Leaning back in Aoife Hearne’s kitchen chair, the leg wobbles. To be honest, Irish Country Living’s interview could have taken an early nose dive if we hadn’t steadied ourselves quickly and quietly. Don’t judge, we were just trying to get a sneak peak at what the Operation Transformation dietician had in her fridge.

Confident that we concealed our nosiness, Aoife turns around and announces: “The fridge is absolutely jam-packed today. I’m experimenting with recipes for the next season of Operation Transformation.” Damn, we’re busted.

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Recipe Prep

Undeterred, she continues: “It’s one of my favourite parts of the job. It’s funny because when I was preparing recipes for last year’s show I was pregnant, and you could definitely see signs of my cravings. Lots of capers and olives. And then there was the chicken and grapefruit recipe.” Laughing, she adds: “Unfortunately, that one wasn’t quite as popular as the others, but it’s good for people to enjoy their time in the kitchen and feel comfortable trying something new and different.”

A year later, Aoife and Alan Hearne’s little boy, Dylan, is just about to turn one and we’re told he is in granny’s for the day. Alan’s parent’s farm is about 10 minutes away from their home in Waterford. In time, the plan is to build there.

“Alan is an engineer and a farmer, he does a bit of both. Farming was what he always wanted to do. Dylan loves it over there, and so do I. It’s very peaceful.”

Farming Family

Not surprisingly then, Aoife feels very comfortable presenting to 650 farming women at our Women & Agriculture conference.

“Women as wives, young mothers and older mother play such a huge role in the wellness of the entire family. And that’s what my whole talk will be about – wellness. Evidence shows that in the long term diets don’t work. Instead, it’s about making changes in our lives and habits to make us feel better.”

One change that can make a big difference is getting more organised when it comes to our meals.

“Over the two years I’ve been on Operation Transformation, I was really struck by the amount of people who don’t have a structure in place. When many of us were growing up, our parents would do a big food shop once a week and most of the time that would keep everybody going.

“Lives are so busy these days and I have come across many people arriving home from work with kids and not really having a clue what they are going to have for dinner. The fact that we have supermarkets open late can be convenient, but it is also making it all too easy for us to find a quick solution, like a pizza. This isn’t the best long-term approach, so it is about going back to basics and getting a good routine in place. In Ireland, we have such an agricultural history and I think we have somehow got a little disconnected from that along the way.”

Aoife says that whether you’re a parent or a grandparent, it’s important to have time around the kitchen table.

“Children learn so much from what we do, rather than what we tell them. So we need to lead by example. Many of us are from a generation of finishing everything on our plate, but this is an issue that so many of my adult clients now struggle with – not being able to stop when you’re full. Teaching children self-regulation is really important. Also, they need to learn how to experience emotion rather than eating because they are happy, sad or stressed.”

Enjoy in Moderation

That’s not to say we shouldn’t enjoy our food.

“You know you can have that bar of chocolate or a takeaway. It’s just something that should be enjoyed on occasion rather than every day. And when we enjoy them, it takes that guilt association of dieting away from it. At the most basic level, we want to feel good. And eating takeaways day after day isn’t going to help you do that.”

In fact, research shows that there are four habits that are really important in helping you fell well and live long, regardless of your weight: eating lots of vegetables, regular exercise, drinking in moderation and no smoking. Even sticking to these small habits can make a big difference.

If we feel that food is for wellness, it takes on a different approach.

Learning about Labels

Aoife says getting these habits right isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.

“On Operation Transformation in 2014, I remember Siobhan was dropping the pounds and losing the weight, and you could see she was really happy with her progress. However, I could see that some of her habits wouldn’t allow for that weight loss to continue in the long term.”

So while Aoife went on the show determined to remain true to herself, and not follow in the footsteps of Dr Eva who had a more harsh approach, she did have to call it like it was.

“I knew it would help her in the long run.”

While Aoife doesn’t encourage too much of a structured approach to dieting, she says the one thing we should keep a close eye on is labels.

“I noticed that really helped Deirdre Hosford, another one of our 2014 leaders. She was really believing of the manufacturers. If it looked healthy, she felt it was. But we gave her the information she needed to make a more informed decision on the foods she was putting in her mouth and it made a big difference.”

In fact, Aoife will be talking a bit about food labels at the conference.

“We have to get real with what some of these companies are doing. We have to realise that they have huge marketing budgets and professionals employed to get you to buy their product. They don’t care about our health, they care about their shareholders and there is no company in the world which will go against its business model to sell more of their product. As consumers, we can be very trusting, but we need to get a bit more shrewder.”

Aoife will be helping us toughen up and has plenty of tools to help us all lead a happy and healthier life.

If you have a specific question for Aoife Hearne that you would like answered at the Women & Agriculture conference, please email Ciara Leahy (cleahy@farmersjour nal.ie) with the subject line: questions for Aoife, by Wednesday 21 October.