I love my job!

Last Thursday I had the privilege of speaking at the East Midlands Business Women’s Conference and presenting the Awards for the three categories, sponsored by EMDA (East Midlands Development Agency),for Business Woman of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Most Innovative Business of the Year. Some weeks earlier I had been a judge for these awards so I was involved in deciding should win.

Every one of the finalists deserved to be a winner but we had to decide on one from each category. We were looking for a strong business model, passion for their business, and that special ‘something’ that made the winners stand out from the rest.

The Small Business of the Year was won by Amelia Horne, from Derby, who ran a home-cooking-to-take-home shop. Her marketing skills were outstanding and her passion for what she did was inspiring. She was a very worthy winner and hopefully, in time, she will be able to roll out her business into further outlets because her concept was replicable.

The Most Innovative Business Award was won by Babybond Ltd which is run by Jan Steward, a radiographer who was frustrated by the short time available to expectant parents to participate in ultrasound scans that were available on the NHS. Instead of having to be part of a hastened-through 10 minute production line, Jan saw an opportunity to allow parents-to-be to be able to enjoy a relaxed, 40 minute bonding process with the unborn baby – and the clients lapped it up. Her company has grown and grown to a franchise with 32 outlets, with plans to incorporate other scans for health checks. The business is impressive and very different.

Our Business Woman of the Year Award was given to Debbie Bass for her business Sugar and Ice. Debbie is a cake decorator by hobby, passion and inspiration. She has created two shops where visitors can see Debbie and her team in action, can buy every accessory known to man to help you decorate your own cakes, she runs cake decorating training courses and she has a great supply business by cross selling other products. Debbie has turned her hobby into a business and there is nothing better than to earn a living by doing what you love best.

A Special Achievement Award was given to Stephanie Drakes of 23red, a marketing agency, as Stephanie had achieved so much in her long career in the PR, marketing and advertising sector and, over the years, she has taught and inspired many who have worked with her.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Maureen Milgram Forrest Who has devoted many years to promoting women in business. Maureen is now retiring to Canada and deserves recognition for her tireless efforts.

All of these Award winners have found a way of turning their hobby into a business and there is nothing better. In my keynote speech I finished by saying that ‘Success is ....having fun!’. I have had fun throughout the 38 years I have been in my business. Our 172 franchisees who run Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs are doing what they do best – teaching exercise and helping their members to lose weight. It’s a privilege, it’s rewarding and it’s enormous fun. Checkout our website www.rosemaryconley.com if you want to know more about how you might have fun too.

Who won our Fab Low Fat Food Awards for 2009?

Yesterday we held our champagne Awards Ceremony at the Marriott County Hall Hotel in London to applaud the winners of our 2009 Rosemary Conley Fab Low Fat Food Awards. It was great to be able to meet the representatives of the various companies and to personally congratulate the winners of the 14 categories to whom we gave awards.

Voted for by readers of my magazine, Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness, the winners of the various categories are as follows:

Best Cereal : Kellogg’s Special K
Best Meat Product : Mattesons Turkey Rashers
Best Ready Made Sandwich Range : Marks & Spencer Count on Us
Best Cheese : Philadelphia Extra Light
Best Dressing: Hellmann’s Extra Light Mayonnaise
Best Ready Meal : Marks & Spencer Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni
Best Cooking Sauce : Dolmio Light Bolognese
Best Vegetarian food range: Quorn
Best Sweet Snack : Snack a Jacks Caramel
Best Savoury Snack : Ryvita Minis
Best Dessert : Mullerlight Yogurt
Best Low fat Supermarket Range: Marks & Spencer Count on Us
Best ‘I can’t believe it’s low fat’ : Hellmann’s Extra Light Mayonnaise
and lastly, ‘The low-fat food I can’t live without’ : Hellmann’s Extra Light Mayonnaise.

As Marks and Spencer also received a Special Commendation for their Vegetarian Food Range, they triumphed as the overall winner.

These awards are given to the companies because their products have been genuinely voted for by our readers. I have no doubt that the recipients were delighted to have received their accolades because they underline that the efforts they have put in to making their products what they are, have been rewarded by the general public. We all want recognition when we feel we have done a job well but there is nothing quite as satisfying as realising that the normal, regular, man or woman in the street has taken the trouble to vote for YOUR product. That YOUR product is making a difference to their health and their body. The manufacturers have every right to be proud of their achievements.

If we are to encourage the nation to eat more healthily and become slimmer and fitter we have to produce foods that they enjoy eating. Yesterday we acknowledged the very best of those foods and hopefully when folk go shopping they will select those foods that satisfy their taste buds without piling on the pounds.

Congratulations to all our award winners! For the full details of all the winners, Special Commendations and Highly Commended awards, check out our latest Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness magazine published today. Our Chef, Dean Simpole-Clarke has even created some extra special recipes utilising the winning products.

Fab Low Fat Food Awards

Today we celebrate the very best of low fat foods that are available in our supermarkets today.

In 2008 we launched the Rosemary Conley Fab Low Fat Food Awards because we wanted to find out which foods the readers of our magazine thought were the best. So, this is the second year of these awards and again they have been voted for by the readers of our magazine, visitors to our website and members of our online slimming club – rosemaryconleyonline.com.

When I wrote my Hip and Thigh Diet in 1988 the number of low fat foods available could be counted in their hundreds. Today, tens of thousands are available and selecting the best can be difficult because the labelling on the packaging can be confusing. But our Fab Low Fat Food Awards are designed to help the discerning dieter to be able to select which foods are the low-fat-cream of the crop!

Kellogg’s Special K, Marks and Spencer Count on Us and Hellman’s Extra Light mayonnaise will walk away with top recognition from our Awards Ceremony at the Marriott County Hall Hotel, London, this morning. For all the Awards check out the latest edition of Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Magazine which is published today.

We want to applaud the fantastic foods that are produced today to help us lose, or maintain, weight without losing out on flavour or the satisfaction of eating something delicious. Well done to our Winners! Keep up the good work and help us all to eat well and become healthier – and, as a nation, we certainly need you. Thank you!

What is your favourite low fat food?

I wonder what is YOUR favourite low fat food? Mine are Total 2% fat Greek Yogurt, my own branded Less than 5% Mature Cheese made by Wyke Farms, (found in Asda and Morrisons), Dolmio Light Bolognese Sauce, and not forgetting, of course, our RC Low Fat chocolate mousse, (sold in Asda) which is unbelievably delicious. They all taste great and don’t taste like a low fat food. And that’s the key, in my opinion. But it’s good to know what you think and to that end last year we launched the Rosemary Conley Fab Low Fat Food Awards voted for by readers of my magazine, Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness.

This year's nominations can be found in the latest issue, or, if you would like to vote online for your favourite food please click here . Please take the time to vote because we want to encourage manufacturers to keep making delicious but low fat food and these awards reward excellence. Every completed entry automatically gets entered into a free prize draw and you could win a spa break for two at the fabulous Ragdale Hall.

If you love cooking you will find loads of easy to prepare recipes included in the magazine as well as a diet which, if you follow it and take some extra exercise, you could enable you to lose 7 lbs in 14 days.

Successful slimmer Katharine Murkett decided to lose weight because she didn’t want her son growing up with a mum who couldn’t do things with him like ride a bike. She joined her local Rosemary Conley Club class weighing 18st 11lbs and with a BMI of almost 40. Katherine now weighs 9st 13lbs and has a BMI of 21! Beautifully toned up and now stunningly attractive and positively sylph-like, Katharine has proved that you can lose almost 9 stone and look fantastic. Katharine’s full story and lots more photographs are in the magazine. Be inspired!