‘I wanted to get back to my happy self,’ says FG councillor Maurice Dockrell, who lost over six stone

The 56-year-old Fine Gael councillor for Blackrock, Dublin, who sits on Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council, reached 19 stone at his heaviest.

As he pounds the pavements canvassing in advance of next month’s local elections, it is not unusual for people who remember him with a fuller figure to do a double-take.

“The main benefit has been the mental health aspect. If you feel physically fit and healthy, it lifts the mind dramatically,” he said.

“I was at my lowest point mentally after my marriage broke down. Then came Covid, which exacerbated everything. It has been a long road back.”

Mr Dockrell described how for years, he would lose two or three stone and then put it back on again.

“I worked as a circuit court barrister and was in six crashes, none of which were my fault, but I had severe sciatica and the weight was putting pressure on the joints and back,” he said.

“I was around 19 stone at my peak and managed to get it down to under 17 stone, but I couldn’t get past 16 stone 10 pounds.”

When Covid arrived and he felt at his lowest emotionally, he decided he wanted to get his weight under control.

“I researched and looked at the biology and science behind weight. I decided to cut out everything with sugar. That includes everything that sugar masquerades as,” he said.

“I don’t count calories or portions. I no longer eat starches like rice, potatoes or bread.”

A typical breakfast would be scrambled eggs with avocado. Lunch is light and could be a 400g block of cheese from the supermarket.

“I would nibble my way through that and maybe put some Marmite on it,” he said.

Dinner might be chilli con carne, minus rice and topped up with a lot of vegetables. He ensures he eats fruit for the fibre.

“I cook everything from scratch and don’t have any processed food,” he said. “I had stew last night with carrots and parsnips. I might cheat with a stock cube and I love salads.

“But if I’m out at a restaurant I’ll have forbidden foods, including a dessert. The key is not to repeat it the next day.

“It took me a time to get it right. The bulk of the weight came off slowly over two years.

“You also need to reduce alcohol. I would like to say to anyone who’s going on a weight-loss plan that they have to give up alcohol for a few months. People don’t always want to hear that.”

Mr Dockrell has managed to stay at around 12-and-a-half stone for the last two years.

Exercise did not play a major role in his diet, but even when he was overweight, he had regular tennis matches.

“My focus was never just on weight loss. I was determined to get back to my happy self. I would say to anyone who’s very low, there’s a way back,” he said.

He has politics in the blood,. and his grandfather, who shares his name, served as a Fine Gael TD for 34 years, while his great-great-grandmother Margaret was elected a councillor in Blackrock in 1898.

Mr Dockrell was co-opted on to the council in 2020 after Barry Ward was elected to the Seanad. During his toughest times, his work as a councillor kept him motivated.

“It’s important to have a purpose every day and to find joy in what you do,” he said. “Helping others is incredibly motivating and contributes to well-being. I like being a problem-solver.”

During the pandemic, he also ended up suffering from long-Covid. He developed a range of symptoms from which he has since recovered, including fatigue and anxiety.

He looked at his lifestyle again and found he was drinking several cups of coffee a day.

“I now limit myself to just one morning coffee. Cutting down has lifted the anxiety and I sleep better. The afternoon slump has gone and I have much more energy,” he said.

Mr Dockrell also changed jobs and left his legal career behind, working now for the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

He said he is concerned about the worst of the western diet “ruining the health of the next generation”.

“It’s not easy to find good nutritional advice. Doctors are not adequately trained in nutrition, and we are also over-caffeinated and rely on processed food, which I believe is a huge contributory factor to obesity,” he said.

“It’s important to note that any diet or eating regime should be simple and easy to follow, as well as make one feel good and energised. The main goal has to be health, not weight loss.”