An interesting week!

Last week Mike was away skiing with his friends which meant that I could attack all sorts of jobs that I normally wouldn’t have time to do. Along with every other working wife in the country, I feel guilty about doing jobs when we need to spend quality time together so if hubby’s away, then I can work till whatever time I like with a clear conscience.

In addition to completing lots of household jobs I was able to go out with friends to see Strictly Come Dancing – the live tour - in Nottingham on one evening and fly to Dublin to do a mini publicity tour the next day. Our friend house-dog-and mother-in-law-sits, so everything is well covered. The main reason I visited Dublin was to appear on their TV3 channel which is the Irish equivalent of GMTV. They are always charming, welcoming and give me a decent slot to talk about my latest book and DVD as well as our internet TV channel – www.rosemaryconley.tv. If one wants to sell one’s book, DVD and attract viewers on to the new site, then publicity is a must.

After appearing on TV3 I was then whisked off to a radio station to record an ‘as-live’ interview for transmission on Saturday. The presenter was great and the fact that he had already logged on and watched rosemaryconley.tv was a real bonus. And the fact that he commented on how high the production quality appeared was particularly gratifying. Press interviews with the Irish Sun back at the hotel, the Irish News of the World in the taxi to the airport and a women’s magazine at the airport as I arrived in Birmingham meant that I really had used every available minute.

After a quick change at home it was then back to the office to do some writing for my magazine which is fast approaching its deadline and then it was off to Steps, the Leicestershire charity of which I am Patron and a Trustee, for our monthly Trustees meeting in the evening. We’re organising a black tie dinner and fundraising event in June as well as Music in the Meadow in August to raise much needed funds to keep the school going. We have a great team and I love what Steps does and what we are able to achieve as a dedicated and positive group of Trustees.
It made my day when I Twittered about Steps and a professional artist offered to paint a portrait as an Auction prize. We already have an England Rugby shirt signed by all the team of 2009 to auction at the dinner.

I had an early radio interview to do on Friday morning and then meetings through the day but at the end of the day, I felt I had achieved a huge amount. But perhaps the highlight of the week was the fact that a journalist on the South coast had decided to put herself on my Amazing Inch Loss Plan and write about it. And at the end of the 28 days – yes, she’d lost a stone! Wonderful!

It’s lovely now to have Mike back, safe and sound if full of cold. Life is back to normal and next week will be a little easier. Life is very good.

Learn more about my Amazing Inch Loss Plan by logging on to www.rosemaryconley.tv or visit http://www.rosemaryconley.com

The weight losses continue!

I’ve just completed the first month of classes with my new members following my Amazing Inch Loss Plan. It is exciting to see the pounds falling away and I can honestly say that I have never given out so many half-stone and one stone certificates of weight loss as I have in the last couple of weeks nor have I ever had so many new members join my classes.

One of my members lost 1st 1 lb in 3 weeks. She’s now lost a total of 1st 6 lbs in 5 weeks! Two members received their 1 stone certificate after four weeks and many others are teetering on the edge of losing a stone in the month. Tonight I gave out eight half-stone certificates, some to folk who had lost that much in just one week!

Last week the weight losses were not as dramatic so I gave a talk on the importance of activity and exercise. This week they had exercised in all kinds of ways and it was working brilliantly. Their faces were a picture and they are now so fired up to carry on with their diets.

My own weight-loss campaign is progressing well. I haven’t been on the scales but I have lost almost two inches from my waist, (according to my Magic Measure) and my clothes are feeling significantly looser. And yes, I’ve been exercising too.

Waise, our lurcher/whippet-cross dog, has enjoyed more brisk walks than usual and yesterday, when I was walking along the main street back to our house a neighbour commented ‘Golly, you’re stepping it out aren’t you!’ and yes I was, I wanted to maximise my fat-burning power.

Every morning I’ve been doing my Express Abs workout from my Real Results DVD. It is so quick and effective and no trouble just to do those four minutes of concentrated exercises. I feel I’m holding my stomach in better as a result too.

So, if you want to see a difference, stick to the diet, go to classes, use your Magic Measure and get exercising as much as possible. You know it makes sense.

Visit www.rosemaryconley.com or www.rosemaryconley.tv for more information and help.

Take a look at the diet trialists

This week we have uploaded the initial weigh-in day of my Trial Dieters on www.rosemaryconley.tv.

Last May the first group of dieters came to Quorn House to be weighed in and measured. They were interviewed too and you can see the sense of fear and trepidation in their body language as they embarked on this weight-loss challenge. Men and women alike were given a 1200 calories a day diet sheet and they were given the option of either following the high protein version or the high carbohydrate one. The choice was theirs. They were also asked to exercise almost every day.

I told them that the challenge was to see if they could lose a stone in a month and they were very willing to give it a try. After all, they had nothing to lose but their weight and inches.

On the day they came to Quorn I had lost my voice, had flu and felt and looked dreadful. The second day of the weigh-in I didn’t even make it as I had to stay in bed. Fortunately, my wonderful team were able to carry on without me and in two days 50 people had been filmed and sent away with their diet and fitness plan.

A month on they were all back. Their total weight loss was an incredible 50 stone in the month and I had achieve the goal I wanted. To prove that you could lose a stone in a month whilst eating three healthy meals a day, power snacks, and ¾ pint of milk coupled with regular exercise. I then put it all in a book and my Amazing Inch Loss Plan is the result.

It is great to see the dieters’ response, one month on, and to have it captured on film. For me it is the icing on the cake because I had forgotten what they looked like at the beginning of the Trial. And I know how brilliant they look today!

Please watch this new programme on rosemaryconley.tv. It really is inspiring. Just log on to www.rosemaryconley.tv

Back to normal!

It’s been a funny week. Getting back to work after our holiday and it seems that everybody wants a little bit of me – well my time, anyway.

Monday is normally my day off but that gets over-ridden when I’ve had a holiday as there just aren’t enough hours in the day to fit everything in the rest of the week. Radio interviews are still coming through which is lovely. I really enjoy them as they are very natural, the presenters are always friendly, you can have a laugh and a joke and, well, be yourself. TV is different. It is much more tense and much more time-sensitive. TV presenters are reading autocue, hearing instructions from the director in one ear at the same time as interviewing you, and you only get five minutes if you’re lucky. On radio, they are much more flexible and you can be chatting for 10 – 15 minutes which is fab.

Then, of course, there’s a bit of a fashion for quizzes on radio at the moment. A couple of weeks ago I had to answer some questions for Chris Evans’ morning show. I don’t know when it will be transmitted but having done it, I chastised myself for answering one question with a ridiculous answer! Then this week, Three Counties Radio asked me historical ‘leotard-related’ questions. I did manage to get some right but not too many. You feel so stupid afterwards when they tell you the answers and you realise the questions were so blinking obvious! Hey-ho!

On Wednesday we had another photo shoot for our magazine with wonderfully successful slimmers coming to Quorn for a make-over and to be photographed. It was a bonus to find out that one of our stars of the day, Pauline, had come with her husband who had, unbeknown to us, himself lost 5 stone while eating the healthy meals Pauline had cooked for herself on her journey to losing over 4 stone! Another bonus of the day was learning from one of the accompanying franchisees, Lindsey Peters, that her members had already lost over 100 stone in the first three weeks of the year on my new diet!

Yesterday was our first Board Meeting of 2010. I love Board Meetings because it is a great opportunity to bring together the directors of our various companies in a concentrated dialogue to see how we are doing and where we are going. I love business because I love creating things – products and services – with our fantastic team and then launching them and seeing that people love what we do. It is the most satisfying thing.

The snow has affected everyone this year but now everyone is back to normal, the schools are open and folk are flocking to our classes, enjoying enormous weight losses on my new Amazing Inch Loss Plan, loving the latest DVD, buying the Magic Measure and our Solo Slim foods along with our other products. Our mail-order staff are working overtime to meet demand and there is a real buzz about Quorn House and our warehouse.

Now that our internet television channel is fully operational it is great to see how many people are logging on to view. There are still some enhancements to be added but we are thrilled with the feed-back we have received so far.

Today is an Open Day at Quorn House when potential franchisees are invited to come along and meet us and learn more about our franchise opportunity. It will be another exciting day and hopefully we will be meeting some folk who will go on to change their own lives for the better, and those of the many others they help.

So when I am asked why I love my job I answer that it is a privilege. What other job could you do which would be so fulfilling? We really are helping people to transform their life and their health for the better!

Log on to www.rosemaryconley.tv to see our successful slimmers being interviewed, plus lots more. Log on to www.rosemaryconley.com for details of all our classes, products and services.

Very exciting!

We’re back from our skiing holiday and Mike and I feel so much better having had a holiday for the first time in seven months.

I made the rash decision to try and lose 2 lbs over the ten days we were away because my best jeans don’t fit at the moment. Well, I didn’t lose 2 lbs but I did lose one and I’m certainly fitter and trimmer and I’m really glad about that. My class members had to work extra hard last night as my higher fitness levels enabled me to put extra zeal into my workouts and a lot of fun was had by all.

Moving my class venue was obviously a good move as my classes have doubled in size since I did. With so many new members trying out the Amazing Inch Loss Plan and enjoying massive weight losses, it is not surprising that they are bringing along their friends and their friends’ friends!

My new book has sold a hefty 33,000 copies in the first two weeks of publication so I am very happy – and so are my publishers! I know it works but it takes people to believe that it will work for them and to stick with it seriously and then they will see amazing results.

Yesterday I heard the great news that our internet television channel editor, Sue, lost 8 lbs in the first week of following the book and my Producer/Director, Gemma, has lost three and a half inches from around her waist in two weeks! Good results indeed. Also, all our staff are eating our new Solo Slim ready meal and soup range for their lunches and Quorn House, (our offices), whiffs more of a restaurant more than an office around lunchtime!

It is very exciting to launch new products and realise that folk are enjoying them so much. Everything we produce is created very, very carefully so it is rewarding when we find that all that hard work is paying off.

For more details, log on to http://www.rosemaryconley.com/ or www.rosemaryconley.tv

The Amazing Inch Loss Plan Works!

Last night was the second week of my own classes since Christmas. Despite the snow my classes have survived and last night was the first weigh-in for the new members who joined last week and who started on the Amazing Inch Loss Plan that is the new diet issued to our class members. The weight losses were staggering and the best I have ever experienced in my 38 years of running classes. My Slimmer of the Week at the first class had lost 9 lbs and some others had lost 7 and 7 ½ lbs. There was such a buzz about the place it was wonderful.

As part of our new member’s pack that folk receive when they join the classes, they are given a set of my Portion Pots and now they also get a Magic Measure. Members were telling me that they measured themselves immediately after the class last week and had attached the permanent tags on the measure to register their ‘start’ measurements. Apparently, in just one week, already they were able to measure their inch losses with the moveable tags that show their progressive inch losses. They were so excited.

Even though my Trial Dieters proved that my new diet works, I cannot tell you how exciting it is when it is launched to the general public and it works for everyone so wonderfully. I wish I had a camera to capture the delight on the faces of my first-weekers when they realised that all their efforts had paid such amazing dividends.

My Amazing Inch Loss Plan book is on sale in supermarkets and bookshops nationwide but if you have trouble finding it, go to our website www.rosemaryconley.com

On Sunday I was interviewed by Aled Jones for his Sunday morning Radio 2 programme. It was live and it was great fun. He is such a lovely man and I am thrilled that the BBC have realised what a national treasure he is and that they are using him more. It was one of the most enjoyable interviews I have ever done. Thank you Aled!

Lose a stone in a month!

I can remember going to BBC Radio Leicester in May last year to invite folk to apply to be a trial dieter for a new diet I was wanting to test. Tony Wadsworth is the presenter of the mid morning radio show and Tony has worked for BBC Radio Leicester for as long as I can remember. He is a good guy. When I wanted to recruit some volunteers, I felt sure that Tony would help.

When I come up with a new concept for a diet I like to prove that it works before I make any claims about its effectiveness. I’ve been in this business a long time and the integrity of my diets is vitally important to me and fundamental if they are to be taken seriously and gain approval from the medical profession. I have already held trials to prove the efficacy of my Hip and Thigh Diet and my Gi Jeans Diet and now my Amazing Inch Loss Plan.

In May, I selected 50 folk with ages ranging from 18 – 70 and in the first month they lost 50 stone. Subsequently, many have continued to follow the plan and to date the total weight loss of the group exceeds 88 stone! The diet works and yesterday I went back to Tony Wadsworth at Radio Leicester with three of my Trialists – Jeanette Hopkin, Ryan Flack and Andrew Corbett. Losing weight on the trial had changed their life and they were happy to enthuse as to the effectiveness of the diet. They were confident, excited, revitalised and ready to live life to the full. I am very proud of them.

Tony Wadsworth was very impressed by their ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs and the fact that they had lost 9 stone between them since May. They provided living proof that the diet works and I hope that members of our classes across the land will enjoy similar benefits as the new diet is included in our Club’s New Member’s Pack. It is an extraordinarily effective diet and if you follow it, and you have a reasonable amount of weight to lose, you will lose a stone in a month. That’s why I can confidently make the claim in our advertising. We’ve proved that you can!

Yesterday, my Amazing Inch Loss Plan was published and should be available from supermarkets and bookshops around the UK at an rrp of £10.99. If you have problems finding a copy, you can buy it directly from us at http://www.rosemaryconley.com/shop/books/rosemary-conleys-amazing-inch-loss-plan.htm. This book will change your life, your health and your body.

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year's Day was an interesting day! Friends were expected to join us for lunch in the morning but first Sky News sent a truck (outside broadcasting unit)to our home so that I could do a piece for Sky News for 9.45 am about New Year’s Resolutions. I had declined the invitation to travel down to London so when they offered to come to us, I was delighted.

Paul and Andy arrived with their highly technical van an hour early. That was fine except that I still was in my dressing gown! ‘Give me just five minutes’ I said, and then I’ll make you a cup of tea.’ Everyone was happy.

I had a copy of my new Amazing Inch Loss Plan book and Real Results DVD handy in case I had the nerve to wave them in front of the camera but until you are asked the first question by the presenter who speaks to you through an ear piece, you really don’t have a clue as to which direction the interview is going.

I was introduced as a ’fitness expert’ and asked what were my recommendations for New Year’s resolutions as most failed within a few days? I explained that I felt that resolutions should be specific and realistic so rather than say ‘I want to get fitter’ it should be ‘I want to do 30 minutes of exercise three times a week’ or ‘I want to lose three stone by July’.

I explained that exercise needed to be enjoyable if it were to be sustained, that working out to my DVDs worked the whole body and that if you wanted to lose weight, buy my new book!

When you’re being interviewed you never know whether it is all going to be over by the end of the next sentence so there is a tendency to pack as much information into your answers as possible but the lovely John (presenter) was coming back for more and more.

‘What did I think about celebrity DVDs; exercise that was too demanding and that could be damaging?’ I now had my perfect platform of explanation.

‘If someone went to one of our classes they would be taught by a qualified exercise teacher – and you can’t beat that. But all my DVDs offer clear explanations of the exercises and that my backing dancers (all ordinary women) worked out at varying levels. Using common sense, followers should copy the level of activity demonstrated by the appropriate person in my DVD. I explained that my DVDs were presented in such a way that I would be entering someone’s living room and exercising with them giving them clear teaching points and easy-to-follow instructions’ I explained. I said that whilst celebrity DVDs weren’t all bad, in fact, ‘if they got you off the sofa to exercise, that had to be a good thing’.

I took the opportunity to explain that if you wanted to diet my Amazing Inch Loss Plan really did work. My 50 Trialists lost 50 stone in the first month! But if you didn’t want to follow a specific diet, then just make a resolution to cut out the high fat snacks eaten between meals, eat three meals a day and get more active.

It is a new decade and we have the golden opportunity to get ourselves back into shape. When we do we will feel so much better and, surprisingly, the effort needed to get there is relatively small. It really is a question of a little effort and determination will produce a massive return of benefit. What are we waiting for?

New Year Preparations

I know it’s Christmas Day on Friday but we’re all chasing our tails trying to get everything ready for the New Year. There is SO much happening!

Firstly, my new and highly effective diet book – Amazing Inch Loss Plan – is about to be published. It is very exciting to have written a book that I know people will love because I know there are lots of people out there who would love to lose a stone in a month and that is what you can do with this plan, (that’s assuming you’ve more than a stone to lose!).

Next, my latest and last (yes, really) DVD is due out on 28th December. It is a brilliant programme and I know folk will love it. It has great music, fun routines and it is all extremely effective.

Then there’s our brand new food range called Solo Slim. It is only going to be available by mail order or through our classes as I’m disillusioned with the supermarkets and feel we can give a better service and lower prices, if we deal with the customers direct. There are fabulous ready meals and soups, all fresh ingredients, specially packaged so they have a long shelf life. They taste amazing and we can supply a week’s worth together with my fab low fat cheddar cheese and low Gi nutrition bars, and with a diet plan, all delivered directly to your door. I know this is going to be a real hit too.

Lastly, but by no means least, we launch our online television channel. www.rosemaryconley.tv on 5th January and people will be able to enjoy a vast array of interviews, inspiration and information, expert advice, exercises, recipe demonstrations and much, much more! It is fabulous and the biggest project we have undertaken since we launched our magazine back in 1996. Which brings me to...

Our 100th edition of Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness magazine is on sale 31st December with the first four of our eight Slimmers of the Year stories. It is our biggest and best issue ever and includes a pull out booklet of my 100 favourite recipes.

I know my feet won’t be touching the ground as soon as Christmas is over as the publicity tour takes full flight. The book has no less than three serialisations running in national publications! Very exciting.

I’ve also invented something that I think you’ll love. It’s called Magic Measure and it is a clever bit of kit that shows you how many inches you lose as you progress on your weight loss campaign. Log on to www.rosemaryconley.tv on 5th January to see how it works or join your local Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club in the new year and you will be given one for free. Classes re-open from 4th January.

If I don’t blog again before Christmas, have a truly fabulous time. Enjoy love, happiness, the joy of giving, having fun and being with your loved ones. Happy Christmas!

What a wonderful day!

I’ve been in the weight loss business for 38 years now and I’ve been fortunate enough to have enjoyed so many exciting events and activities, privileges and performances but on Friday I experienced something for the first time.

I held a reception for a very special group of VIPs at Quorn House, (our offices). The guests were my Trial Dieters.

At the end of May I met for the first time a group of overweight, unhappy, timid folk who desperately wanted to lose weight. They had responded to an appeal on BBC Radio Leicester for volunteers to try out my new diet. I remember them as they sat on the chairs in our Drawing Room, filling every inch of the seats on which they were sitting.

A month later, the mood was completely different. In just one month of the trial this group of 50 volunteers lost no less than 50 stone! An average of a stone in a month! That proved to me that you could lose a stone in a month if you combined a healthy calorie controlled diet and exercise, no matter what your age. The youngest Trialist was 18 and the oldest, 70 years young. They were thrilled and I was totally delighted plus I had the basis on which to write my new diet book.

After the initial one month trial, all the participants were given the option to continue a weekly weigh-in and measuring session at Quorn House with my Trial Manager, Sue. Six months on, the Trialists had lost significantly more weight and a monumental number of inches, and on Friday everyone was invited to return together for a celebration of their success. This time it was their smiles that filled the room, not their size. Their newly-found confidence and fitness was in abundance. Conversation was flowing as they shared their stories of improved self-esteem and health-improvement – and some were dramatic.

For instance, Bill Wiltshire was our Champion Trial dieter after one month having lost a gob-smacking 1st 10lbs in the first four weeks. But shortly afterwards Bill became very ill, was admitted into hospital and diagnosed with cellulitis. The surgeon told his spouse that he may have to amputate the leg as Bill’s condition was so serious. However, because Bill had been exercising and eating healthily as part of the Trial, even in that short time his circulation had improved so much that the blood-flow was working more efficiently and Bill could, after all, keep his leg! It was great to see him again when he joined the party.

So, on Friday I was standing amongst a group of Trialists who had followed a new diet, exercised regularly, transformed themselves health-wise and shape-wise. And they looked fantastic. John Newcombe was the overall Champion having lost 4st 1lb in the six months.

This was the first time I have ever run a large Trial where all my Trialists had been so closely monitored every step of the way and over such a long period. And now the evidence was standing there in the room looking at me. That was why it was a unique experience. It was brilliant!

I will write more about the health benefits they all enjoyed on another day but for now, be encouraged that this new diet, my Amazing Inch Loss Plan, has been proved to be unbelievably effective and it will be available for you in the New Year. Enjoy what it does for you.