Get Fit with Fido!

This week I am visiting Crufts not once but twice! I’ve never been there before but, due to my unconditional love of our canine friends, I am looking forward to it.

I have been seconded, invited, enticed?..I’m not sure which ... to head up the Get Fit With Fido campaign which has been created as there are too many overweight dogs and far too many overweight owners. In fact, it is proving that the fatter the owner, the fatter the dog is likely to be! And that’s doubly tragic as it really shouldn’t be like that. We have made a series of videos to help get you and your dog active. Click here to view the first in the series and click here to view an interview with the Kennel Club to find out how to get involved in the campaign.

Owning a dog is one of the healthiest things we can do for our health and our waistline. Not only do dogs offer unconditional love and companionship, they absolutely love walking. Walking is not only good for them, it is positively miraculous for their owner. Every mile we walk – which takes only 20 minutes – will burn 100 calories, increase our fitness levels, burn fat, increase our metabolic rate and put 2,000 steps on our pedometer towards our daily 10,000 target. Dogs also need mental stimulation so attending an obedience or agility training class could be perfect for both of you.

We own three dogs – Waise the lurcher ‘princess’ who is extraordinary and the most frustrating and wonderful dog I have ever owned, plus two young black Labradors called BB and Sky who officially belong to my husband, Mike, as they are trainee gun dogs. They are beautiful, greedy and naturally obedient because they will do anything for food. In fact, they represent the human race remarkably well. BB and Sky are the type of characters who think about food all day long, will eat anything that’s going – I even saw BB eating a rocket leaf on Saturday! – at a rate that would win prizes on the TV. On the other hand there is Waise (pronounced ‘Visor’), who will eat at a quite leisurely rate and who will just walk away from her dinner bowl when she’s had enough. If she’s been very active, she’ll eat more. If she’s had a lazy day, she leaves food in her bowl. She has a brilliant ability to eat just what she needs and no more. And that’s why she stays slim.

For dogs, going for a walk is the equivalent of going to an aerobics class. Interaction – though they tend to communicate by pee-mails – is incredibly rewarding for them and for us. The joy of seeing them trotting along with a spring in their step is just a joy. How Waise can wee 16 times in one walk is beyond me but hey, she absolutely loves walking on a public footpath. For us women, we just love to chat and commiserate and congratulate our weight loss achievements.

So, yes, we do need to take responsibility for our own life and for those around us – those we love hugely and who we would miss more than words can say. So let’s get our family and our pets in good shape. We will all benefit.

I’m launching Get Fit with Fido on Tuesday 8th March at the Crufts Press Launch and I’ll be there on Saturday too. I’ve delayed our holiday by a day specially for it because I feel the message is so important. If you want to sign up just go to www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getfitwithfido

If you want to lose weight faster than you imagined possible, join one of our Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness classes or join http://www.rosemaryconleyonline.com/, and go walking further and faster with your Fido!

It's all been very busy!

I feel guilty that I haven’t blogged for a month! We’ve been on a skiing holiday in Austria for two weeks which was brilliant but somewhat blighted by the fact that my hubby Mike had a serious chest infection while he was there and half of one of his lungs appears not to be there. However, his chest infection is now better and he is in significantly better health and on the mend. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

We then returned to the usual backlog of work awaiting us and my serious schedule to get on with my new book. It’s coming along really well and I’m enjoying writing about something different from solely diet and exercise. This book is about staying youthful and looks at skincare, bone care and loads more.

Last week I visited Leicester Prison to give a talk to visiting employers to encourage them to consider employing ex-offenders on a two-week work experience experiment. If ex-offenders are given the opportunity to work for a company for two weeks, unpaid, and leave with a reference and a certificate that they completed the two week stint, then they are 70% more likely to achieve gainful employment which then reduces their chances of re-offending very significantly. Other Speakers explained how they had transformed ex-offenders who rose to the challenge and were offered permanent employment. They turned their lives around and made brilliant, hard-working, loyal employees. We had a tour of the prison and met a couple of the inmates. It was a fascinating experience.

Yesterday I had a radio day with Dr. Hilary Jones discussing the subject of gastric bands and how two of our Slimmers of the Year had avoided the operation. Having originally asked their GPs for the surgery, and joining their local RC Diet and Fitness Class, they lost weight on a sensible low fat diet and through exercise at our classes and took great delight in turning down the operation as they just didn’t need it anymore!

Plans are now afoot for our Training Convention at Center Parcs at the beginning of April and also for our four day presence at the Vitality Show in London's Earl Court. Details are given on our website but the Vitality Show is hard graft for all of our team. To be on the stand for four days meeting thousands of lovely people is a delight but tiring. I also give a talk each day and this year I’ve been asked to speak at the Ideal Home Exhibition which is going on at the same time! Hey ho!

On Saturday 12th March I launch Get Fit with Fido at Crufts! I love dogs so I know I will enjoy it but I don’t usually work at weekends.

One thing’s for sure. No-one can say my life is dull.

Removing Temptation!

There’s nothing quite so focussing on ones weight than putting on a freshly washed pair of jeans.

I’d sailed through Christmas and New Year. Had the odd chocolate and mince pie – nothing excessive. Nothing out of control. Lots of walking and activity. A feeling in fact that, for the first time in years, I had actually managed my weight remarkably well, that is until I put on my freshly washed jeans! Ouch! I could hardly zip them up, and if I did, the overflow would have looked horrendous! ‘OK! Focus. Get on with it’, I said to myself.

Mike, my husband, has been away skiing in Colorado for the last seven days so now was my opportunity to get back on track and lose a few pounds.

I don’t weigh myself because it has a perverse affect on my psychology and I gain weight (I accept I’m peculiar) but I do measure myself with my Magic Measure. I had to move my ‘slim’ tag up one inch which was humiliating. My weight gain was real, and not just that the jeans being washed in some stupid shrinking washing powder!

So I embarked on my week. Back to teaching classes on Monday – two classes which I thoroughly enjoyed and at which I burned loads of calories – and because Mike wasn’t at home, I had a smaller supper.

Next day I went ice skating and skated on my new Christmas-present-ice-skates which was a nightmare. It was as though I had never skated before – but stress burns calories! Then on Tuesday afternoon I helped launch the Active Together in the Workplace initiative in Leicestershire and had to teach an aerobics workout to a very mixed group for 30 minutes. Challenging to say the least but great fun! And great for the weight loss!

Wednesday saw me sitting in the car for 6 hours as we drove to and from London for QVC shopping TV channel. Fortunately my products almost sold out during our slot so that was great news but during the feature I tasted some soup cooked in my wok. The problem was it was boiling and I nearly choked on air, totally burning my throat! Excruciating and still painful now – Sunday!

Home for 7 30pm and ready for two writing days. No treats in the fridge. No treats in the cupboards. And it made me realise that had I had a yogurt in the fridge, a mousse or some ice cream in the freezer, I would have been right in there. But there wasn’t and by Saturday morning I could see in the mirror a big difference. I measured myself with my Magic Measure and a whole inch had gone from my waist. I was so happy. I tried on my jeans and they zipped up and I went shopping and felt I was walking on air. Yes – it really is true - nothing tastes and good as being slim feels!

It is still newly into the New Year and the opportunities are there for the taking. Check out our website for everything you need to help you find a new body for 2011. If there’s one of our classes near you, join it. Click here to find your local Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness class. There is not a better class in the land because we teach exercise as well as weight loss and all of our franchisees are professionally qualified and outstanding. If there isn’t a class, try Rosemaryconleyonline.com. It is an outstanding service and every one of the coaches is an ex-franchisee, fully qualified and totally experienced to help you reach your goals.

And if you want a diet to help you succeed, look no further than my Amazing Inch Loss Plan book. It really works. Look in your local supermarket or buy it online. But if you want to succeed, just get rid of temptation!

Strictly weight loss!

We are away for a few days in Portugal which means that I buy a daily newspaper to read on the flight and occasionally to read while away. I don’t normally buy newspapers (other than our local evening one) and rely on the television news to keep me up-to-date with world events. But, ridiculously, I do enjoy reading all the comments and self-written columns on the subject of Strictly Come Dancing!

I enjoyed reading Pamela Stephenson’s column in the Mail on Sunday as she described being squeezed into her dress, with microphone back cleverly secreted in her bra and donning two pairs of tights to keep her legs in good shape. She was brutally honest about the wizardry of the hair and make-up artists that went on to make her look so glamorous and I found her refreshing and entertaining.

For some reason Strictly does seem to generate masses of interest and of course, Ann Widdecombe’s entertaining presence is a gift to the tabloids. Completely resistant to any bad press or judges’ comments (after all, by her own admission, compared with the criticism she endured as a politician anything thrown at her during Strictly is small fry), Ann is enjoying being the centre of attention while Anton bravely soldiers on. He deserves a medal for his strength in throwing and dragging her around as well as his good humoured efforts in creating entertaining choreography. The BBC must be rubbing their hands – and why not? It’s good, clean family entertainment that makes you laugh out loud. Brilliant!

Yesterday the press were reporting that Pamela Stephenson and Felicity Kendall had both dropped two dress sizes and Patsy Kensit had lost two stone since signing up for the show. It reported that apparently celebrities were now seeing Strictly as the best route to take to lose those unwanted pounds that have crept on over the years. And it’s not really surprising, is it? Being physically active for around six hours a day, six days a week is enough to trim down the most stubborn figure but dancing with such precision and with adrenaline pumping nineteen to the dozen, is a sure-fire way to slim down!

However, the newspaper reported that Ann W had not enjoyed the same slimming down effect. Are we surprised? I don’t think so. Ann doesn’t appear to be spending a huge amount of energy within her dance routines. It seems to me that to execute the 90-second routine Anton is burning enough calories for both of them as he carries, spins and drags Ann across the dance floor.

Hopefully all this publicity about weight loss due to increased activity will help the penny to drop to the nation that if we want to lose weight we need to eat less and move more. It isn’t rocket science but it is a very simple and serious message. Being overweight and unfit is really bad for our health yet we have it within our control to do something about it. Let’s get more active today and if you want to lose weight as well, just have a look on www.rosemaryconley.com to find our slimming and dance/aerobic classes. They are fun and they work! Enjoy!

Patience, patience!

For those of you following my blogs and on Twitter you will be aware that I have been trying to shed a few of my own pounds – along with the rest of the nation at this time of the year. The crunch came when I couldn’t button up my Guess jeans – the ones I wore in the photograph used on the front of my Gi Jeans Diet book in 2006. Because they then fitted me so well, I saved them to be worn on only special occasions which is why I was very cross with myself that I had allowed myself to gain weight over recent months.

So, a month ago, upon arriving back from our skiing holiday – during which I had lost a pound – I made a definite pledge. These few pounds must go and I measured myself with my Magic Measure and vowed to try to do some exercise every day. I also cut back on my wine, I stopped the treats, and I changed to porridge for breakfast (a blue Portion Pot-full). I have really tried and it’s worked.

I have lost two inches off my waist, and over an inch from my hips and widest part. Having a quick check with my Magic Measure every few days was brilliantly motivational and really kept me focussed.

This morning I ventured into the jeans once again. They fitted and without a muffin top. I cannot tell you how good that felt!

So, if you’re trying to drop a dress size or get into that special item of clothing, just keep focussed and be patient. It doesn’t matter how many weeks it takes, but just do it.

Remember, dieting with others is easier and more effective so check out http://www.rosemaryconley.com/content/slim-at-classes/rosemary-conley-classes.htm for details of our classes near you.

Look out for the warning signs!

Every week I meet wonderful folk who have lost weight and transformed their lives. And they all wish they had done it earlier.

Weight creeps up on us. Half a pound here and a couple of pounds there and, before you know it, half a stone has gone on – then a stone. Nobody who has lost 10 stone ever, in their wildest imagination, anticipated that their weight problem would become so great. Folk go through the stages of moving along their wardrobe to the clothes that used to be loose that now fit. When they get a bit worn, they are replaced with new, at possibly the next size up, telling ourselves that that particular brand ‘obviously comes up a bit small in their sizing’.

Relaxed eating habits, little exercise (if any), over-indulgence on occasions, too much alcohol, snacking between meals and whilst watching television, all massively affect what we weigh. And we have to make choices.

I was in M&S on Saturday and ready-made traditional favourite puddings were on offer: Sticky toffee Pudding, Spotted Dick, Treacle Pudding – the selection was fabulous. I could feel my mouth salivating as I picked up a couple of options wondering whether they could come in useful when we have visitors at some time. WHO AM I KIDDING! I didn’t buy them because I really do want to stay slim but it took a lot of willpower.

Food used to control me, thankfully, now it doesn’t. If you are thinking about food too much, and your size is creeping up, why not consider joining one of our classes or our online slimming service? We do understand your needs and we really want to help you – and we offer unbelievable value too! Just log on to www.rosemaryconley.com for details of how we can help.

Exciting times!

This is a very exciting time for us. It is the run up to January which is the busiest time of our working year as everyone wants to lose weight after Christmas. Next January is also a new decade and that makes it special. On top of that my 30th video/DVD will be published, my brand new diet book (which works unbelievable well) will be published and we officially launch our online TV channel which has been 18 months in development. Now that I’m back from my summer break it is time to get the promotional wheels turning ready for a very busy and productive January.

We are fortunate to have a fantastic team who work so well together. We have a common goal – to help people to lose weight and to enjoy themselves while they do. We want to do everything in our power to support our wonderful franchisees who run Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club classes and to that end in three weeks’ time we hold our Annual Convention. It is then that we will unfold all our hopes and plans for the new year and it is always fantastic fun. Over the next three weeks we will be working our socks off to ensure that we convey the information and enthusiasm that we have over to our franchisees so that they are all ready for January too. We also honour our top franchisees at our annual awards ceremony.

Yes, it’s exciting times and today will be busy.

The Five Key Steps To Losing Weight

Yesterday, a lot of folk will have embarked on a diet in a desperate attempt to lose weight because they are simply fed up with carrying around their excess bulk, feeling unnecessarily tired, and having a very low self-esteem. Monday is the most popular day for starting a diet as it signifies the start of a fresh week and most of us have a pretty predictable work pattern and that helps us stock to our diet.

To be successful on any weight-loss campaign we need to understand that we have to cut down on the calories we eat and we need to step up the number of calories we spend. We can have very good intentions of eating more healthily and doing more exercise but when reality takes over, often we make some effort but not enough to give us the quick weight loss we need to spur us on to our ultimate goal.

So here are my top tips to keep you on track to quick results.

• To lose weight you need to stick to a reduced calorie diet and the easiest way to do that is to eat low fat foods which should contain significantly fewer calories that their high-fat equivalent. Check out the food labels and buy foods with 5% fat or less, and check out the calories per portion that you are going to eat. Cut right back on alcohol as alcohol just causes you to gain weight.



• Next, reduce your portion size. This is, in my opinion, the biggest reason why so many people are overweight. We are just getting used to eating too much. Find yourself a smaller plate and cereal bowl and cut back your portions. If you have a set of my Portion Pots, use them. (find them on our website www.rosemaryconley.com)



• Stop snacking between meals. That’s a tough one if you’re used to munching your way through a packet of crisps and a Mars bar every day but if you are serious about getting back into shape, then you do need to cut back on the high fat treats that do nothing for you except make you fat. If you feel really hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon, have a small piece of fruit – just one!



• Exercise burns extra calories and any activity that uses your heart and lungs – in other words makes you out of breath – also burns fat. We need to do 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 – 5 times a week to be healthy, but while we are trying to lose weight, our exercise time is crucial. It will speed up your progress significantly. Also do some toning exercises which will strengthen your muscles and give you a better shape. (Try our diet and fitness classes as the exercises we teach in them will burn fat and tone you up- find out where your local Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness classes are held here).



• Last, but by no means least, write down everything you eat and drink, every day. By doing so research has proven that you double your rate of progress. It just makes you more accountable than eating something and thinking ‘just one won’t hurt’ – but unfortunately, every little extra adds up.

Remember, we don’t become overweight overnight so be patient but when you do reach your goal, you will feel like a new person and every bit of effort will have been worth it.

Have a good day!

You’re never too old...

Whether you are a fan or golf or not, you would have to know that over the last few days the Open has been held in Turnberry. For the less well informed, the Open is a major world golf tournament and Turnberry, (Scotland) is the best links, (by the sea), golf course location in the world.

I have never played golf but I was brought up in a golfing family. My parents played golf and I spent many an hour trundling around a golf course from when I was about six. My brother, Robert, showed great talent from an early age and at his peak played off a handicap of 2. Mike, my husband, is also a good golfer so the game still features in my life, albeit at a distance. And when we are in Portugal, our villa backs onto a golf course and there is nothing I like better than going around the beautiful courses as Mike plays.

Golf is a great sport and a wonderful form of exercise because it gives players a reason to spend hours walking in the fresh air. So, even though I don’t play, nor have any inclination to play, I am a fan. And never more so than this weekend – having watched quite a lot of the Open.

Why? Because the game is full of surprises. I think Tiger Woods is the most charismatic player of recent years. He shot to stardom because of his apparent natural flair and talent. He is also fit, good looking, and seems to be a nice bloke. But at the moment Tiger is off form and he didn’t make the ‘cut’ which meant that he didn’t get through to the third day because he didn’t play well enough. Instead, the man at the top of the leader board was a 59 year old golfer called Tom Watson. Tom has been playing golf at top level for over 40 years and was able to play in the Open because he is still a great talent. But playing 72 holes of championship golf over four days is hard physical work, no matter what your age. Nine months ago Tom was fitted with a new hip but yesterday he played brilliantly - again!

On the final day the performance of the top players in the world kept us all on the edge of our seats. One minute Tom had lost the lead, then he was back up their again. In the end it was a tie between Tom Watson and fellow American Stewart Cink and they had to play an extra four holes. Sadly for Tom, he lost. Stewart Cink, aged 36, came up trumps and clinched the championship and we have to commend him for that. But Tom Watson did much more than that. He showed everybody that even when you are almost 60 (his birthday is in 10 weeks’ time), if you are fit and healthy, you can still perform at top level and enjoy every moment. And he proved that golf is a great sport, no matter what your age.

It is very easy for folks to imagine that as they get older there is no need to bother about staying fit and healthy. They could not be more wrong! If we keep our weight down, keep fit and active, supple and agile, have something to aim for and find something we enjoy doing, life is worth living to the absolute full. And age is no barrier, nor should it be.

My job is to help people to lose weight and become healthier and fitter, no matter what their age. What I do know is that by just doing regularly a couple of classes (which I teach on a Monday evening), I have kept myself fit and in reasonable shape into my 60’s. I am so glad I did as I can live life to the full and I feel fit and healthy.

No matter what your age, it is never too late to slim down and shape up and our Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness classes can help you achieve your goals. Why not check out our website www.rosemaryconley.com for a class near you.

Why I love the sunshine!

Today looks as though it is going to be a sunny day. That’s good for all of us because it lifts our spirits and makes us want to go outside, cycle to work, walk the children to school instead of driving them, do some jobs in the garden, wash the paintwork down – anything that enables us to be in the warmth of the sun yet putting our time to good use. Great! We can get a bit fitter without having to find time to actually do a ‘fitness programme’ as such.

As some of you will know, over the last few weeks I have started taking ice skating lessons. It’s hard work but I love every single second that I am on the ice with my coach, Karen, who is so patient, encouraging and a brilliant teacher. I’ve had eight lessons with her so far and she gives me ‘home work’ which involves practising moves on the floor, (usually in my bathroom), where I am training my brain to help my feet and balance go a certain way, and in unison! It is a strange sight to see but a very worthwhile exercise as by practising on carpet and bare feet I am developing my neuro-muscular pathways to learn the moves so that I can do them more easily.

Our neuro-muscular pathways are created in our brain when we learn a pattern of doing a certain task – changing gear in our car, lifting one leg in front of the other when we go upstairs for instance. Over time those activities become completely automatic and that’s what I’m working on with my feet and my balance in the bathroom. It’s really hard to learn the different moves in skating, not helped by the fact that when you are skating you are moving around on sheet ice and you are balancing on a blade that is just one millimetre wide! But it’s coming and I’m learning and progressing with every lesson. I’ve even become more confident about falling and can get up again without any effort. That is, in fact, a really big deal! Yesterday I fell four times and twisted my knee, bashed my wrist, fell hard on my back and later hurt by thumb – but it’s all fine. Nothing that won’t mend in a couple of days and as my coach said, ‘it’s good to fall, because you learn more that way’. Excellent! I suppose I should be looking forward to falling lots more!

We all need to be aware that our neuro muscular pathways need to be worked on. Practise makes perfect. Whether you’re a golfer who lifts their head up when they shouldn’t, a tennis player who rushes the shot each time or a member of newly joins one of our classes and struggles a bit the first time they do the exercise routine, by learning the right way, practising regularly, and persevering, our brain and our body quickly learns what to do. That is what is so encouraging. It only gets easier with practise. As we become more proficient, we can become more ambitious, play better, exercise in a class at the higher level, perform more difficult moves on the ice rink! It is that progression and improvement that stimulates us and encourages us to continue. The better at it that we become, the more likely we are to carry on in to the long term. That must be our goal.

If you are thinking about joining one of our Diet and Fitness classes and you’re scared witless that you are going to be un-coordinated when you exercise, why not start off by getting one of my fitness DVDs and learn a few of the basic moves first. They are easy to follow and they all include similar moves to those that are taught in our classes. All of our class instructors are trained to the highest level and they can cope with people of all fitness levels and abilities so don’t worry, you will never be made to feel embarrassed. But it could just be that fitness challenge you have been waiting for. Check out our website for details of my DVDs and our classes.

Losing weight is harder as we get older

Every Monday evening I teach a couple of classes at the Holiday Inn in Leicester. I have been teaching my classes there since 1986 and around 15 or so of my members have been coming to me since then and some of those women are now well into their seventies.

What I find so rewarding is that this special band of folk are fit and able, and their bodies are serving them well plus they have good figures. For many of them, this class is the only real exercise they do all week yet even that one class has made a significant difference to their health and wellbeing because along with the weekly exercise, they have lost weight and kept it at a healthy level. And that is crucial.

There is no doubt that if we want to live a long and healthy life, we need to keep our weight in check. Being slim makes a dramatic difference to our health at any age, but never more so than when we get older because our joints as well as our heart will suffer if we don’t. But losing weight when we are older is tough because our metabolic rate slows down with age.

The rate at which we burn calories (our metabolic rate) starts slowing down when we hit 30! Past the age of 60 it slows down significantly added to which we are usually less active in our daily lives so the risk of an increase in weight for many older folk is high. But we can do a lot to help ourselves.

As we get older our body tends to lose muscle strength (because we don’t use them as much as when we are younger, plus an older body isn’t as efficient at maintaining muscle tissue)and the body is more inclined to lay down fat. This is bad news all round! However, if we eat a low fat diet that is moderate in its portions we can lose weight or at least stop ourselves from gaining it. Then if we add physical activity, we can dramatically help ourselves by burning more calories as well as keeping out muscles strong and prevent muscle wastage. Strength workouts such as muscle toning exercises or using light weights will really help to maintain muscle and bone strength. Aerobic exercise (anything that makes you slightly out of breath and warm) will burn extra calories and also fat. By doing a combination of both, even if it is only once a week, will make a difference and if you cannot get to a class, working out to one of my DVDs will work wonders. I always include aerobics and toning in all my programmes so even one DVD will fulfil your needs.

So if you are young and reading this, try and get your weight to a healthy level while it is easier to do so and then maintain a healthy lifestyle into later life. If you are older, start taking action now so that you are investing into your old age. I love the saying ‘exercise is like a savings account. The more you invest the greater the dividends’.

Check out our website for details of my DVDs and our Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness classes. We are here to help you.