know, that's not the, the route
that many people go through, through the public route, which
has an incredibly long waiting list.
And during that period of time when you're on the during the
process coming up to your date like for that for that kind of

(01:00:00):
1218 months or so. Was there any point in the
discussion early part where you're like, well actually there
might be more GLP one medications coming out or in a
year or two, maybe wait and see.Do you respond to them surgery
or was that even a factor or consideration or was a case of

(01:00:21):
regardless of what comes out, you're still going to need to
get this done or what? What was that like?
Yeah, it's a great question. Like it.
It was definitely a factor. I thought about it quite a lot
where I came around to at the time, for better or for worse,
because I think we've hit more of a again, I've been offered

(01:00:42):
for a while, but it seems like things have hit a little bit of
a kind of a more even level now with supply and with what's
coming in that Bush. I suppose at the time I was
thinking, you know, for me to get the results that I need for
all of the different health complications that I have, uh,
you know, you're talking about like a 4045% body weight loss at

(01:01:05):
least. And then to sustain that, is it
likely that something is going to give me that in the time
period that I want and need for my health?
Wasn't sure. And then all the additional
supply issues that there were atthe time in, in getting the
medication and, umm, I suppose Ialso looked a lot into, like, as

(01:01:26):
I said, a little bit of a, uh, you know, for, for, for years
have been a little bit of a health nerd and have gotten
worse over the last couple of years that I've started to study
it and, and, and qualifying things and, umm, just reading
the literature and the evidence behind the surgery and the
amount of things, particularly things like sleep apnea that
it's, you know, like not everyone, but there's a, there's

(01:01:48):
a strong chance that, you know, can help you reverse things like
that. Umm, so the, the evidence
backing that stuff up was, was very important.
So there was a number of things there, but it, it was definitely
a part of like, you know, it's, it's a much, it's a, it's a
different decision when you're going into something like this
that's pretty much irreversible.You know, you can technically,

(01:02:10):
certainly on the, the bypass side of things, Umm, but uh,
it's, it's a, it's quite a finalthing to divide.
Yeah, because when I started looking in May time kind of this
year later April, May time come back from holidays and was
looking back over photos and kind of just realizing, God,
that's me and those photos and started to think about, OK,

(01:02:33):
what's what, where's my weight at at the moment?
What's my BMI? As much as BMI can be blawed,
it's it's what's used in these as a gatekeeper.
Yeah, I remember doing the research then that my longevity,
I was looking at like 10 to 12 years less if my BMI stayed the

(01:02:53):
same. And I was like, I, I felt
exhausted that I have tried everything over the last years.
And here I am still having this conversation with myself about
what, what's the, the, the solution that's going to support
me long term for, for life. And I had started looking into

(01:03:17):
bariatric surgery. I thought that would be my root
in, in May. I was like almost pretty set on
because I didn't know a huge amount about the medications at
all at that stage. I had heard of Ozempic, but I
didn't really give it much thought because again, the
media, Hollywood, that kind of thing.
And that's where I kind of thought, oh, it, it, I thought

(01:03:38):
at that stage or it is somethingfor a diabetic, not that I don't
have a right to it, but I, I wouldn't get it.
That was more so my headspace atthe time.
And even if I wanted, I probablywon't get this.
And then I just started exploring it a bit more and a
bit more and then started finding out, wait a minute.
So there is routes to access andthere is other medications and
there is other options like, OK,let's let's actually start

(01:04:02):
exploring these a bit more firstof all, before and I commit to a
surgery or stuff like that. And I had done like, I'd always
say that I think people that have lived with obesity or being
overweight often know a lot moreabout nutrition and that's it
than than people who haven't because they've done so much and
lived. With so much and they're very
well. Exactly.

(01:04:23):
Absolutely. Very well versed in all of this
stuff. No more.
The same with the medications that I like.
I spent weeks kind of researching, OK, how does this
work? What is?
And then I just started honing in a bit more on Manjaro because
the efficacy seemed a bit higherand the side effects seemed a
bit less potentially and, and stuff like this.
And it just felt like this feelslike the, the, the kind of the

(01:04:45):
medication that might be able tohelp me the most, even though I
knew sex and it would be easier to access in the Republic of
Ireland, or so I thought at thattime.
I kind of thought, you know, OK,but if there's a way for me to
access Monjaro, that I think could be a next step for me.
So kind of when we had that discussion with the doctor and a
little bit of discussion about, oh, why, but why not some of the

(01:05:07):
others, I was like, well, if youtell me there's a medical reason
why I shouldn't have this, absolutely fair enough.
I trust your judgement. But just based on the research
and number of things, this is where I feel will be the right
fit for my health and a quality of life and stuff like that.
And they're like, no, there's nomedical reason at all why you
couldn't start it. And I was like, you know, I live
right on the border. So again, access is, is quite
easy for me, a pharmacy 30 minutes away that I can drive up

(01:05:30):
and pick it up anytime. And and like for me it's just.
It's changed that that thinking or that or or or or even to your
point like opened up that optionand like that there are
alternatives. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I think it's great that we're in a place now that it's
not just say eat less, move more, or it's not just a case of

(01:05:54):
here's or less that go and try and live with that.
I know. Thank God I didn't.
Yeah, yeah, I didn't have to tryto try it.
I mean, I think there's probablya bunch of time where I even
thought about it, but you know, there are many options on the
table and, and also options thatyou can, you know, that that

(01:06:16):
might work for you for a time orthat you that you might think,
OK, I'm going to start with this.
And there, you know, there's another thing I can try and, you
know, say if there are side effects or if maybe the result
isn't as strong with one thing that you can try another thing
or, and then to know that, well,OK, well, there are, you know,
other routes like bariatric surgery open, but they're not

(01:06:36):
the only ones. You don't have to go from
basically zero to there and, and, and there will be others.
You know, I think like I'm probably a little bit out of
the, the loop on, I suppose the next versions of Tirzepatide and
on what come, but like certainlyup towards 2530% body weight

(01:06:57):
loss wouldn't be out of the equation and more which I would
imagine there. So that's I think that's going
to keep developing. Yeah, there's there's definitely
something like that are working on more kind of receptors or
things like that that that's really a lot of these are in the
clinical trials, but that's where it's great to, you know,

(01:07:17):
listen to some other podcasts tocheek sorry, but then but I do
like are are stuff like that from other countries to kind of
hear what's going on there. It is fascinating, absolutely
fascinating. But yeah, and like and, and as
you would did yourself, that's research and and and will and
want to look into detail in thisstuff is so powerful.

(01:07:38):
You know that you can come and have that conversation with AGP
or a doctor or a consultant or asurgeon and you know, and, and
that you understand the, the evidence or the, the studies
behind these things and, and thepros and cons.
Yeah, because today actually I was just doing a quick
calculation there. So today now I've hit just under

(01:08:00):
24% body. Weight the.
End of May. So that's incredible.
So hit 80 lbs today has been my my kind of weight loss since
then to me which. That's unreal.
Like that must be. Yeah.
That, that, that must be on the higher highest end of like
that's a really, really strong result.

(01:08:21):
Yeah. And like as as I do say, I'm not
going to give. And this is where kind of going
back to what it's been seen before, I've gotten better at
advocating for myself and not, not, yeah, I'm, I'm just kind of
guess I'm, I'm learning to be a bit more prouder of not just the
results, but the effort that I put in as well.
And that's why I'll always say like, you know, the importance
of your movement and your nutrition throughout all this.

(01:08:45):
And you know, I, I, I for me, I don't think my results would
have been anywhere near that. I know they wouldn't have been
like I started out for the firstkind of I'd say maybe two to
three months and definitely veryheavy on the cardio spinning
because it was the easiest thingfor me to get in and do and
adhere to. So I think with that, I knew, I

(01:09:06):
knew it probably should have been implementing strength
training a bit earlier, but I was like, no, you know what this
makes sense now it is working. When the time is right, I will
move over to that strength training and kind of just
protect the muscle a bit more and stuff like that.
So I, I switched that up then inSeptember, it's like literally
at least three days a week now mentioned my strength turning
and, and that kind of stuff. But it's so important that you

(01:09:26):
do have that kind of approach interms of your nutrition and your
workouts and stuff like that. And yet you have somebody that's
in your corner, which I guess leads it's into your day-to-day
life now and what we're kind of working on.
So looping back to what you mentioned in your elevator pitch
now, tell us a bit more about what day-to-day life for you
now, how that asked that we spoke about has shaped what

(01:09:49):
you're doing now? Yeah, well, I mean, it's, it's
really, it's, it's fully shaped the approach that I try to take
with clients. So, you know, it's, it starts
with, umm, someone like, I suppose there's a couple of
different types of person that can come to me like, umm, some
people are, uh, a number of years post surgery, some people

(01:10:10):
are thinking about surgery. Some people are just out of sur
like just literally on the stillin the hospital out of surgery
with like, you know, a couple ofweeks or months out of surgery
and looking for more help. And then equally, I've worked at
one or two people recently around the weight loss injection
side and what additional things and habits, just like you've

(01:10:31):
said, like what habits and new nutritional advice and
information and, and, and accountability is part of what
I, what I do there as well. And then on the, the exercise
and moving side. So, you know, I start out
working with someone and really assess where they are at this
moment. Everyone is different, you know,

(01:10:51):
even if you think about the number of people that I work
with on the bariatric side, every one of them has a, has a
different, they, they've come from a different place, they
have a different type of body and they've different
objectives. Umm, so it's meeting them where
they at some people where they're at and some people want
more help with the exercise side.
Some people will like, as we spoke about two minutes ago,

(01:11:11):
like have great knowledge aroundnutrition and just need more of
a, an accountability piece, somebody watching and helping
them with that. And then, you know, some kind of
look for the, the more holistic plan.
So we assess that and then we move into a period where we're
we're speaking quite regularly, We'll normally have catch up

(01:11:32):
calls, we'll have various tools that we work with in terms of
trackers or, you know, differentexercise tools.
And I suppose it's creating a coach and a coachee relationship
where you know, you're you're giving accountability and
helping with accountability for that person, but you're also

(01:11:53):
helping them through those challenges as they're moving
through each week and no week ormonth is the same.
And you think that you're on a, you know, a good path with
something. And then something comes up.
It could be something in work, it could be something in your
family life, it could be a health thing.
And you know, it's helping them through that.
And then, you know, with both the Ozempic and bariatric side

(01:12:17):
as well, it's giving some of that guidance of, look, this was
a journey that I was on and someof that experience.
And yeah, as I said, it goes through nutrition, exercise and,
and, and strength training or the physical side, but also the
stress and recovery piece is really, really important.

(01:12:37):
And we do a lot of work on, you know, understanding the sleep
and sleep quality side of things.
And also, you know, ways to manage stress better that, you
know, that can kind of lead intoand, and help with, you know,
sort of a that feeds so much into the recovery side of
things, you know, and the general holistic picture.

(01:13:00):
Yeah. And I think like that idea of
quickly sleep and stress, peopletotally underestimate the impact
that can have on the scales and on the results.
And you know, like, it's crazy how impactful it is.
It impacts everything, every asset of it.
You know, you like, even like for me now, it impacts

(01:13:24):
everything from mood to how I train in the gym to the types of
things that I turn to eat, you know, to make up for the lack of
energy. And, you know, sleep and stress
play into each other so much. You know, your ability to deal
with stress and to be the the more resilient version of

(01:13:46):
yourself is so much more diminished on a poor night's
sleep. So essentially, if somebody is
at the stage of wanting to make a change in their life and
they're thinking that maybe I might end up going down the
bariatric route or I'm in those discussions, or equally maybe I
might end up going down when theGOP 1 routes because I'm in
maybe that headspace or discussions.

(01:14:07):
But I know I want to make a change now on some of the
behaviours or habits or other bits they can engage with you.
And you can start to guide them on some of like those kind of
nutritional habits or the the movement habits or the kind of
overall Wellness habits that can, I guess, set them up for
hopefully success as well. And when they do start other
parts of the journey. But equally, if you're already

(01:14:28):
on that journey and looking for,as I do kind of said, someone in
their corner that gets them, butalso in knowledge of what's
needed, that's another great support that you can be for them
as well. Yeah, absolutely.
It's either either or and, you know, I think the other, the
other crucial part is being ableto sort of tap into like a, I'm

(01:14:50):
not a doctor and you know, or a,you know, like a, a dietitian,
you know, So being able to tap into that as was that level or
those frameworks and help them understand that.
And then, you know, try and helpthem to come out of that and
make the, the right plans for them and to stay accountable to
that plan. I think that's, that's really

(01:15:11):
important to have been umm, you know, I suppose in those rooms,
having those conversations for myself, you know, I've worked
on, on that side as well with, uh, on the, the more tech or, or
marketing and sales driven side in, in companies and, and being
able to understand and have those conversations with, umm,
you know, with, with the professionals, with the doctors,

(01:15:31):
the dietitians, the physiotherapist, whatever is
important to build into the planfor them.
Yeah. Absolutely.
So speaking about plans and building things into plans, we
are literally like weeks out from the end of year, which can
be, you know, a lot of people like, yeah, it's end of year.
But I know from previous years, the end of the year can just

(01:15:53):
signal dread and fear of being around food and social settings,
both from a body image perspective, but also in terms
of a relationship with food perspective and and stuff like
that. So I'd love to know your reports
on maybe starting off for, for folks that might be on this

(01:16:14):
their first year coming up to Christmas maybe and they're on
or stuff like that. What would you give them on how
to navigate the next few weeks? Yeah, it's like it's interesting
because I, I was going to jump into movement and nutrition and
then I was, you know, I was thinking about this myself a
week or two ago. So much of this for me is the

(01:16:36):
like the, the emotional side of things.
I think that is the most important.
It's a really stressful, busy, high pressure time of year for
people. So like, I think the most
important part is the is just releasing some of the guilt.
You know, really like you're going into a holiday period,
this stuff is going to be around.
You probably have less control over it.

(01:16:56):
You might be at a party or in somebody else's house and, you
know, one meal or two meals or aday.
That doesn't define the journey that you've been on, you know,
So I think releasing some of that, that's probably the most
powerful thing that I, you know,could say to somebody.

(01:17:17):
And, you know, the next part of it really is around creating
boundaries with with family and,you know, the things that you're
prepared to get into and not getinto.
And like like weight loss injections, there's antic
majority, there's like for for all the wrong reasons.
They're just too easy for peopleto have an opinion on.

(01:17:37):
So let's like decide yourself whether this is something that
you're talking about or not, youknow, and just don't talk about
it. If you don't want to, don't
engage. And if somebody brings it up,
you know, I'm just, you know what, I want to enjoy Christmas.
Thanks. Let's talk about something else.
You know, we do, we do that withlike, I have friends who want to
talk about politics and, you know, or even Asia or about work

(01:17:58):
and and, you know, I've, I've other friends that just turns
them and go, you know what? We're trying to enjoy the point.
Let's you know, come on, let's just talk about something else.
Like this should be exactly the same, you know, And, you know,
so I think that emotional side, it's minding yourself from that
perspective, being kind to yourself and giving yourself a
break. And so, yeah, that that

(01:18:20):
emotional side is so important. And then, you know, it was
thinking about the, the movementand, and, and exercise side.
Like there's nothing better. There's nothing better for our
mind. I'm trying to think of the right
saying because there's a, a doctor.
I thought it always is basicallya walk can solve everything.
And, you know, I think it's, it's great around Christmas and
particularly after a big meal, you know, to think about, umm,

(01:18:42):
do go spikes and, and maintaining metabolic health,
you know, 1520 minute walk with family.
Like that's as good as, you know, uh, going out for the long
jog or something. It's, it's like, you know,
build, uh, the movement, umm, into, you know, something with
family and don't worry too much about the pressure of I have to
get to the gym. I have to do this, I have to do

(01:19:04):
that. Obviously, if it fits into your
schedule and it's something that's sustainable for you and
you enjoy it and it's a way for you to escape, go and do it.
But you know, there's, there's, there's other ways of
integrating the movement into your, into your holiday, you
know, and then, you know, I would just say with the, with
the food side of things, I just try to stick to the principles

(01:19:27):
for myself anyway. It's like I was going to say
like around like healthy snacks and, and that kind of thing.
You know, if you're in your own house, that's a little bit
easier, you know, have some healthy snacks around or bring
some with you. But obviously it's a much harder
time of year to say, Oh, I'm just not going to have those
things in the house, you know. So I think it's more about what

(01:19:51):
you can add rather than what youcan take away.
And you know, in in that case, it's, you know, trying to have
some of those additional healthysnacks are great.
But the principles of starch with the protein, add some
vegetables or fiber in, you know, I suppose prioritize those
things where you can stay hydrated, you know, obviously

(01:20:12):
the time of year where there's going to be more alcohol, you
know, maybe. Maybe too much on some
occasions. So dehydration, you know, I
always add some electrolytes into the mix that kind of gives
you an extra, an extra boost Bush.
Like like we said earlier, I think people know a lot of these
principles. It's much more for me around
the, the emotional and the, the overwhelm of the occasion.

(01:20:36):
And I think that's if you can start there, you're going to do
an awful lot for yourself. Yeah, some, some of the things
that I've tried to start doing as well just in day-to-day, if I
know that I'm going to be somewhat out of my control fully
in terms of the food and the stuff like that is one, if I'm
going somewhere for say, if you're going out for dinner,
like I'm going out for dinner this week, umm, for work night

(01:20:56):
out. And again, like the simple thing
like looking at that menu and already I'm like, all right,
where's the chicken and what's the side?
Yeah, they do a side of the. So, you know, going into that
meal, yeah, well, I know that they're going to have X1 ZI
don't have to think about this or make a snap decision.
Yeah. And equally like, if it's the
case at all, they've got veg andbutter.
I'm not going to freak out aboutthe fact there's a bit of butter

(01:21:17):
on the veg. It's like I'm still getting a
good dose of protein, a good dose of of, you know, my fiber
and stuff like that. So absolutely.
And if you like a conversation, I just, I have so regularly with
clients is around, It's, it's, it's not pushing for perfection
because I think this is a very common theme of people who
struggle with obesity and with, with, with trying to lose

(01:21:39):
weight. You know, it's, it's like better
is what you're looking for. It's, is there a better
alternative? Or, you know, can I choose a
more protein heavy option? It's not kicking yourself after
it's not being 100% perfect on everything.
Umm, like I would normally say it's like strive for 80%
consistently. You'd be doing amazingly if if

(01:22:02):
that was, you know, what you were hitting.
So I think Christmas is is definitely important to think
that way. And bigger picture in a journey,
as you said, it kind of the start as well in terms of no one
meal or two meals or that's going to make or break it.
The exact same thing with if youdo end up having some chocolates
out of the, the, the kind of it's in, in the grand scheme of

(01:22:25):
a journey for somebody who's living with obesity.
And if you're on, you know, a treatment or whatever, and that
journey could be 1224 months, whatever.
A few sweets of Christmas is notgoing to make or break that.
So give yourself, I think that that that kind of compassion
that it's OK Don't be yourself. Yeah, and and and look at all
the great things that you've done in the previous months and

(01:22:47):
the journey that you've been on and where you're at.
And I think that's absolutely that's the focus.
Like there, there will always betimes in that journey where
things come up, you know, there's a party, a family
occasion or a holiday like this.And, and it's, it's much more
about the bigger picture and where and where, you know where

(01:23:07):
they've been on that journey. Yeah, now, Rob, that's grand.
So Rob, if people want to come and find you and hunt you out
for some guidance and some kind of professional support, where
is the best place for them to goand find out more and have the
chats with you? Yeah, I'm now directed to
Instagram at Bennu Health coaching, probably on all of the

(01:23:31):
other social networks as well, but that's I'd say that's the
best place to go or Bennu healthcoaching.com.
So it's BENNU healthcoaching.com.
You can get me there. And we'll have that in the
description of the podcast as well.
So you can you can easily find those there as well.
Rob, look, it's been a pleasure chatting to you.

(01:23:51):
I honestly didn't think, I didn't think we were talking
this long. But I've really, I was thinking
this is Joe Rogan level. This is great.
This is a this is a like a, an extended podcast.
I love it. And it's really given room for,
for discussion on these things that the, the, the benefit of
the, the form of, of the podcastreally isn't.

(01:24:12):
It's been able to have that, Yeah.
And like, it's interesting again, from that kind of nerdy
perspective, we see that the longer podcasts perform better
than shorter ones. Yeah, so we do.
Even for yourself? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, for ourselves as well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're only talking, talking
about the other day. But no, it's been fascinating.
I think, you know, from your ownexperience of you yourself as a

(01:24:35):
human living with, you know, wait and trying to understand
that and, and, and kind of feel like you're in control of that
and having both the bariatric side and the medicated side.
And now that kind of forming part of you helping other
people, I think it's like it's, it's fascinating.
And again, just so happens, as Isay, it's, it's very rare you

(01:24:58):
hear two men sitting down havinga conversation like this.
So we're absolutely. That's been great.
It's been really nice and and hopefully, you know, someone
somewhere can, you know, can hear something in that, you
know, Bush really, really important to have those
conversations. Yeah.
But Rob, thank you so much. Really appreciate you hopping on
this. Yeah.
Thanks. A reminder also that none of

(01:25:19):
this conversation should be taken as medical advice for you.
Before starting or changing any medical or Wellness treatment,
always consult your GP and medical care team.

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130lbs weight loss - Ozempic, Bariatric Surgery, & tips for Christmas with Rob Cumiskey

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}130lbs weight loss - Ozempic, Bariatric Surgery, & tips for Christmas with Rob Cumiskey