Rosemary Conley Talks Fitness And Diets

3 months ago 10th Oct 16:39

Do you think that cooking is a big part of getting people to stay in shape?

It would make a major contribution, certainly. Especially with the ongoing trend towards obesity in children. I think that children haven't bee taught to cook in school unless their parents taught them and I think some knowledge about food is absolutely fundamental. What's happening at the moment is that they're watching TV and they're watching chefs doing these extraordinary things and they think, 'well I can't cook that' and they go to restaurants instead and that doesn't help at all either. The biggest problem with dining out is that you go through the menu and because you've gone out and given your evening up you think, 'right, I will have a starter then' and then a large main course, and then possibly dessert, so you end up having twice as many calories as you normally would. I think with the credit crunch, people are going to have to think about cooking and stop buying ready meals.

How do you stay in shape today?

I'm quite active, I'm on my feet a lot and I tend not to snack between meals and I never buy a bar of chocolate. It's not that I don't like them , it's just I don't want to be fat. I want to be thin more than I want the bar of chocolate. I enjoy being slim, I know what it's like to be overweight, I hated being overweight, I hated my clothes being tight and It's just lovely being slim.

You were one of the original fitness guru's, what do you think of all the celebs that release fitness DVD's?

I think it's all about what the market wants, and there's no doubt that there is a market for people to feel that 'right, I like that person, I feel I have a relationship with that person and therefore if she's teaching me how to exercise in my living room, I might actually do it'. And to be honest with you, if it does make people get up, and providing that the celebrity has had a trainer and they advise and teach the workout, I think it's not a bad thing. I think some of them are better than others and it's sometimes hard for the public to ascertain which are the good and bad ones.

Are you bringing out any fitness DVD's this year?

No I'm not, I'm doing one the January after next though, I think. Well, I've also already got one out with Coleen Nolan, it's a very good one too.

What was Coleen like to work with

She was lovely, really lovely, complete professional, and obviously she has a very busy lifestyle, and trained so hard- it was extraordinary and I really commend her for that. I think she is actually bringing out her own fitness DVD in January too.

You launched the Wii fit boards, did you know how successful they would be?

They are absolutely fantastic, we launched it at the end of April and I was one of the first to try it and they're such good fun. There are four areas on it- yoga and aerobics, balance and strength work too. Balance is my favourite actually, it's so well done and really clever. I would say to anybody, that if you want to get one of those, get them now, I mean there is such demand for them, so order early if you want one for Christmas.

Slim to Win With Rosemary Conley is on ITV at 7.30pm, and the first episode airs 9th October.

Slim To Win Diet and Cookbook is available now to buy.