Yesterday was a very enjoyable day. It was the photoshoot for the slimmers who will be appearing in our Christmas edition of my magazine, Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness. These days are always special but yesterday was particularly so.
Just after Christmas, my final fitness DVD will be released. It is my 30th and I have no regrets that it is my last one. They involve a huge amount of time and energy but each one has been special. Yesterday we photographed three of the girls who feature in this last DVD - a mum, Sue, and her twin daughters, Cassie and Caroline. I class them as friends because we spent a great deal of time together earlier in the year when we rehearsed and perfected our routines before going into the studio to record the DVD. Every one of the seven of us worked our socks off, as well as our fitness consultant, Mary Morris, and the crew . There was a camaraderie that developed between us all as we gave the DVD our best shot and the result is an extremely effective DVD which tens of thousands (hopefully) of folk will work-out to for many weeks and months from next January. If they do, they will become healthier and fitter as a result. It works and the three girls who came for the photoshoot today are testament to that fact. They have lost five stone between them and have maintained their weight loss for over a year and today they looked stunning in their fabulous clothes and professionally created make-up.
Another member of my DVD team also called in yesterday - 19 year old Allyson Wicklen. Allyson is stunningly pretty and 5’ 11” tall and she used to be a size 22. Now she’s a size 12 having lost 4 stone. Today I introduced Allyson to Pat Keeling, the proprietor of the Pat Keeling Model Agency in Leicester. I have known Pat for almost 30 years and, having worked with her recently on a charity event. Pat came along to Quorn House for the shoot just out of interest and to meet the girls. I introduced Allyson to her. Allyson is model material and I hope that one day she will carve herself a career that will capitalise on her natural assets.
Another successful slimmer who was invited to the shoot today was Cheryl from Wales who had lost 4 ½ stone with our Online Club, (www.rosemaryconleyonline.com). Cheryl is a mature student who is studying Egyptology for a Masters degree and, as there is no Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club in her locality, opted for our online service instead. Cheryl looked fabulous. With an enviable figure and now wearing size 8, it was an easy task to dress her to look stunning.
As I looked at the five folk who had visited us that day, I felt a real sense of pride. Not that I had created a diet or fitness regime but that, somehow, through the wonderful team with whom I work, we had provided the facility to enable these lovely people to make a choice to change their lives for the better and live it to the full. That, is brilliant. And it is that, that makes me want to get up in the morning. And long may it continue!
Showing posts with label fitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitter. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
We don’t know we’re born!
On Sunday evening Mike and I watched the moving documentary about Harry Patch (available to view now on BBC iplayer), the last survivor of the first World War, who died recently aged 111 years. If you missed the programme, check out BBC’s website to read his obituary.
Those of us who were born after World War II have no comprehension of what it must have been like to have lived through one war, let alone two! The first World War must have been unimaginably tough and for Harry Patch to have survived both to reach such an amazing age is extraordinary and inspiring.
As we watched the programme I felt immensely grateful – and a little guilty - for the fact that we live in a country where we have so much and everyday life is relatively straight-forward. Then I watched BBC Breakfast the next morning to see a soldier who had lost both his legs and his right arm in Afghanistan and who had come to terms with his disabilities, worked hard to learn to walk on two artificial legs and have a cheerful, smiling face with no feeling of self-pity or regret. What had happened was part of life and sometimes life is tough. Really tough.
My job is to help people to lose weight and become fitter and I am privileged to be in a position to do that but we should all take a moment to pause and re-consider whether we really want to eat that extra bar of chocolate or packet of crisps or drink that extra glass of wine which isn’t very good for us. We have choices and it is really important that we treat our body with the respect it deserves, to keep it healthy and fit. We should be grateful that we have two legs and two arms to be able to do our everyday tasks without even thinking about it.
So, long may we remember you, Harry Patch, and may you help us never to forget how fortunate we are to be alive in the 21st Century when life is good and worth living to the full. We really don’t know we’re born, do we?
Those of us who were born after World War II have no comprehension of what it must have been like to have lived through one war, let alone two! The first World War must have been unimaginably tough and for Harry Patch to have survived both to reach such an amazing age is extraordinary and inspiring.
As we watched the programme I felt immensely grateful – and a little guilty - for the fact that we live in a country where we have so much and everyday life is relatively straight-forward. Then I watched BBC Breakfast the next morning to see a soldier who had lost both his legs and his right arm in Afghanistan and who had come to terms with his disabilities, worked hard to learn to walk on two artificial legs and have a cheerful, smiling face with no feeling of self-pity or regret. What had happened was part of life and sometimes life is tough. Really tough.
My job is to help people to lose weight and become fitter and I am privileged to be in a position to do that but we should all take a moment to pause and re-consider whether we really want to eat that extra bar of chocolate or packet of crisps or drink that extra glass of wine which isn’t very good for us. We have choices and it is really important that we treat our body with the respect it deserves, to keep it healthy and fit. We should be grateful that we have two legs and two arms to be able to do our everyday tasks without even thinking about it.
So, long may we remember you, Harry Patch, and may you help us never to forget how fortunate we are to be alive in the 21st Century when life is good and worth living to the full. We really don’t know we’re born, do we?
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Are our fat cells for life?
Years ago it used to be said that our fat cells were laid down during our early years and by the end of our teens, whatever number we had then were going to be with us for life. We could, of course, fill up those fat cells so they became bigger as we gained weight, or they reduced in size when we lost a few pounds, but the underlying number remained the same.
But it has now been discovered that that is not the case. It’s true that fat cells are laid down in the womb and through our growing years but they can keep on increasing if we keep on eating to excess. The fatter we get, the more fat cells we develop so, sadly, there is no limit to how big we can become.
There is some good news though. Whereas we once believed that our formative fat cells were there for life, in fact, they don’t have to be. Apparently, if we lose weight and keep the weight off, the body ‘gobbles up’ the redundant fat cells. This should give us all tremendous encouragement and the incentive to slim down and stay that way rather than resign ourselves that ‘we’re made that way’.
Exercise plays a very important role in keeping us leaner and in so many areas of our health that we should seriously make time to do some activity every day. Even if it is just walking up and down stairs more often, going for a walk in our lunch break or playing active games with our families or going for a bike ride, the benefits to keeping ourselves slimmer and fitter are enormous. We will not only help to keep our heart and lungs in better health, we will be burning fat and helping to keep our weight under control.
Exercise should be fun and I still think that working out with others in a class is one of the most fun ways – plus you work lots of different muscles which give you a better shape. Have a look on our website, (www.rosemaryconley.com), if you would like to see if one of our diet and fitness classes is near to where you live or work. Just by doing a bit of exercise on a regular basis can make a huge difference to the way you look and feel.
Why not write down today five things you could do on a daily basis that would get you moving more. You don’t have to train for a marathon - just move about more throughout your day.
But it has now been discovered that that is not the case. It’s true that fat cells are laid down in the womb and through our growing years but they can keep on increasing if we keep on eating to excess. The fatter we get, the more fat cells we develop so, sadly, there is no limit to how big we can become.
There is some good news though. Whereas we once believed that our formative fat cells were there for life, in fact, they don’t have to be. Apparently, if we lose weight and keep the weight off, the body ‘gobbles up’ the redundant fat cells. This should give us all tremendous encouragement and the incentive to slim down and stay that way rather than resign ourselves that ‘we’re made that way’.
Exercise plays a very important role in keeping us leaner and in so many areas of our health that we should seriously make time to do some activity every day. Even if it is just walking up and down stairs more often, going for a walk in our lunch break or playing active games with our families or going for a bike ride, the benefits to keeping ourselves slimmer and fitter are enormous. We will not only help to keep our heart and lungs in better health, we will be burning fat and helping to keep our weight under control.
Exercise should be fun and I still think that working out with others in a class is one of the most fun ways – plus you work lots of different muscles which give you a better shape. Have a look on our website, (www.rosemaryconley.com), if you would like to see if one of our diet and fitness classes is near to where you live or work. Just by doing a bit of exercise on a regular basis can make a huge difference to the way you look and feel.
Why not write down today five things you could do on a daily basis that would get you moving more. You don’t have to train for a marathon - just move about more throughout your day.
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