John Conmy in determined mood after OT setbacks

FAMILY AFFAIR John Conmy is pictured with his wife and daughter and Kathryn Thomas from Operation Transformation outside his restaurant in Belmullet.

Erris man John Conmy had plenty of obstacles put in his way but he’s more determined than even to succeed in RTÉ’s Operation Transformation (OT). The first show saw heart issues arise and led to a trip to his cardiologist - who gave the all clear for a return to exercise.
After week one, despite losing 12 pounds, he was criticised by the show’s dietician Aoife Hearne for his wife Evonne helping him with his cooking. In the second week an old football knee injury flared up and John was chastised for ignoring medical advice and not resting it.
His weigh in last week, shown on television last Thursday, saw him only lose 2.5 pounds of his target of five pounds, and receive plenty of criticism from the show’s experts.
John spoke on the show of his frustration at not hitting his target.
“You want it so bad, you taste it. You want to see what you can do, how far you can push it ... This eight weeks is to put something in place that I can follow for the rest of my life. It is going to change my whole lifestyle,” said John.
And since then back pain threatened to put pay to his hopes but John appears to be in determined mood.
On Facebook at the weekend he admitted it had ‘been a tough week’ from ‘excruciating back pain’ to being back training in the space of seven days.
“It feels brilliant and hard to believe,” said John. “A few people pulled out all the stops to get it sorted, dovetailed well together and came up with a plan.”
He singled out his GP, Dr Keith Swanick, Martin McIntyre and Mark Gallagher at the Sports Injury Sports Medicine Clinic in Castlebar, the Broadhaven Bay Hotel in Belmullet for the use of their facilities and Elverys in Castlebar for gait analysis and special insoles to take pressure off his knee.
He also singled out RTÉ’s fitness expert Karl Henry for adapting John’s training regime. He said he is ‘forever indebted’ to all who helped him.
“To my friends, family and followers, ye have inspired me and kept my spirits up. Thank you all and here’s to the four pounds this week,” he added, referring to this week’s target.
A native of Bangor Erris, John is the proprietor of Fun Bobby’s Bistro in Belmullet. One of the five leaders for this year’s show, his starting weight in Operation Transformation was 22 stone and six pounds. He lost 12 pounds in the first week - well in excess of his target - and 2.5 pounds in the second week. His target weight loss for this week is four pounds. The show airs on RTÉ 1 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8.30pm.