Healthy living
Diet and weight loss
How I slimmed with Rosemary Conley
Being overweight gave Linda Martinez endless physical problems. Her back ached, her hips were stiff and getting up sent her into such severe spasms, she thought she was going to have a heart attack.
But Linda's salvation came in a supermarket. Just 18 months after reading her first copy of the magazine, she had lost 2st 3lb, dropping from 10st 7lb to 8st 4lb and shrinking three dress sizes.
At 59, Linda now looks at least a decade younger: "I have never been happier with my body," says Linda, from Cornwall. "I am leaner and more in proportion and I'm fitter than ever!"
It's a far cry from Linda's "lardy" days. "I was well over 2st overweight," she says. "That may not sound much, but I'm only 5ft 2in and I can't carry bulk at all.
"My hip and lower-back problems meant that, when I tried to get up out of a chair or bed, my right side would seize up and I'd walk awkwardly and limp for three weeks. I was terrified I had some awful degenerative disease or was going to have a heart attack.
Rationing
Linda was never a fat child, but says: "I was born in 1946 and my mum fed us well. But, just as in many families, there was a reaction to the austere days of rationing and suddenly full-cream milk and cheese were available. As a result, I was a curvy teenager - a size 12 with a 14 top."
Linda went to retail and fashion college then worked at Simpsons in London's Piccadilly. "But I wanted to travel so I did an international teacher's training diploma and worked in Paris, then Spain," she recalls. "I married twice and became pregnant by my second husband, but sadly my baby didn't survive. I didn't feel I was allowed to grieve and was very unhappy, and this compounded my problem with food. But then I fell pregnant with Ben, who is now 27. When he was just five months old, I left my husband, and Spain, and came back to live with my mum and dad in Fulham.
"I retrained and worked at Wormwood Scrubs, teaching literary skills and English to foreign inmates, which was fascinating. A few years ago, I became a practice manager at a health centre and suddenly had a baby to look after - for family reasons, my sister's granddaughter, Megan, came to live with me from the age of six weeks until she was two-and-a-half, which was hard work, but a joy.
"Having Megan around made me realise how important it was to be fit and active. I had just moved from London, where I'd walked everywhere, to Long Ditton in Surrey, where I always drove."
Cheese and wine
But Linda's problem was not only lack of exercise. As a non-meat-eater, she loves vegetables, fish and fruit and she certainly ate the right things - just too much of them, and with too many extras.
"I love the Mediterranean diet, especially olives, wine and olive oil, but lots of it!" she confesses. "There was a great bakery near work and I used to tuck into cheesy pizza every lunchtime. Then, in the evening, I would have too much of all the good things that I loved eating, which, combined with little or no exercise, caused me to pile on the pounds
"My waist was getting bigger and I was turning into the rounded, apple shape older people are prone to, and apple-shaped people are supposed to be more susceptible to heart problems in old age. I couldn't run up and down stairs and people would say to me, 'Don't worry - it's your age.' But I knew it wasn't my age, and I knew it had to stop.
"Then I picked up the Rosemary Conley magazine in a supermarket and saw that the advice and recipes were so down to earth and that exercise was included. And there were lots of classes near me. I had no excuse!
"My first class was in November 2001, run by a lovely girl called Jan, then later by Lucy Napier-Ford, who is fantastic. I now go to four classes a week!
"That first class was absolutely brilliant, with friendly people of all shapes and sizes. The stomach crunches were pretty hard work initially, but I love music and soon got into the Salsacise routines. And the first thing I did diet-wise was cut down on cheese, wine and olive oil. I stopped sloshing oil on food and bought spray-on olive oil, then graduated to dry-frying.
"As I don't eat meat, I went for Rosemary's recipes that suggested fish or Quorn. I also love yogurt, so I buy low-fat ones and treat myself to exciting, exotic fruit such as papaya and mango.
"I didn't cut everything out completely: I still love making bread in my bread machine. I have switched from high-fat cheeses to low-fat cottage cheese with pineapple, but if I go out for a special meal, my treat is to have a small piece of cheese.
"I bought one of Rosemary's workout videos and walked everywhere with Megan in the pram. I even joined the Ramblers' Association! The weight came off regularly, but I wasn't ever going to lose half a stone in a week because I wasn't huge to start with."
Fit and full of energy
"I lost a pound or two at a time and that was fine by me. I rarely flagged and I bought the magazine to read all the success stories to keep me going. And, every week, I would buy myself a treat, such as flowers, a body spray or a glossy magazine. The day I got to my target weight, just over 18 months later, I felt wonderful. Everyone was so pleased for me and my son, Ben, was so proud.
"I haven't found staying this size difficult, because healthy eating is just a habit."
"I think losing weight has given me new confidence," she says. "I feel so fit and full of energy and there are so many things I want to do. It's a new body - and a new start!"
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
