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?