Diet and fitness queen Rosemary Conley still exercises every day, keeps a eye on what she eats and is taking up ballet again at 71.
So who better to share the secrets to looking and feeling great in later life?
Radiant Rosemary today dishes out tips on food, exercise and a positive mental approach.
She said: “We should treat our body as a Ferrari and treasure it, appreciate it and look after it and nurture it so it gives us a very good and long life.
“I’m over three score years and 10 so I jolly well appreciate every day. I’m delighted to be as fit and healthy as I am.
“I think it’s important we make the most of ourselves and don’t write ourselves off and say, ‘Well I’m old now’. That’s wrong.
“Don’t give in to the fact that you’re going to have a middle-aged spread – you can still be stylish and slim, wearing nice clothes and make-up.
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“My mother-in-law was putting make-up on when she was 92 and she always looked lovely.”
The fitness fanatic – followed for decades by fans of her TV routines and books – said being 70-plus made her more aware of her age and even more determined not to let things slide.
She said: “You suddenly think ‘I might only have 20 years of my life to go’ and that doesn’t seem very long.
“The clock’s ticking. You want to maximise it – I want to live a healthy active life into my 90s and I want to love life then as much as I do now.”
Rosemary, who lives in Leicestershire with Mike, her husband of more than 30 years, remains a size eight and at 5ft 1in she weighs eight stone.
That is the same as she was in 1986 when she slimmed down and sparked a hugely successful career in the diet industry.
And Rosemary still follows a sensible eating regime which millions of her fans have followed.
She added: “We have home-cooked food. I’m careful about what I eat but not fanatical.
“I enjoy a bottle-and-a-half of white wine a week but I don’t do desserts and I don’t snack, that’s one of the golden rules. If you’ve got a few pounds to lose, cut down your portion size by 20 per cent and write down everything you have in a week.
“When you look back, it will be so obvious where you’re doing things you shouldn’t be.
“Look forward to three meals a day, trying to cut back on the fat content because it’s so high in calories.”
Rosemary teaches two half-hour classes every Monday night and has a weekly session with a personal trainer.
At weekends, she enjoys walking her dogs.
She stressed: “Exercise is like investing in a super-saver bank account that pays double dividends.
“It not only helps you to burn calories and help your heart to get stronger, it also turns you into a fat burner rather than a fat storer.” Ice skating is a key part of Rosemary’s fitness regime.
She fell in love with the sport while appearing on hit ITV show Dancing On Ice in 2012.
And she admitted: “It gave me the best legs of my life.”
The grandmother is about to start ballet lessons for the first time since she was five, to improve her posture and lines and help with her skating. But Rosemary said exercising your face is just as important as your body.
She uses a Facial-Flex, a band that promises to give you a natural facelift, for two minutes every morning.
She went on: “I am religious about it and have been using it for 18 years.
“It’s important to exercise your face as well as your body because skin condition is the most important thing that shows youth. I’m 72 in December and I’m not saying I look young for my age but other people do look older because they don’t exercise their faces.
“As people get older their skin becomes a little more opaque.
“If you’re exercising your muscles you’re getting more blood circulation so the texture of the skin is much more youthful.”
Rosemary is not a fan of cosmetic surgery, saying: “You really don’t want to have it, it’s so obvious when people have it.”
But she has been battling painful arthritis for the past two-and-a-half years.
She has the crippling condition in both feet.
“I couldn’t believe it, after living a very healthy life for 45 years,” she admitted.
“But I have given my feet a bit of a thrashing and I have worn stiletto heels since I was 15.”
Thankfully, Rosemary unearthed an old TENS machine, which uses an electrical current to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes. And it helped.
“It’s hugely better,” she said. “The pain relief has been enormous. I was in such pain I wanted to cry.
“I felt I looked like an old woman when I walked down the street but now I’m walking with a spring in my step.
“I feel completely and utterly liberated from where I was.”
- The Facial-Flex® is available to order from facialflex.co.uk or by calling 01530 249396.
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