Long Time No See

Posted by Mari Jones on January 23, 2008 3:58 PM

I've had my gym induction at the Deganwy Quay Hotel and I'm delighted to say that I'm apparently of average fitness.

This comes as a triumph, as the last induction I had my fitness levels was deemed very poor.

Ed, who hails from the exotic climes of San Salvador, is the gym instructor at The Quay and definitely trained at the No Pain No Gain school of instructing.

No mercy is shown as I'm struggling away on the rowing machine or with those giant balls, that make you look slightly ridiculous.

When he hadn't seen me for a few days I received a very sarcastic 'long time, no see', comment and a suspicious look when I gently told him that since he wasn't on duty 24/7 he must have missed me.

Can't wait to see him tonight as since I've had to work away for a few days I haven't set foot in the gym yet this week.

On second thoughts maybe I'll go for a swim instead.

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'An Interesting Technique' down at the Gym

Posted by Mari Jones on January 14, 2008 3:46 PM

I may not be any fitter and certainly not any lighter, but at least my quest for fitness has been launched with a bang.

The Quay Hotel & Spa, in Deganwy, have kindly offered to sponsor me-hurrah!

I swam in their heavenly pool last Friday, and have been to the gym twice although my visits didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped.

On my first visit, I forgot such vital things as a sports bra, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner and the list went on.

As any woman knows all the above are VITAL for a successful trip.

A big apology to the person who left some Charles Worthington shampoo in the changing rooms, I nicked a tiny bit.

I spent my first hour in the gym checking the expensive looking equipment out.
My favourite is the step machine, as it gives the whole body a good cardio workout and it burns loads of calories! Yippee.

However, my happy state soon came to an abrupt end when one of the trainers came up to me and said: “Mmm, the way you used the step machine was very interesting. I’ve never seen it done that way before!”

Mmm, I thought, how embarrassing, not quite the impression I was trying to make...

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Exclusive Rosemary Conley Interview

Posted by Mari Jones on January 11, 2008 10:31 AM

ROSEMARY Conley is arguably Britain's most successful diet and fitness guru, with over 25 years' experience of helping people to loose weight and get fitter.

It was in 1986, as a result of a gall bladder problem, that she started to follow a low-fat diet in an attempt to avoid surgery.

She discovered that this way of eating stream-lined her body in a way she'd never been able to
achieve on previous diets.

Keen to share this knowledge with others, she decided to put her experiences on paper.

The result was her Hip and Thigh Diet, which dominated the best sellers for many years, in the first eight years she sold over two million copies.

She shows no sign of slowing down and at the age of 61 has just launched another exercise DVD which is already racing up the charts as people seek to battle the post Christmas bulge.

In this new fitness DVD Rosemary works with Coleen Nolan and helps get her into the best shape of her life.

She slimmed from a size 18 to a trim size 10. Rosemary spoke to reporter Mari Jones, who is about to embark on her own fight for fightness.

When asked on her thoughts as to why the British population is steadily becoming one of the fattest nations on earth, whilst the diet industry keeps on growing.

Rosemary commented: "It's because of lifestyle changes, people have more disposable income now and so dine out more and eat three courses.

"Takeaways have also become a huge industry and people cook less and prefer to buy ready made meals which are very often very high in fat and salt.

"Portions are also now so much bigger and most people have sedentary jobs, and then go home and veg out in front of the TV.

"Twenty years ago everybody would go out and shop and many had to carry their shopping home on the bus or whatever, now even groceries can be ordered online."

Rosemary is also not a fan of the supersized meals: "I despair of this supersize age, you see these huge pizzas and huge bars of chocolate and I just think it's madness.

"People munch away destroying their shape. I think the Government should do far more to tackle the problem, they need to speak to food manufacturers about their products, and there should be far more education in schools about following healthy diets.

"Mixed messages are being given, most schools don't even teach cooking anymore.

Then there is this crazy celebrity culture where impressionable young women are constantly being shown pictures in magazines of size zero celebs which is neither healthy or attractive."

As for the best diet tips and what Rosemary ate over the festive season she stayed well away from Christmas cake and cream.

"I think exercise is vital to a successful diet, you burn fats faster and it helps you to really tone up.

"I actually hate going to the gym and much prefer exercise classes as they are far more fun and sociable.

"As for what I eat I follow a low fat diet, I drink semi skimmed milk and eat plenty of yogurt, at Christmas I don't even bother buying cream I just replace it with Greek yogurt.

"There's also no point buying Christmas cake as nobody eats it in our house but we do indulge in mince pies."

And as to Rosemary's secret recipe for having such a long career ? She said: "I'm absolutely dedicated to telling the truth, my DVD's are safe and effective.

"I would never do anything for a fast buck, if somebody offered me £10m I wouldn't do it."
And with that she was gone on her way to see some family in Norfolk.

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Why Am I Doing This?

Posted by Mari Jones on January 7, 2008 4:34 PM

I NEVER make any New Year's resolutions because since I have zero will power there is simply no point.

The last one was probably made when I was an idealisitic eight-year-old in 1980, and that was probably to be nicer to my brother which wouldn't have lasted any more than a couple of hours.

So when I came up with the idea of reporters making New Year resolutions and writing about them for the newspaper, little did I think I would be taken seriously.

I thought there would be much hilarity and a few incredulous looks and we would have moved swiftly on, but no, the Ed thought it was a great idea.

How I have rued that day because now I'm being faced with the huge task of trying to get fit and having to write about it in public.

So here goes. I'm a 35-year-old out of shape mother of one. I'm about 5ft 7 inches tall and weigh around nine and a half stone, probably a bit more than that as Christmas has just gone and I'm a huge fan of Christmas cake, those red Lindt chocolates and mince pies. I'm a size ten on a good day, but my skinny jeans are horribly tight.

I've never been on a diet in my life because I don't believe in them and I like eating too much, and the lack of will power would mean there is very little point so the gym is the only way I'll achieve my goal.

Here's what I'd like to be - a toned size ten and weighing in at nine stone. That's what I weighed before I got pregnant and had my son Jack. At the time I felt great as I had time to go to the gym three times a week and for the first time since I left school I got relatively fit.

Now the thought of going to the gym during these dark, freezing cold nights and trying to make it three times a week when I've got a 21-month old baby and a full time job is going to be tough. But I'm going to go for it, I've got myself into this and perhaps by the end of it I'll even be able to look good in my skinny jeans again!

I'll be posting an exclusive interview with fitness guru Rosemary Conley later this week, and Weekly News readers can win copies of her latest workout DVD in our January 10th edition.

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