Contents
List of Recipes
About the Book
About the Author
Also by Rosemary Conley
Title Page
Acknowledgments
1. Lose weight fast!
2. They did it, so can you!
3. Gi made easy
4. Your good health
5. How old are you really?
6. The secrets of slimming success
7. The miracle of a shrinking body
8. Go for goal
9. How to use the Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet programme
10. The Ultimate Gi Jeans Kick-start Diet
11. The Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet: Part 2
12. The Ultimate Gi Jeans Solo Slim Diet
13. Recipes
14. Get moving
15. The Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet workout
16. Eat and stay slim
17. Dining out
18. Your questions answered
BMR tables
Weight-loss graph
Weight-loss progress chart
How to measure yourself
Measurement record chart
Exercise planner
Steps per day chart
Copyright
About the Book
The new bestseller from Britain’s best-loved diet and fitness expert.
Lose your unwanted weight faster than ever with this brand new book from Britain’s most trusted diet and fitness expert. Rosemary Conley CBE has come up with the ultimate plan to help you shed your excess pounds and inches swiftly and safely.
In trials* 85% of people said they lost more weight on this diet than on any previous diets, 99% said they felt healthier and 89% said they were less hungry and in eight weeks the average weight loss was 1½ stone.
Including eating plans for shift workers and solo dieters as well as families, and what to eat when dining out, there really is something for everyone.
And if you want a great body try the best ever exercises to help you burn fat and transform your body shape so you can look great in jeans. You will also find plenty of practical help and inspiration with Rosemary’s no-nonsense advice and truly motivational tips to help you succeed.
Tens of thousands of successful slimmers have proved that this diet works. If they can do it, so can you!
*Based on two trials with sample sizes of 36 and 382.
About the Author
Rosemary Conley CBE is the UK’s most successful diet and fitness expert. Her diet and fitness books, videos and DVDs have consistently topped the bestseller lists with combined sales approaching nine million copies.
Rosemary has presented more than 400 cookery programmes on television and has hosted several of her own TV series on BBC and ITV. In 1999 Rosemary was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire. In 2001 she was given the Freedom of the City of Leicester, and in 2004 she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List for ‘services to the fitness and diet industries’. In 2012, Rosemary was one of the oldest contestants ever to appear on Dancing on Ice.
Together with her husband, Mike Rimmington, Rosemary runs five companies: Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs, which operates an award-winning national network of almost 200 franchises running around 2,000 classes weekly; Quorn House Publishing Ltd, which publishes Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness magazine; Quorn House Media Ltd, which runs rosemaryconley.tv, an online TV channel; Rosemary Conley Licences Ltd; and Rosemary Conley Enterprises.
Rosemary has a daughter, Dawn, from her first marriage. Rosemary, Mike and Dawn are all committed Christians.
Also by Rosemary Conley
Rosemary Conley’s Hip and Thigh Diet
Rosemary Conley’s Complete Hip and Thigh Diet
Rosemary Conley’s Inch Loss Plan
Rosemary Conley’s Hip and Thigh Diet Cookbook (with Patricia Bourne)
Shape Up for Summer
Rosemary Conley’s Beach Body Plan
Rosemary Conley’s Flat Stomach Plan
Be Slim! Be Fit!
Rosemary Conley’s Complete Flat Stomach Plan
Rosemary Conley’s New Body Plan
Rosemary Conle’s Low Fat Cookbook
Rosemary Conley’s Red Wine Diet
Rosemary Conley’s Low Fat Cookbook Two
Eat Yourself Slim
Rosemary Conley’s Step-by-Step Low Fat Cookbook
Rosemary Conley’s GI Jeans Diet
Rosemary Conley’s New Hip and Thigh Diet
Rosemary Conley’s GI Hip and Thigh Diet
Slim to Win Diet and Cookbook
Rosemary Conley’s Amazing Inch Loss Plan
The Secrets of Staying Young
Ultimate
Gi Jeans Diet
The healthiest and most effective weight-loss plan – ever!
Acknowledgments
It quickly became obvious that I should write a sequel to my original Gi Jeans Diet after so many people wrote to me with details of their astonishing success and the health benefits they enjoyed. This Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet represents a culmination of research and new ideas that greatly expands on the original diet, and I would like to thank Dr Susan Jebb, one of the UK’s leading nutrition scientists, for her expert advice and guidance.
Thanks also to the team at ITV Central for giving me the opportunity to test the diet on television; to Teresa Keates for testing the Solo Slim Diet; to my husband, Mike, for testing the Kick-start Diet and for his encouragement throughout the writing of this book; to my daughter, Dawn, for her invaluable support, research and ideas in making this diet as extensive as possible.
I want to say a very big thank you to ALL the members who took the time to fill in the questionnaire; to our franchisees who gave out the forms and encouraged their members to complete them; and to our special team at Quorn House for inputting the information. I must also acknowledge the contribution made by Chris Ash, our Group Marketing Manager, and Angie Higgins, our General Manager, in compiling a questionnaire that is really useful and motivational; and to Jeremy Bromley, our IT manager, for creating a computer programme to collate the information.
A huge thank you, too, to my friend and colleague, Mary Morris, M.Sc., our Clubs’ Training Consultant. Mary’s expertise and knowledge forms the basis of all the exercise programmes in our magazine as well as in this and many other of my books. We also choreographed my new Gi Jeans Weight-loss Workout DVD together. Mary created the fascinating lifestyle quiz that appears in chapter 5 of this book, in consultation with Dr Susan Jebb. Mary is a total joy to work with and it is difficult to put into words how much I appreciate her.
I also want to thank Anne-Marie Littlewood, B.Sc., a former Clubs franchisee who is now Consultant for our online slimming club, rosemaryconleyonline.com. Anne-Marie sorted out the most commonly asked questions about low-Gi eating to help give readers a better understanding of how this diet works.
The recipes in this book are created by chef Dean Simpole-Clarke. Dean has a flair for producing easy-to-prepare, low-fat dishes that are suitable both for everyday eating and dinner parties. Thank you so much for all your skill and hard work, Dean.
All the meal suggestions and recipes are fat- and calorie-counted, and this extensive research was undertaken by my very patient PA, Melody Patterson. Thank you, Melody, for coping with this mammoth job alongside your other work.
Thanks must also go to everyone involved in turning my raw manuscript into this book: to Hannah Black at Century; to Roger Walker for designing the inside pages; to the cover design team; to hair and make-up artist Jane Tyler for making me look my best in the pictures; to Martin Black for the exercise photography; and to Allan Olley for taking such a great cover shot.
Last, but by no means least, thank you to my long-suffering book editor, Jan Bowmer. When I write a book, I don’t have the luxury of time to go away for a month or so and work on it in one go. Anyway, this isn’t that sort of book. There are so many different elements to it and it is only through Jan’s expertise and patience that the book emerges as an understandable and hopefully inspiring volume! Thank you so much, Jan.
Useful information
Cooking weight conversions
Liquid measures
Body weight conversions
Spoon measures
Linear measurements
Abbreviations and symbols used
The diet in this book is based on sound healthy eating principles. However, it is important that you check with your doctor or GP before following any weight-reducing plan. Diabetics should always follow the eating guidelines recommended by their GP or medical practitioner.
1 Lose weight fast!
I CHALLENGE YOU to find another diet that will enable you to lose weight faster or more healthily than this one! It’s been tried and tested by thousands of dieters and really is the Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet! And because the eating plan is based on healthy and filling, low-fat, low-Gi foods, you won’t feel hungry as the weight and inches drop away.
Since my Gi Jeans Diet book was published in January 2006, I have received thousands of letters and emails from readers telling me of their amazing successes on this revolutionary, easy-to-follow diet.
For instance, Angela McArthur from Glasgow wrote: ‘I have lost 3st in 18 weeks and dropped from a dress size 18/20 to a size 12! People don’t recognise me in the street and even my partner walked past me the other day! It has given me such a boost – I have more confidence, and I feel healthier and less tired.’
Sarah Bowyer, from Reading in Berkshire, lost 2st 6lb in eight weeks and wrote: ‘I love this diet! The weight and the inches have dropped off me and I don’t feel hungry. It’s incredible!’
Adelle Smith, also from Reading, wrote: ‘I have been on loads of diets over the years but never have I experienced the speed of weight loss like this. I have lost 6st in seven months. It’s brilliant!’
Alison Hicks from Cheshire, who lost 1st 8½lb in eight weeks, wrote: ‘My health and general wellbeing has improved beyond all expectations. Seeing the results so quickly has really encouraged me to stick with it.’
Carrie Masters, a diabetic from Surrey, also lost 1st 8½lb in eight weeks and wrote: ‘The Gi Jeans Diet has worked brilliantly alongside my diabetes. I’ve never felt so well and have been able to reduce my insulin intake.’
I have been helping people to lose weight and get fitter for a long time and, with 27 diet books already under my belt, I thought I had written everything that I could to help overweight people become slimmer. But then I discovered the glycaemic index, or ‘Gi’ way of eating. Not only did it transform my own daily diet, but it inspired me to create my own Gi Jeans Diet and put it in a book. When it was introduced to Rosemary Conley Clubs around the UK the results were astonishing. Never, ever before had members experienced such enormous weight losses so fast.
So what exactly is Gi? Different foods cause our blood sugar levels to rise and fall at varying rates, immediately after we have eaten them and during the period following consumption. Foods with a low glycaemic index cause our blood sugar levels to rise slowly and fall gradually, which helps us to stay feeling full for longer. And this, of course, helps us when we are trying to lose weight. Avoiding sudden rises and falls in our blood glucose levels also is much better for our general health. Clinical research studies show that a low-Gi eating plan can reduce the risk of developing diabetes or heart disease. So many people these days are at risk of these diseases and a low-Gi diet is a real health-enhancer for all of us.
With this Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet, not only will you lose your unwanted weight safely and faster than ever, you will transform your shape and discover the body you have always wanted. Yes, really! Indeed, some research studies have shown that a low-Gi diet can maximise fat loss and in particular help reduce abdominal (tummy) fat.
This diet presses all the right buttons to allow you to achieve a fast but healthy weight loss yet offers sufficient food to satisfy the most demanding of appetites. Eating low-Gi foods prevents sudden food cravings, which are one of the main reasons dieters fail. In a moment of hunger they reach for that sweet or high-fat snack which then ruins the most effective of diets.
Unlike in many other Gi diets, all the foods included in this diet are also low in fat. Eating a low-fat diet minimises fat deposits around our bodies as, quite naturally, the fat we eat is stored as fat for emergencies in case we should ever find ourselves in the middle of a famine. As this is highly unlikely in the western world in the 21st century, we need much, much, less fat than we used to years ago when families had to ‘make do’ with whatever food was available.
Get the balance right
Losing weight is a matter of physics. Our bodies need fuel in exactly the same way as our cars need it. We eat food as fuel and, if we eat less than our bodies use up, we lose weight because the body has to get the fuel it needs from somewhere else. It does this by using some of its reserves from its existing fat stores. The opposite of this of course is if we eat more fuel than our bodies need, we gain weight, just like putting extra cans of fuel in our car boot. To keep our weight constant, we must eat an equal amount of food to what our bodies spend in energy. It’s a fine balance.
The energy content of food is measured in calories and the trick is to select foods that we enjoy and which make us feel full but contain only a moderate number of calories. As I’ve done all the selecting and calculations for you in the menus in this book, there’s no need for you to worry about calorie counting every item of food you eat. And as all the meal suggestions are based on low-fat foods, you will automatically be cutting down on lots of calories, anyway. Be aware that fat contains twice as many calories compared to other food groups. So, if we cut down the fat, we automatically cut down on the calories. Add to the mix some slow-energy-releasing, low-Gi foods and we naturally feel fuller for longer.
By eating in this way we don’t feel hungry even though we are eating less fuel than the body uses. And, as the body demands a certain number of calories to fulfil its tasks and operation, it automatically uses some of our stored fat to make up the difference. Then, if we include some extra activity, the body has to use even more fat from our fat stores to meet its extra needs. Result: fantastic weight and inch loss.
Get off to a flying start!
How this diet works is simple. To help get you off to a flying start I suggest that for the first two weeks you follow the Kick-start Diet. This strict but highly effective diet will enable you to lose around 7lb in 14 days. I can be confident in predicting this as in my initial trials with 36 volunteers, the average weight loss over two weeks was 7.25lb. Since that initial trial some dieters have even been known to lose up to a stone in two weeks but, of course, it all depends on how much weight you have to lose in the first place. What I do know is that I have never seen weight fall off people so fast and yet the diet is very healthy for adult men and women of all ages, irrespective of their starting weight.
After this initial two-week period, when you are asked to abstain from alcohol and treats, you should move on to Part 2 of the diet, which allows you more food choices. You will have more calories to play with, including an optional daily high-fat treat, plus a 100-calorie allowance for alcohol each day. The treats and the alcohol can be saved up over seven days if you wish so that you can still enjoy a very social weekend or special meal out.
You will be able to calculate your ideal personal calorie allowance by referring to the basal metabolic rate (BMR) tables at the back of this book. As you lose weight you will be able to adjust your calorie allowance accordingly so that you are always able to experience a significant weekly weight loss.
As I mentioned earlier, you do not have to get too involved in counting the calories in individual foods. I have included a wide selection of breakfast, lunch and dinner suggestions where all the calories have been carefully calculated. All you need to do is select meals within a calorie bracket, which, when totted up at the end of the day, do not exceed your total daily calorie allowance. This is fully explained later.
Unless otherwise stated in the diet plans, all foods contain five per cent or less fat – that’s five grams or less fat per 100 grams of product. This will still give you a wide selection of foods to choose from but is a good rule of thumb to help steer you away from high-fat foods that will just make you fat! One important exception to this rule is oily fish, as it contains valuable nutrients. Health experts recommend eating at least one portion of oily fish every week.
Speed up your weight loss
At the same time as following the diet I recommend you increase your activity levels. This will not only increase the speed at which you lose weight but it will also help maximise your inch loss and help you to tone up as you slim down.
‘Aerobic’ exercise (that’s activities such as walking, jogging, swimming and dancing) burns fat from our bodies, so it is a great way to speed up the weight-loss progress. Body toning exercises help strengthen our muscles, which makes them a better shape and also increases our ability to burn fat when we exercise aerobically.
Exercise is a good habit to get into, but sometimes our busy lifestyles prevent us from taking the time to do it and it slips down our list of priorities. It is really important that you develop the habit of becoming naturally more active. Treat yourself to a pedometer and wear it every day. It will greatly motivate you to think about moving more. Start by increasing your usual number of steps by an extra 2000 a day until you achieve 10,000 steps a day. Being more active will help you to become healthier, fitter and, of course, slimmer!
In chapter 3 I explain the principles of low Gi and advise how you can make some simple choices when selecting foods so that you can steer your day-to-day eating habits towards low-Gi foods. Not every food you eat needs to be low Gi, but introducing more low-Gi foods into your daily diet will benefit your health, too. Since I researched my original Gi Jeans Diet my husband, Mike, and I have switched effortlessly to eating low-Gi foods and we feel much better for it.
You have bought this book to help you transform your body and your health. I’ve been overweight myself, so I can empathise with you and I want to help you on your journey to a new you. If you follow the advice, stick rigidly to the diet principles and do some form of exercise or activity on at least five days a week, I guarantee you will succeed. Tens of thousands of Rosemary Conley Club members have proved without a shadow of a doubt that this diet works. If they can do it, so can you!
2 They did it, so can you!
AT THE SAME time as my original Gi Jeans Diet was launched in January 2006, ITV Central invited five brave folk to try the diet in the full glare of the television cameras. Sue Jinks, Sue Rea, Anne Hubbard, Jayne Marshall, and Tony Kemp, all from the Midlands, weighed in for everyone to see. With varying amounts of weight to lose, they took up the challenge with enthusiasm and sportsmanship. I kept in telephone contact with them and each time I phoned they were so positive and kept telling me how well they felt. It was really exciting.
Their second public weigh-in was after the initial two weeks on the Kick-start Diet, and the results sounded promising. Jayne had lost an impressive 8lb, Sue Jinks 7lb, little Sue Rea (as she became known because of her 5ft height) 7lb, Anne Hubbard 8lb, while our male dieter, Tony, had lost an impressive 1st 2lb in the fortnight and his trousers were nearly falling down!
The next weigh-in for the cameras was seven weeks later. We all met at Marks & Spencer at Fosse Park, a retail shopping centre on the outskirts of Leicester, so that we could get them all fitted out in new clothes for their now trimmer figures in time for the TV broadcast later that day. They all looked so much slimmer I couldn’t have been more thrilled with their progress. After our shopping trip we went over to our offices at Quorn House where the TV cameras were ready for us. It was all very exciting.
The fab five were interviewed and then it was time for the final weigh-in. Ironically, on this particular day I had completely lost my voice, having had an attack of laryngitis over the previous few days. I couldn’t utter a sound! I was so frustrated! However, Central News presenter Sameena Ali-Khan did a great job announcing the final weights, to the total shock, surprise and delight of the dieters.
After nine weeks Jayne had slimmed down from 11st 3lb to 9st 13lb – a loss of 1st 4lb. Sue Jinks had slimmed down from 12st 6lb to 10st 7lb – a loss of 1st 13lb! Little Sue Rea had shrunk from 10st 2lb to 9st 2lb – a stone lighter – while Anne Hubbard had slimmed from 12st 6lb to 11st 1lb – a loss of 1st 5lb. Then there was Tony. Tony had weighed in at 18st, which was far too much for his 5ft 10in frame, but in just nine weeks he lost an astonishing 2st 2lb and weighed in at a very reasonable 15st 12lb.
Tony, who lives in Nottingham, had been in denial about his weight until his trousers split. He said:
‘I was so pleased to be selected for the TV trial. It was just what I needed and I couldn’t believe how easy the diet was to follow. I didn’t feel hungry and I felt so much better in myself. I know I will continue as it is just a way of eating now.’
When Tony and I met up again a few weeks later, he had lost another stone. Fabulous!
Anne Hubbard, from Leicestershire, found her weight had crept up over the years and size 16 clothes were getting tighter. After just nine weeks on the diet, Anne was wearing size 12 jeans! In that time Anne had lost 2in from her waist, 3in from her hips and 4in from her thighs. She said:
Tony Kemp at 18st
Tony lost 3st 2lb
‘I found the diet so easy to stick to and I enjoyed the recipes – as did the whole family, and I loved the exercise. I work out to Rosemary’s Shape Up & Salsacise DVD four times a week as well as going to a class. I have so much more energy now.’
Anne also commented that she used to suffer with high blood pressure, but since losing her excess weight and exercising more her blood pressure was now normal. What’s more she was now wearing size 10 trousers, which she hadn’t done for 20 years!
Anne Hubbard at 12st 6lb
Anne lost 3st
I couldn’t have wished for a more pleasant, happier bunch of people to try my diet and I know they still keep in touch with each other now.
In July, seven months after the TV trial started, Anne sent me a text message, which read: ‘Just wanted to say thank you, have now lost 3st and just bought size eight jeans! Feel fantastic!’
When my original Gi Jeans Diet was launched in Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club classes throughout the UK in 2006, we were all astonished at the fast and positive results achieved by members. Never before had we experienced weight losses like it and it wasn’t long before our wonderful instructors were passing on to me the news of record-breaking rates of success. For instance, Lindsey Peters, a Hertfordshire franchisee, totted up her members’ weight losses in January alone. They had lost over 100st in four weeks on the new diet!
News started spreading fast and new members were flocking to our classes and, as the Gi Jeans Diet had become a bestseller, my publishers were soon asking for a follow-up book. Having followed a similar pattern with my Complete Hip and Thigh Diet after the great success of my original Hip and Thigh Diet back in 1988, I thought it would be fun to write the Ultimate Gi Jeans Diet. As with my Hip and Thigh Diet, I also felt it would be interesting to carry out some further research into the actual statistical evidence produced by those who had followed this diet.
We created a questionnaire to be filled in only by those Rosemary Conley class members across the UK who had joined since my Gi Jeans Diet was launched in the Clubs – some four months previously. I wanted to compare their weight losses with those of members of the original trial team who had tested the diet through my local radio station, BBC Radio Leicester. In that original trial there were 36 willing volunteers who followed the diet for eight weeks. The results were extremely encouraging, with an average weight loss over the first two weeks of 7.25lb, and their average weight loss after eight weeks was an impressive 1st 1.5lb.
As the initial trial was done with a relatively small number of people, I was keen to see what the results might tell us if we cast the net further afield. So in May 2006 at the Rosemary Conley annual training convention at Center Parcs, our franchisees each took a few questionnaires to be completed by their members and returned by the end of July in time for me to finish this book. By mid-July I had received 382 questionnaires and these were analysed through a special computer programme designed by our IT manager, Jeremy. Members of staff input the data, then Jeremy pressed the button to print out the results. When I first saw that the average weight loss across 382 people was 1st 6lb in eight weeks I was flabbergasted. It seemed almost unbelievable but it was, of course, totally genuine. Yes, this diet really did work fast. Moreover, the dieters didn’t find the diet difficult and spoke encouragingly of their successes. Here’s a summary of the results.
The trial results
The trial participants covered a very wide age range. There were only four per cent in the 16–24 age group, 13 per cent in the 25–34 age bracket, 34 per cent in the 35–44 range, 27 per cent in the 45–54 age group, 15 per cent in the 55–64 range, and seven per cent were aged between 65 and 74.
The Kick-start Diet is tough and requires a couple of weeks of discipline and abstinence from alcohol, with the sole purpose of getting you off to a flying start to inspire you to continue. When asked ‘Did you feel hungry on the Kick-start Diet?’ 27 per cent said ‘not at all’, 31 per cent said ‘hardly ever’ while 38 per cent said ‘occasionally’. Only four per cent said they were hungry ‘very often’. I was surprised at how well they had coped.
When asked if they found the Kick-start Diet easy to follow, 51 per cent said it was ‘very easy’, 45 per cent said it was ‘quite easy’ while only three per cent said it was ‘not easy’ and one per cent said it was ‘hard’.
But the results were astonishing and there is no doubt that, pushing ourselves hard when our motivation is at its highest and then seeing almost immediate results is immensely encouraging.
John Midgley, from Haworth in Yorkshire, lost 10½lb on the Kick-start Diet and went on to lose 3st 6½lb in 12 weeks. John commented that he also had given up smoking as well as joining the class and, along with the weight, almost all his symptoms of asthma had disappeared, too. His waist measurement went from 42in to 36in and he was delighted that his fitness level was ‘better than ever!’
Wendy, from Devon, who lost 12lb in the first two weeks and went on to lose 3st 5lb in 16 weeks, also reported a considerable improvement in her asthma symptoms. She wrote:
‘I’m amazed how easy it has been to lose the weight. Almost every day somebody tells me how amazing I look now – very good for my confidence.’
I was interested to find out how dieters had fared on my diet compared with other diets. One of the features of the Gi Jeans Diet is that it should make you feel full for longer than on other diets, so was this actually true? But I needn’t have worried as 74 per cent said they were less hungry than on other diets while 13 per cent admitted to being slightly less hungry. Eleven per cent said they felt the same and only two per cent said they were more hungry.
Louisa Day from Hampshire wrote:
‘I’ve found the diet easy to stick to and follow. I was never hungry and I have found my weight loss to be beneficial to my health. I am able to walk my dog further without losing my breath and it’s boosted my self-confidence no end! Thank you.’
This diet is high in fibre-rich foods and not everyone can take to that, so I asked how dieters had coped. No one said they didn’t like it, five per cent said they had coped, but 26 per cent said they didn’t mind the high-fibre foods while the vast majority, 69 per cent, said they actually enjoyed it!
I went on to ask if the dieters felt they could continue eating this type of diet into the future. I was delighted to see that an overwhelming 79 per cent said ‘certainly’ and the remaining 21 per cent said ‘probably’.
I then asked about overall health benefits and only one per cent said they didn’t feel any different. A further eight per cent said they thought they felt healthier but an overwhelming 91 per cent said that they definitely did.
I was very pleasantly surprised at the many and varied health benefits that dieters reported. These included lowering of blood pressure and cholesterol, improved sleeping patterns, better skin, hair and nail condition, diabetes easier to control, big improvements in symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), plus many more.
Here is a small selection of slimmers’ comments on the health benefits they experienced.
Arthritis and joint problems
Alice Frape from Somerset wanted to lose weight because of her arthritic knees. Having followed the diet for 16 weeks and lost 2st 4lb, Alice wrote:
‘My knees are easier and less painful and I feel my posture is better. I got myself a dog to increase my exercise level and my pace of my walking is steadily improving – thanks to the weight loss and the dog! I am enjoying the Gi Jeans Diet as it gives me so much freedom in what to eat. I have never worn jeans before I started this diet but am enjoying them now.’
Jenny Insley, from the Isle of Wight, commented:
‘I have arthritis in my left knee. Since losing weight I can run up and down the stairs. I hardly have any pain at all now.’
Jean McAndrew, from Kilmarnock, wrote:
‘Before I started the Gi Jeans Diet I had problems with my health; osteoarthritis in both knees, lower back problems and severe heel pain in both feet. So far the diet has improved my overall mobility and the weight loss [2st 4lb] has given me the determination to keep going so that I will feel even better when I reach my target weight. In the time that I have lost my first 2st my husband has lost 1½st. We both really enjoy the food we eat now as it tastes much better, we never feel hungry and we know exactly what we are eating. It is easily the best diet I have ever been on and it definitely makes you feel a lot healthier. When I reach my target weight I am determined NEVER to go back to my old way of eating.’
Shirley Harris from Bromsgrove wrote:
‘It has definitely made a big difference to my joints and made me feel good about the way I feel and look. It is wonderful to hear my work colleagues making fun of me, saying I looked like a clown in my baggy trousers after only a few weeks.’
Carole Pardy from Oxfordshire wrote:
‘I have had a problem with my knee and, with the combination of my 1st 6½lb weight loss and regular exercise, I have less pain and can walk miles!’
Asthma
Helen Rhodes from Kent wrote:
‘My asthma has greatly improved, my skin has improved drastically as I always suffered from terrible acne. I can also run a lot further and enjoy exercising rather than dreading it. My sleep pattern has also greatly improved. I used to have disturbed sleep and minimal sleep but now I sleep right through the night and so have more energy.’
Blood pressure and cholesterol
Mrs D. J. from Wales wrote:
‘I joined the class mainly because I had a cholesterol problem and if I couldn’t get my weight down, tablets were the next option. I had a blood test three months after joining the class to find my blood pressure had reduced and there was no need for tablets.’
Julia Whittaker from Ashton-under-Lyne wrote:
‘The reason for initially attending a Rosemary Conley class was due to being diagnosed with high cholesterol. This has reduced dramatically since undertaking this new diet and lifestyle change to what is now described as a “normal” level. Having been overweight for many years, I had forgotten just how much it impacts on your daily life. I now feel so much more confident in everyday situations, the health benefits are numerous and the fact that I can buy fashionable clothing from anywhere is just brilliant! This is my new lifestyle now and I never want to go back to being fat, frumpy and fed up!’
Jackie Petherbridge from Weston-super-Mare lost 2st 1lb since joining the class, which she feels has changed her life. She wrote:
‘My six-monthly diabetic blood sample reading showed a dramatic decrease in cholesterol – my doctor was amazed. He thought I must be on statins! It is so easy to incorporate low-Gi foods into everyday eating and basic recipes. My cholesterol decrease is amazing.’
Sallie Watson from York lost 2st 5½lb in 13 weeks. She wrote:
‘Extremely pleased with the results so far. Both my blood pressure and cholesterol have gone down. The Gi Jeans Diet doesn’t seem like a diet – more of a lifestyle change.’
Helen Sherwin from Woking in Surrey lost 3st 3½lb in 16 weeks, and nearly a stone in the first two weeks. Helen told me:
‘My goal when I started the Gi Jeans Diet in January was to go on holiday lighter than my husband and our two friends, as I have always been the heaviest by a long way. I achieved that the week we went away in May (over 3st lighter) and I was ecstatic! When I started this diet I had high blood pressure and raised cholesterol but my blood pressure is now normal and my cholesterol is lower.’
Breast cancer
Julie Sweetman from Hove lost 1st 11lb in 16 weeks. She wrote:
‘At the beginning of last year I had an operation for breast cancer and subsequently have been taking Tamoxifen. My surgeon, at the time, told me that I would be wasting my money on joining a slimming club as I would not be able to lose weight on Tamoxifen. Thankfully, I am pleased to have proved him wrong.’
Diabetes
Lots of members wrote to me about the huge benefits to their diabetes. Here is a small sample of letters to encourage other diabetics who may be new to this diet.
Yvonne Harris from West Glamorgan wrote:
‘I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and have had very high blood pressure for 20 years. I have never done much exercise and I joined other diet clubs, failing miserably. I joined my local Rosemary Conley class in January, then I attended my half yearly diabetic clinic in May and found to my amazement that everything was nearly normal, e.g. my cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels. The doctor even said that if I can manage to lose the same [1st 6lb] by the time I go back in November he would stop all my medication. Wow! How amazing is that and what a goal to aim for and stay with for a healthy, fitter life with bags of energy that I need for my 18-month-old grandson!’
Margaret York from Colchester lost 2st 1lb in 20 weeks. She wrote:
‘This is the perfect combination for me – low fat and low Gi. I’ve never enjoyed exercise but I really love the classes. My diabetes nurse is very pleased with my results so far and I no longer feel myself becoming disabled. My blood sugars are way down and eating less fat also reduces the discomfort from my hernia, plus my feet and ankles are no longer swollen or painful.’
Jacqueline Gibson from Suffolk lost 1st 6½lb in 12 weeks. She wrote:
‘I attended my diabetic clinic last week and the nurse was very pleased with me indeed. My blood pressure was right down to 108/63 and my sugar levels had dropped dramatically and were the lowest they have ever been, so the nurse printed off a graph for me. She said that she was going to keep my graph to show others how diet and exercise can reduce sugar levels. All this is due to attending the classes.’
Susan Taylor, one of my online slimmers, wrote:
‘I’ve lost 6lb and my husband lost 7lb in the first week of the Kick-start Diet. In addition we have already seen major health benefits, particularly for my husband who is diabetic. His blood glucose levels were at 25–30 despite medication. Now, after just one week, they are at 8 and virtually within the normal range for a non-diabetic.’
Depression
Mrs T. D. from West Bromwich lost 2st 4½lb in 14 weeks and wrote:
‘Although I still have nearly 3st to go to reach what I would like to weigh (9st), I have already gone from a size 22 to a size 16 on the Gi Jeans Diet. I have also recently squashed into a size 14 and I am determined to get to a size 10! So many people have commented on the weight loss and the general healthy glow I seem to have because I am losing the weight that has made me miserable for so long. I used to hate the sunshine and summer because I would have to endure hot weather in baggy tops and big coats to hide the fat, but now I recently have been out in jeans and a T-shirt! I used to puff and pant to get up the stairs, but now I carry a full washing basket up the stairs without putting it down or resting. The health benefits I have noticed most are my breathing, my circulation (I now have warm feet after having constantly cold feet), and less aching joints. Perhaps the most noticeable to me and everyone around me is the reduction in my feeling depressed. I will have a laugh now. Joining my local Rosemary Conley class is the best thing I have ever done. Everyone is friendly and in the same boat as I am. Thank you!’
Rachel Cox from Troon lost 2st 5½lb in 16 weeks and had suffered from postnatal depression. She wrote:
‘I have found that losing the weight has improved my self-esteem. The “Gi” part of the diet has worked well at evening out my glucose levels that I was prone to. Also, this is the longest I have ever gone without gaining any weight – in my life! Four months and not a pound gained! Never has that happened before.’
Mrs G. H. from Hastings, who lost 12lb on the two-week Kick-start Diet and 3st 11lb after 19 weeks, wrote: