Tuesday 30 March 2010

So the best diet to suit us could be found in our genes...

In a report of some research carried out in the States, it would seem that our suitability for a particular diet could be determined by our genes. For some, low-fat works wonders whilst for others there is a real preference for eating a high-protein-low-carb diet. I think this is interesting and I will watch with interest to see how further research develops.

As you know, I still take a couple of classes a week myself and this year there was great excitement when my Amazing Inch Loss Plan diet was launched in all of our classes. I can honestly say that neither I, nor our Rosemary Conley Club franchisees, have ever seen weight drop off folk so fast in the first month of new members joining. For most, our confidence in our claim that you could ‘lose a stone in a month’ was met, and in many cases, exceeded. But not for everyone. A few felt they had been strict in following the diet but had lost ‘only’ eight or nine pounds. Maybe they should follow the high-protein options within the diet and not eat so many carbs? I don’t know.

What I do know is that we all lose weight at different rates, we do different things in our very different lives, and our portion sizes vary, our exercise activity can be extremely different from one to another and yet we all believe we have also been ‘religious’ in our adherence to the diet and a positive ‘slave‘ to the exercise routine. The fact is that in reality, some will have been totally dedicated to maximising their weight loss and others will not have been quite so determined. Unless we literally keep them in a room in a laboratory and feed them through a hatch, we will never know.

Whilst my Amazing Inch Loss Plan is designed to encourage a big weight loss in the first four weeks and then a steady 1 – 2 lbs a week thereafter, there is no doubt that for many it is working completely brilliantly. When you lose a good chunk of weight in the first month and drop a dress size, it certainly gives you the determination to carry on eating a calorie controlled, low fat healthy diet combined with exercise thereafter so that you really do reach your goal. And that’s why we make the claim ‘lose a stone in a month’. To give you the determination to make a big effort for just four weeks to motivate you to carry on and then keep on going at a steady rate thereafter.

Over Easter try to avoid the Easter eggs and ask for flowers or make-up instead if you’re a woman, or maybe a bottle of wine if you’re a guy. The problem with eating chocolate at Easter is that you can get the taste for it again and re-breaking the chocolate habit can be tough. For me, I want to be slim more than I want an Easter egg and I know I can’t be trusted with chocolate so there’ll be no Easter eggs for me!

Happy Easter everyone and look forward to getting slim for summer at our classes after Easter or at www.rosemaryconleyonline.com. We’re here to help so go to www.rosemaryconley.com for all the details.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Recovering after the Vitality Show!

Well, it’s Wednesday and this is the first day I have felt like I am a human being again! After four solid and full days at the Vitality Show, signing autographs, having my photograph taken with a multitude of lovely folk, and giving a one-hour lecture each day, it is lovely, at last, to be back to normal.

The Vitality Show is the only Show we do all year as to do an event like this is both expensive, time consuming and totally exhausting but, very, very rewarding on many levels. Where else would someone come up to you and tell you that they have lost 15 stone ( yes, 15 stone!) on your diet? Where else would you find folk who have been working out to your videos/DVDs for the last 20 years? Where else would you find people who are shaking with excitement at meeting you? It is, indeed, a privilege to meet so many genuinely lovely people who are just thrilled that you have signed your name on their free magazine or their autograph book.

We had a team of 17 staff who worked their socks off talking to the general public, answering questions, serving our Solo Slim foods, selling books, DVDs, Facial Flexes and Portion Pots and handing out 10,000 goody bags containing a magazine, special offers and treats to the ever-hungry passers-by who wanted anything that was being given away. And why not? That’s what exhibitions are all about.

But the benefits are not just in meeting the public or selling our products. The team building and bonding benefits of our staff working hard together, out of the normal working environment, was priceless. Everyone worked unbelievably hard and everyone loved every minute. We wined and dined in the evenings and cried with laughter at the funny stories and events of the day. Husbands and partners volunteered to help pack the goody bags and became part of the bigger RC family which makes our company what it is – a fun place to work.

When it reached 5.15 pm on Sunday, the last day, we drank a glass of Kia Royale together (the champagne stand was next door, fortunately) and we patted ourselves on our communal backs for a job well done. And it was. On Monday, we were all exhausted. Mike and I felt we had been run-over by an army tank! The adrenalin had stopped flowing and it felt as though someone had unplugged our energy supply. By Tuesday we were almost human again. Today, we feel back to normal.

Will someone please make a note for next year that, despite the total exhaustion, we did really enjoy it and it was incredibly worthwhile!

Monday 15 March 2010

We’re off to the Vitality Show!

On Thursday Mike and I, and about a dozen of our staff, travel down to the Vitality Show at Earls Court in London. It’s a four day exhibition and I’m there for the full duration. It is probably the toughest assignment I have all year as it is full-on – meeting the public, answering questions and giving a speech every day to a few hundred folk who are kind enough to want to come and listen to me give advice on how to become fitter and healthier.

We will sell hundreds of my books and my DVDs, and this year for the first time, our Solo Slim ready meals and low fat cheese. It is the perfect platform to be able to explain to the general public about our new online television channel as well as our new and latest products. It is really lovely to meet folk who come up to me and tell me how much weight they’ve lost, how their lives have been changed because of my diets or our classes. It is a privilege to meet so many people who genuinely love what we do.

The other upside of committing to the four days is that we, as a team, work brilliantly together. I may be the one whose name is on the stand and who is delivering the talks but on that stand we are all equal. We all work our socks off and the camaraderie between us is terrific. Mike, my husband, is there too which makes a big difference for me. He really helps me to keep going when I get a bit weary! Then, in the evening, we all have a drink and then eat together and have a lot of laughter. I believe every company should organise events where everybody has to muck in together and interact with each other. It provides a brilliant bonding process that carries on when we return to normal life back at Quorn House, our offices.

If you fancy coming along you will find us in Earls Court 2, London from 18 – 21 March. Visit www.thevitalityshow.co.uk for more details.

So, this time next week I will feel totally exhausted. But, hopefully, I will feel that all our hard work was worthwhile.

Monday 8 March 2010

I love my job!

Last Thursday I had the privilege of speaking at the East Midlands Business Women’s Conference and presenting the Awards for the three categories, sponsored by EMDA (East Midlands Development Agency),for Business Woman of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Most Innovative Business of the Year. Some weeks earlier I had been a judge for these awards so I was involved in deciding should win.

Every one of the finalists deserved to be a winner but we had to decide on one from each category. We were looking for a strong business model, passion for their business, and that special ‘something’ that made the winners stand out from the rest.

The Small Business of the Year was won by Amelia Horne, from Derby, who ran a home-cooking-to-take-home shop. Her marketing skills were outstanding and her passion for what she did was inspiring. She was a very worthy winner and hopefully, in time, she will be able to roll out her business into further outlets because her concept was replicable.

The Most Innovative Business Award was won by Babybond Ltd which is run by Jan Steward, a radiographer who was frustrated by the short time available to expectant parents to participate in ultrasound scans that were available on the NHS. Instead of having to be part of a hastened-through 10 minute production line, Jan saw an opportunity to allow parents-to-be to be able to enjoy a relaxed, 40 minute bonding process with the unborn baby – and the clients lapped it up. Her company has grown and grown to a franchise with 32 outlets, with plans to incorporate other scans for health checks. The business is impressive and very different.

Our Business Woman of the Year Award was given to Debbie Bass for her business Sugar and Ice. Debbie is a cake decorator by hobby, passion and inspiration. She has created two shops where visitors can see Debbie and her team in action, can buy every accessory known to man to help you decorate your own cakes, she runs cake decorating training courses and she has a great supply business by cross selling other products. Debbie has turned her hobby into a business and there is nothing better than to earn a living by doing what you love best.

A Special Achievement Award was given to Stephanie Drakes of 23red, a marketing agency, as Stephanie had achieved so much in her long career in the PR, marketing and advertising sector and, over the years, she has taught and inspired many who have worked with her.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Maureen Milgram Forrest Who has devoted many years to promoting women in business. Maureen is now retiring to Canada and deserves recognition for her tireless efforts.

All of these Award winners have found a way of turning their hobby into a business and there is nothing better. In my keynote speech I finished by saying that ‘Success is ....having fun!’. I have had fun throughout the 38 years I have been in my business. Our 172 franchisees who run Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs are doing what they do best – teaching exercise and helping their members to lose weight. It’s a privilege, it’s rewarding and it’s enormous fun. Checkout our website www.rosemaryconley.com if you want to know more about how you might have fun too.

Monday 1 March 2010

So much to do!

This is going to be a really heavy week but it will be fun - as my weeks usually are.

I have been asked to be an Ambassador for, and to get involved in, an initiative to help the folk of Leicestershire, Leicester City and Rutland to get more active and tomorrow I meet with representatives of up to 23 different areas of health to discuss progress. It is very different for me to be working with loads of local government departments rather than our own business where we just make instant decisions and get on with things. I'm having fun learning how it all works and let's hope we can make progress. So far, so good!

Iím looking forward to Tuesday as Professor Raj Persaud is coming to Quorn to our TV studios to record lots of discussions on the psychological aspect of trying to lose weight and become fitter for our internet television channel, www.rosemaryconley.tv. I love working alongside Raj. He is one of the most fascinating people I've ever met.

On Thursday I am speaking at the East Midlands Business Women's Conference and presenting the Women of Worth Awards. It was a real privilege to be involved in judging the awards and recognising the very special women who will take away such accolades. From there, I'm being driven down to Yeovil ready for our South West Roadshow which is happening on Friday. Around 200 lovely ladies and maybe some men will come along for a day of exercise and education with a good load of motivation thrown in. They are always fun and the weight losses achieved the next week by those who attend is reward enough for making the effort on my part. My wonderful colleague Mary Morris shares the stage with me on these days and always entertains and inspires.

Then on Sunday, wearing my President of Leicestershire Young Enterprise 'hat', I will visit the open market which will be held in the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester to visit the stalls of the inspirational young students who have created a Young Enterprise company this year and will be selling their products. It is always immensely rewarding and I'm grateful that this year the market is held indoors and not in the street as previously!

For some extra fitness in your day why not try my daily fitness challenge which I try and post on Twitter at around 8 pm each evening. It will he later tomorrow as I teach my classes on a Monday and I don't finish until around 8.30pm

Have a good week!