Monday 26 April 2010

Center Parcs Training Convention - WOW!

It’s a while since I blogged. Since we came back from our holiday two weeks ago my feet don’t seemed to have touched the ground. It’s been totally manic – but as always, tremendous fun!

Last weekend was no exception. It was our annual Training Convention at Center Parcs and no less than 200 of our wonderful franchisees and their employees/instructors attended. It really is the most extraordinary sight! Two hundred super-fit women all exercising together, learning different choreography from a variety of presenters – some from our organisation and some from outside – and they absolutely loved it. Smiling faces, laughing out-loud, sweat dripping down their backs...it was positively buzzing!

We have an extraordinary Training Team who put together the exciting programme of events, but what struck me so strongly was the sheer talent of our franchisees and their instructors. The energy they have, the ability to learn sometimes quite complicated routines almost instantly is amazing. I just looked on in total admiration and pride that we have such brilliant teachers representing our organisation. No wonder the members love them so much.

The Center Parcs event is the one occasion during the year that I have the opportunity to meet the instructors who work for our franchisees. Some have lost an incredible amount of weight and have been recruited from the classes. There were three Slimmers of the Year who have either become franchisees or employees. Others were eagerly sharing their stories with me of their members who have lost 2/3/4/5 stone already on the Amazing Inch Loss Plan diet. Photographs were being pulled out of kit bags, books were being passed to me to sign for special members. It was all lovely.

I know all our girls are special. They care so much about their members and when I was shown a book that had been compiled and produced by a member of franchisee Jo Beardsmore-Dilks I was really touched. The book was incredible. It was the quality of any glossy book you’d buy in Waterstones. The members had gone to the trouble to write their personal messages of gratitude, have their individual photographs taken, to show their appreciation to Jo and to commemorate her birthday as a franchisee. Not her 10th or 15th anniversary, but her 2nd. In the two years since Jo started her business, she has made such an impression that her members wanted to recognise her efforts and support. Wonderful!

As I looked on, smiling continuously, at our teachers exercising in the style of Bollywood to Zumba, I felt an immense sense of pride. I felt like a mother hen looking over her flock. They do a fantastic job, along with our staff who keep the wheels of our company turning and the Center Parcs weekend operating like clockwork. The icing on the cake was the staff performing a stunning and enormous fun World Cup spoof routine as a grand finale. Everybody had a fabulous time and today it’s back to normality, which, for most of our franchisees, that’s running an average of eleven diet and fitness classes every week. No wonder they’re fit!

Monday 12 April 2010

Why I think 5-a-day is still good news!

I’m back from our two week holiday and of course we find ourselves in the middle of Election Fever. May the best man win!

Anyway, the news emerged last week that eating our five-a-day didn’t have the cancer-preventing qualities that the nutrition experts thought it had after all. Reducing levels of obesity and smoking are, apparently, more effective.

I think it is really sad that all the progress that has been made over the last seven years in educating the population towards the importance of eating more fruit and vegetables has been sent backwards by this non-story. After all, by eating your five-a-day you still reduce your risk of cancer by 3%. Surely that’s a reduction worth working for?

I remember a few years ago the story broke that HRT increased our chances of contracting breast cancer. The research of the day said the risk was between 1 – 2%. As a result, millions of women stopped taking HRT which, in my opinion, is a magical medication. A few years later the research was turned on its head and the risk from HRT was confirmed as so minute and that the risks were far outweighed by the, now confirmed, many health benefits. By that time millions of women had come to terms with living without HRT and their lives and their health may well have suffered as a result. I insisted on staying on hormone replacement therapy because if made me feel 25 years younger. It still does and I intend to stay on it for ever.

Now, back to our five-a-day fruit and vegetables. If 3% of the population benefit significantly from eating five-a-day, that has to be good news, surely. Add to this the fact that eating more fruit and vegetables also helps reduce obesity, why on earth come out with a negative news story that is unhelpful to our health! Vegetables are full of low calorie, low fat nutrients that give us a multitude of vitamins and health benefits – as well as filling us up at mealtimes and providing a tasty low-cal snack.

So, I wonder how long it will be before they come up with another story that confirms the wisdom of eating more fruit and veg? Soon, I hope, because if we eat less than we already do, heaven help us!

In the meantime, enjoy the Spring sunshine and get out there in the open air and enjoy being more active. Check out our website if you need some help to lose weight or become fitter. Our latest issue of our magazine is published this week and it is packed full of loads of delicious recipes for you to try. If you can’t find it at your local supermarket, you can always subscribe via our website and get it delivered to your door before it reaches the shops. Enjoy your week.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Spring time and a new beginning

It is now officially Spring and Easter has been and gone and hopefully, very soon, we will start to have some beautiful warm weather in the UK. I’m currently in Portugal where we really are appreciating the warmer weather and realising how good it is to feel the sun on your back.

I love the Spring-time with the trees breaking into life and the flowers looking so bright and cheerful. There are fields at the end of our garden at home and at this time of the year the lambs are very entertaining. They jump and skip, and at 5 o’clock each day they have races. They chase each other in groups and have a really fun time while their mums graze away contentedly. It is fascinating to watch and it is totally inspiring. It makes you want to go outside and be amongst it. And that’s good for us.

The after-Easter period is the second busiest time in the dieting calendar (January is the peak) as people become inspired to lose weight ready for their summer holidays. The good news is that we do feel more inspired to do something as going out and about on a bike, for a walk or run, or to the park, is significantly more pleasant than doing it in the freezing cold and wet. Lots of people will be signing up for Race for Life and now is the time to start training. To help you, we have included on www.rosemaryconley.tv a Race for Life Training Programme which you can log on to each week for that week’s training schedule. Designed by our very own fitness expert Mary Morris, it helps you progress your fitness to enable you to run or walk the Race to the maximum of your capability and fitness.

If you want to be fitter and slimmer for your holidays, make a pledge right now to make some small steps towards your goals. Log on to www.rosemaryconley.com for details of your nearest Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club classes, and if there’s not one near you try our Online slimming club, our magazine and much much more. We are here to help you so just do it – for yourself!