My weight loss journey and the Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness magazine!

[BethEJo]

Hi

I know some of you have already seen this on FB, but I just wanted to share with my DIS friends too

Last year I joined the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club classes in a town near me, and something just clicked. I had been trying to lose weight on and off for years and had literally tried everything! My main motivation when starting these classes this time was to lose weight for Florida. I was going to be working at WDW during the summer of 2011 on the International College Program (have I mentioned about that already?! ), and I wanted to go there brimming with confidence and to have the summer of a lifetime. So something had to change; my weight. And nothing was going to stop me.

And it was the best summer of my life by far!

I managed to lose four stone on the program, and was a completely transformed person. My class teacher, noticing this, then put me forward as one of Rosemary's 'successful slimmers' that appear in her magazine each month. This all happened towards the beginning of this year, and I thought nothing would come of it, but a couple of months later at the beginning of June, I received a phone call inviting me to HQ for a photoshoot for my piece in the magazine.

So this all happened on June 21st - it was one of the best days ever! I took my Mum along and we both had a great time! I could get used to having my make up and hair done and all the pampering! The day consisted firstly of meeting Rosemary and the magazine team at a big Marks & Spencers in Fosse Park, in Leicestershire. There were four of us there that were going to be having photoshoots that day, and we were whisked around the store by Rosemary one by one. She looked me up and down (mostly up as I was about 2 foot taller than her with my wedges on ) and she just started throwing clothes at me! She knew what she wanted and she knew what looked good on each shape frame, height and size, and I literally ran after her all around the shop. Then it was off to the changing rooms, and luckily we decided to go for the first three outfits that I tried on. Phew! I get so sweaty in changing rooms normally that it was a relief to be out of there! Sorry, too much information there....

I felt good after that little shopping session, because after always being a size 16/18/20, I tried on a dress (the biege and coral one that made it to the photoshoot), and it was a size 10! Now, that was a first for me, since... oh I don't know... I was 7 years old or something?!

So yep, all in all a fantastic day. And a real confidence booster!

Here's Miss Conley and I at the end of the day:

And here's the magazine:

The magazine comes out on Thursday - available at all good supermarkets and newsagents haha

Also, during the photoshoot day, they picked two of us to film - having our hair and make up done, getting ready, the shoot and a little interview with us. I was really worried about what it was going to turn out like as I was sweating buckets, but it went live tonight, and I'm happy It was a shock to log onto the Rosemary Conley TV website and find myself on the homepage

You can find the video here: http://www.rosemaryconley.tv/Weight-Loss/Success-Stories/Bethan-John-lost-4st.aspx

Thanks for letting me share

 

[darthtatty]

Thanks for sharing your story, when youre struggling to lose weight its always nice to hear of success stories
you look fab, I watched your video earlier and it turned out great.
Fosse park isnt far away from me, I go there pretty often.

well done.xx

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Your story is truly inspirational ... you look absolutely stunning and losing 4 stone is such an achievement. Well done.

Perhaps you should give us all a few tips on how to maintain the weight loss ... do you still go to the classes ?

 

[mandymouse]

I know I've already mentioned this on FB, but you look amazing Bethan. I'm really surprised that you were as big as you said you were, all I can say is that you carried your weight well, even so, you look fab now and you should be very proud of yourself .... well done

 

[strawberry blonde]

Wow Beth you look absolutely stunning. You should be so proud of yourself

I agree with Mandy that you didn't look like a size 16/18 but you look fantastic now. Well done . Just remember diet cocktails from now on

 

[dixonsontour]

You look absolutely stunning..what an amazing experience and congratulations on the weight loss.

 

[jjk]

wow what a fab experiance you look amazing. Congratulations on an amazing weight loss im half way through mine and I love reading stories like yours as it gives me the incentive to keep going when things get tough

 

[joolz1910]

Wow, that is a fantastic achievement! You look gorgeous in your photoshoot.

 

[irongirlof12]

Beth I have just got the magazine and you look fab u lous. I have always wondered ...do you get to keep the clothes and stuff?

 

[irenep]

What an amazing experience for you - must have been great fun doing the photoshoot etc . Well done losing all that weight, especially keeping going when you were at WDW!

Have just googled RC classes for my area but nothing around

 

[Ware Bears]

Wow, Beth, I'm with Mandy and Lesley in that you carried it really well, having met you I would never have thought you had as much as 4 stone to lose but you look absolutely amazing. Well done you.

 

[jockey]

WOW you look great! Well done

 

[Tinks1984]

I have said it on FB, but you look fantastic Bethan - love the video too!

I really need some of your inspiration now, desperately want to loose some weight now! I'm thinking of trying My Fitness Pal on my phone, it's been working for my Brother, he's down 25lb so far!

 

[BethEJo]

Wow, thank you for such lovely comments

Thanks for sharing your story, when youre struggling to lose weight its always nice to hear of success stories
you look fab, I watched your video earlier and it turned out great.
Fosse park isnt far away from me, I go there pretty often.

well done.xx

Thanks Nicola! Fosse Park looked like a nice shopping area - the M&S was huuuuuge!

Your story is truly inspirational ... you look absolutely stunning and losing 4 stone is such an achievement. Well done.

Perhaps you should give us all a few tips on how to maintain the weight loss ... do you still go to the classes ?

Thanks Sarah!

I still have a little bit more to lose before reaching my target, but I'm also definitely thinking of maintaining.

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to go to the class that I used to as my class teacher sold back her franchise to the company. And due to being placed all over the place for uni placements, it makes it difficult to settle in one area for more than 8 weeks. However, after this coming academic year is over and I get my first job, I will be able to settle somewhere for a year, and will definitely be getting back to a class then.

I find it a little easier to stray when I don't have that prospect of a class and a weigh in every week, so returning to a class will keep me even more on track

However, thus far, my main motivation in maintaining the weight loss is just simply not ever wanting to go back to how I felt before. I have new found confidence now, and I don't want to lose it again

I also find keeping a food diary/plan works, where I make myself be completely honest and write every little thing down. This makes it easier for me to track where I might have little slip ups, and to then rectify the problem.

And one last thing: I think another big key to maintaining is exercise. This is where I struggle - I'm not a fan of the gym or anything, but do make sure I walk everywhere. I'm trying to get back on track with increasing the amount of physical activity I do, as I really miss the aerobics sessions that used to be tied in with the RC classes, so I will have to look for some exercise classes wherever I am placed over this coming year

I know I've already mentioned this on FB, but you look amazing Bethan. I'm really surprised that you were as big as you said you were, all I can say is that you carried your weight well, even so, you look fab now and you should be very proud of yourself .... well done

Thanks Mandy-Pants!

Wow Beth you look absolutely stunning. You should be so proud of yourself

I agree with Mandy that you didn't look like a size 16/18 but you look fantastic now. Well done . Just remember diet cocktails from now on

Haha, thanks Lesley! Diet cocktails.... do they even exist?! Everything in moderation I say though! Not sure how well I'll be able to stick to my own advice around cocktails though

You look absolutely stunning..what an amazing experience and congratulations on the weight loss.

Thank you

wow what a fab experiance you look amazing. Congratulations on an amazing weight loss im half way through mine and I love reading stories like yours as it gives me the incentive to keep going when things get tough

Congratulations to you too then! I agree, the stories help - I had many a moment when I just wanted to not follow a diet for a bit! But after getting a good talking to in class every week and after flicking through the magazine, I'd soon get my motivation back.

Just keep visualising the end result!

Wow, that is a fantastic achievement! You look gorgeous in your photoshoot.

Thank you - would love to do it all over again! If only just to have my hair and make up done again!

Beth I have just got the magazine and you look fab u lous. I have always wondered ...do you get to keep the clothes and stuff?

Thanks! For the RC magazine and photoshoots, we didn't get to keep the clothes.

For every photoshoot she does, everyone goes to the M&S in the morning to pick their outfits (and if there's nothing there at all, she has been known to look in some of the other shops that are in Fosse Park though). The company then buy all of the outfits, accessories and shoes etc. During the photoshoot, you then wear all of these things, but we had to be super careful to keep the tags on! If there's a tag in view on the clothes or on the bottom of the shoes or whatever, then they simply just photoshop it out afterwards

The weekend after the photoshoot (they are always held on Thursdays), a member of staff at the HQ will then return all of the clothes back to the store and get refunded on the company card!

Got to keep the pair of flesh coloured tights I was made to wear though

And re: the magazine: I subscribe to it for around £20 a year. It's full of great recipes and exercises, which make it worth it in my opinion. There's also lots more (free!) on the Rosemary Conley and Rosemary Conley TV websites too!

What an amazing experience for you - must have been great fun doing the photoshoot etc . Well done losing all that weight, especially keeping going when you were at WDW!

Have just googled RC classes for my area but nothing around

I was surprised how doable it was keeping it up at WDW - the sweating and just endlessly walking around the parks seemed to do the trick! And it was a nice excuse to eat steak all the time haha!

That's a shame there's no classes near you I was living in Cardiff at the time, and with it being the capital, if there were going to be any RC classes around then I would have expected them to be there. However, there was nothing at all in that area, and our nearest class ended up being around 10 miles away in Newport.

The whole country is split into franchise areas I think - if you want to run classes for the company, then you buy into an area and can therefore hold classes in that location only. So if no one owns the franchise in an area, there are no classes

Did you check on the RC website? You can enter your postcode here: http://www.rosemaryconley.com/content/slim-at-classes/rosemary-conley-classes.htm

I know they also do an online program too, so maybe worth checking out!

Wow, Beth, I'm with Mandy and Lesley in that you carried it really well, having met you I would never have thought you had as much as 4 stone to lose but you look absolutely amazing. Well done you.

Thank you! My Mum says that too, but it was there haha!

WOW you look great! Well done

Thanks

I have said it on FB, but you look fantastic Bethan - love the video too!

I really need some of your inspiration now, desperately want to loose some weight now! I'm thinking of trying My Fitness Pal on my phone, it's been working for my Brother, he's down 25lb so far!

I use My Fitness Pal as my food diary! Its good to have it on your phone on the go; I love it! Good luck Rachel

 

[Chilly]

Well done you!

 

[florida sun]

You look bloody fabulous, and I cant believe I didnt get your autograph today Cant understand how they dont have any classes in Cardiff??

 

[Sarah28]

wow you look amazing, well done to you

 

[tinks_1989]

Congratulations you look beautiful x

 

[Muscateer]

You have done so well and look amazing. Congratulations

 

[wideeyes]

You look amazing! Well done.