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!

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.

Slimmers of the Year at the Vitality Show

We are all still recovering from our marathon Vitality Show Extravaganza but have had time to reflect on the event of the last four days and the high spots. We were so proud of our four national Slimmers of the Year who attended the show and met the public on our Stand. We had lifesize before and after photographs of all four of them and the expressions on the faces of the general public when they saw the winners in the flesh was a total joy. Between them the slimmers have lost 40 stone and they are living proof that diet AND exercise is the only answer to a healthy body and a good figure. They are all members of Rosemary Conley Clubs and are tremendous ambassadors for everything we stand for. Click here to see more photographs and read their stories.

Success At The Vitality Show

Sorry to have missed a couple of days. Life has been manic and I've had no internet access. The Vitality Show has been a huge success for us and we have met thousands of lovely people who were thrilled to have their books or DVD's signed and I was delighted to shake the hand of so many successful slimmers.

I feel it is a real privilege when I meet folk who tell me that they feel they know me because I am in their living rooms regularly exercising with them via my DVDs. Our magazine Chef, Dean Simpole-Clarke, cooked stir fries and juiced copious amounts of carrots and apples for passers-by to enjoy. The visitors loved every mouthful as they tasted his wonderful creations.

Mike and I were joined by our other two directors, Angie and Chris, plus six members of staff - Annabel, Anja, Bridget, Gaynor, Heather, Lucy, Mary, as well as Dean plus Gaynor's husband, Ian, and Heather's husband, Matthew over the weekend. What a delightful team of folk, who worked incredibly hard and with whom we had a barrel load of laughs. What fun we have had amongst the incredibly hard work. It has been a total joy.

We are all totally knackered!

Day two of the Vitality Show

Day one of the Vitality Show completed. We were all exhausted at the end of our very long day which finished at 9pm as we left Earl’s Court. Our stand is headed with the words lose 7lb in 14 days and lots of people came to ask how that could be done. I explained that on my Gi Hip and Thigh diet it is totally possible to lose 7lb in 14 days on the Fat Attack Fortnight but some people said they would prefer to take a pill!

Many dieters do not realise that the only way to lose weight is to make some effort to eat less and do more. For all that, we had lots of lovely people come onto the stand with inspiring stories to tell and a genuine interest in how to improve their weight and shape. As we wait to go to day two we are looking forward to meeting even more people today for an exciting Vitality Show extravaganza.

If you want to lose 7lb in 14 days, have a look on our website

Rosemary Conley's first day at the Vitality Show in London

It’s an exciting day today as we travel down to the Vitality Show at Earl’s Court. This is the fourth year we have been there but it is the first time I will be there every day so I expect to be totally exhausted by Sunday night. Why do I want to do it? Because the people that come onto our stand and who listen to my talks are the loveliest folk around. I meet people who have lost weight on my diet, worked out to my DVDs, attended our classes or lost weight on Rosemary Conley online – or just passers-by who want to say Hi. There is a real buzz on the stand and the whole experience, whilst hard work, is a joy. My first talk is at 1pm today which is when the show opens so I don’t expect too many people to be at that one but who knows. If you are visiting the show please come and see me on our stand and let me know that you read my blog.

Join Rosemary Conley and team at the Vitality Show

Making the most of today because on Thursday Mike, myself and the team go down to Earls Court for the Vitality Show. We’re there for the whole four days and, if it is anything like last year’s show, it will be hard work but great fun. It would be great to see anyone who’s reading this to come and visit us. Dean Simpole-Clark our chef will be cooking on the stand and I will be giving a talk at lunchtime each day. There is usually loads going on and everyone who goes seems to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Visit my website for more details.