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

Why am I dieting on holiday?

A week ago I was packing to come away and I knew I had put on a pound or two over Christmas resulting in my clothes selection being undertaken carefully. I don’t weigh myself at home because if I do I become paranoid about food, so I just go by the fit of my clothes and things had been getting a bit snug. Well, tight actually.

As soon as the New Year was underway I had made something of an effort and I was feeling not too bad about my weight and looking forward to lots of skiing and cold, fresh air to stimulate my metabolism.

I haven’t ventured near my ‘7 for all Mankind’ best jeans for months because they are hipsters and whilst I could probably get them on, all that would happen is that my ‘excesses’ would be squeezed into a very unattractive ‘muffin top’ overhang, which if allowed to persist would force me to have rolls of fat around my waist which I really, really didn’t want. No, those jeans are definitely my incentive and reward for when my weight is back where it should be. But my ‘Guess’ jeans that I wore on the cover of my Gi Jeans Diet book are higher cut and more forgiving so, I thought I would give them a go to see if I could take them on holiday with me. But horror of horrors, I couldn’t even do them up!

I have learned over the years that I must not become upset at times like this because if I do I go into panic mode, think about food all the time and end up gaining rather than losing weight. No, I must just accept that I need to switch a switch in my brain and eat a bit less, drink a bit less and do a lot more! In fact, all the advice I give out all the time to others.

So when we arrived at our hotel I made a decision. I would try to lose weight on this holiday by benefitting from the delightful array of different healthy foods that were available at breakfast and dinner, eat a light lunch, and combine this with lots of increased calorie expenditure created by skiing, skating, walking and working out in the hotel gym.

There is a set of scales in our bathroom which only weigh in kilograms. Should I risk weighing myself? Somehow, seeing my weight in a different measurement gives it a sort of anonymity, and just a figure by which to measure my progress, so yes, I decided to pop on them. On day one I weighed 52.7 kg. My aim is to reach 51.7 kg by this coming Saturday morning. By Wednesday I was 52.2 kg so I am definitely progressing.

I’m enjoying it. I’m in the zone mentally and I am determined to shed these few pounds that will mean I can get back into my posh jeans again. After all, as I am always quoting, nothing tastes as good as being slim feels!

If you need help to lose a few pounds, visit www.rosemaryconley.com for details of our classes plus lots more. And if you want to see how I used to look at my heaviest many moons ago – 10 st 4 lbs – take a look at www.rosemaryconley.tv.

Sun, Snow and Activity.

Mike and I are holidaying in Austria at the moment, enjoying our first break for seven months. When Mike’s 87 year old mother became very frail last year we felt she couldn’t be left but now she has moved in with us. Good food, good care and no worries has turned her health around to a point where we now felt we could leave her with our friend who always house- and dog-sits for us. Apparently they are having a lovely time together and we are certainly enjoying the break.

Our date for our holiday was determined by Mike’s wish to ski the annual White Ring ski race in Lech, in the Arlberg region of Austria which was held last Saturday. It is the longest ski race in the world and it is incredibly tough and potentially dangerous. A thousand highly-charged, super-fit folk assembled at the top of the Rufikopf mountain ready for their 22 km race around a wonderfully picturesque group of mountains with their only respite coming when they are chair lifted to the next mountain. Apart from that, it is full-on speed, energy and determination to reach the bottom of the last ski run in one piece and on two skis rather than in the emergency helicopter!

We arrived on Thursday and the last time Mike skied was a year ago so Friday was the only training day for Mike and he decided to ski round the course twice. As Saturday dawned, he was understandably apprehensive as he is only too aware that most of the other racers would be young and fearless, native skiers and supremely fit. His goal was just to finish the course, and in one piece.

As I waited at the finishing line with camera in hand thousands of people were gathered to cheer our competitors home. It was exciting and frightening at the same time as I wondered whether he would make it safely to the bottom.

I needn’t have worried. Mike skied the race in 1 hr 1 min 28 seconds. Exhausted but elated, he had enjoyed the thrill of pushing himself to the limit and skied faster than he had ever done – and survived. His time was certainly not the fastest of course, he didn’t expect it to be, but most importantly, he absolutely loved it and I was extremely pleased to have achieved his goal of completing the course, and was injury free.

Finding a physical activity that we love is key if we are to become fitter in our everyday lives. As we progress into this new year and our resolutions are possibly wavering, find yourself a challenge, a new sport or activity, so that you will enjoy becoming fitter in 2010.

To help you on your way, realise that exercising in a class is great fun and even if you’ve never been before why not give it a go? If you think you won’t be able to do the steps to the fitness routines, why not check out www.rosemaryconley.tv and learn the basic steps along with me as I demonstrate them slowly and simply. Confidence is key and if having a practice run makes you more confident, it could help you to make that first step to achieve a challenge you thought you could never achieve.

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.

SLIMMERS OF THE YEAR 2010

Yesterday was a very special day. We officially launched www.rosemaryconley.tv – our online television channel – and announced our eight Slimmers of the Year.

After months of preparation, planning and performing we went live to the general public with our state-of-the art channel and whilst there are still a few loose ends to tie up, you can now watch, free of charge, a vast selection of subjects and experts to help you lose weight, become fitter and change your life for the better. Log on and see for yourself.

But today was the day we showed off what we do best. Helping people to lose weight and change their lives. The press were there in force, television crews and photographers alike and they soaked up with the rest of us the excitement of seeing these wonderful folk who had between them lost a staggering 77 stone!

This time last year Louisa Bachelor, our Yummy Mummy Slimmer of the Year, weighed 20stone 5 lbs. Today she weighs 9st 10lbs and looks amazing. She lost her weight because her daughter was being bullied at school ‘because her mum was fat’. It’s a very different story now as Louisa is on the front cover of my magazine and her daughters have shown it to everyone!

Male Slimmer of the year, Ross Hatfield, failed his fitness test in 2008 so couldn’t serve in Afghanistan with the Territorial Army. Having joined his local Rosemary Conley Club class and losing 7st 9 lbs, Ross is ready for action.

Bridie Coulter from Northern Ireland was told by her doctor that if she didn’t lose weight she would be dead within a year. Morbidly obese at over 24 stone Bridie had to change her lifestyle dramatically. Today she is 14st 5lbs lighter and is a new woman. Her doctor now asks her to help counsel his overweight patients!

Ten years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of giving a Young Slimmer of the Year title but times have changed and childhood obesity is a big and growing problem. 20 year-old Allyson Wicklen has lost 5 stone, she appears in my Real Results DVD and is about to embark on a modelling course. How her life has changed from being a lacking-in-confidence teenager to a fit and beautiful young woman ready to strut her stuff on the catwalk.

Action Woman Slimmer of the Year Blanaid O'Sullivan couldn't hoist herself out of the water with her scuba diving kit because she was just too heavy. As a company director and medical equipment demonstrator to surgeons and surgical nurses, Blanaid spends her life living in hotels and flying all over the world. Now 6 stone lighter she looks and feels the fittest she’s ever been.

Lucy White is another young winner having been awarded my Student Slimmer of the Year title. Despite studying for her Master’s degree Lucy succeeded in shedding 5st 5lbs by living her life healthily. We chose this category to inspire other students who may struggle with their weight whilst at Uni.

Our Super Fit Slimmer of the Year, Kerry Pillai, also stars in my Real Results DVD having lost 2 ½ stone on her own using my videos and magazines before joining our classes to lose another 8 stone. Her total weight loss is a staggering 10 ½ stone and she is so fit and toned up we have even shown her in her underwear in our next issue of our magazine!

Last but by no means least we gave a Mr and Mrs Slimmer of the Year title to Maria and Toby Webber from the Isle of Wight. They used to weight 40 stone between them but they’ve shed 18 of them and are very worthy winners of this Award. Maria lose 9 ½ stone and Toby lost 8 ½ stone. Brilliant!

So, if you’re reading this and want to follow suit, check out if there’s one of our classes near you, phone the franchisee and book yourself in. And if you want to hear the stories of some of our Slimmers or the Year, Bridie, Louisa, Maria and Toby and Allyson are all interview on www.rosemaryconley.tv to inspire you. What have you got to lose? Only your weight and inches!