When organising our Women & Agriculture conference, we always listen to the requests of our audience. We want informative speakers that will educate us and entertainment so that we go home smiling – a bit of eye candy is always a welcome addition too.

Yet again, we don’t fail to deliver, with Karl Henry taking to the stage. But ladies, it’s not all about weight loss, it’s about getting healthy so that we can live happier, longer and more productive lives.

Breaking the barriers

“We’ll be breaking down the barriers to get you there,” says Karl. “And the first place to start is food. No matter how much you exercise, you can’t out-train a bad diet.” Don’t worry though, Karl will be keeping it very simple.

“Little changes can make a huge difference. Just seven days can make a big difference. I’m going to set a challenge to make one simple change – switching white for brown. So brown rice, brown pasta and brown bread, and we’ll take it from there.”

Whether you want to lose weight, get fitter or just be all round healthier, Karl will also be setting another simple but free challenge – goal setting.

“You must have targets, something to work towards. So we’re going to talk about measuring your waist line.”

Of course, in the privacy of your own home, he assures us.

“It can be scary for some people but it’s very simple, the less visceral fat you have around your waist, the healthier you are and the more diseases you can fight. We’ll also be looking at your resting heart rate.”

Showing us the moves

Of course, we couldn’t have the fitness expert speak at our conference without showing us some exercise moves.

“It can be hard for people living in rural Ireland to get out and about to exercise in the winter. However, the winter months are when people tend to pile on the pounds, so we’ll look at some simple exercises you can do at home.

“No matter where you exercise, whether it’s outside, in a community hall or at home, what you need to aim for is the talking test. You need to be somewhat out of breath, especially if talking to someone, and I’ll show our audience what you can do to get there.”

Although Karl lives and works in Dublin, he says he’ll be right at home among our ladies at the Agriculture conference. He loves the country and his fiancée Jean works as a GP in Clonakilty, Cork.

“One of our favourite things to do is to take mini breaks in the country and enjoy some delicious food. Hidden Ireland is our ideal break away and one of our favourite places to stay is Hilton Park in Monaghan where we got engaged.”

Proving that life is a delicate balance of good food and staying fit, Karl is set to entertain at the Women & Agriculture conference, but he will also be available to speak to our delegates in private afterwards. CL