For the latest in our series of editorials focusing on Irish Women in Business, we’re talking to Hannah Nolan of Why Weight Ireland. Why Weight Ireland is an online weight loss & fitness plan that will change the way you think about food. The brainchild of Hannah, she was inspired to begin her business venture after shedding almost half her body weight by taking simple steps that didn't include unrealistic fad diets and setting herself achievable goals. "It is not real life to be drinking shakes three times a day. It is not real life to starve yourself every day to lose weight and it is not real life to live off meal replacements or even off a set food plan. They just are not sustainable". Why Weight Ireland is a lifestyle choice and so we caught up with Hannah for a quick chat about her experiences…

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  What age were you when you decided to set out on your own? I was 29 when I decided to set out on my own. What inspired you to begin this venture? I was made redundant in 2011 and it was around this time that I reached my goal weight of 8 1/2 stone. During the previous years, I had gotten married, had two children and moved house. My weight gradually built up over the years and when I was just over 16 stone I saw a photo of myself holding my son and I was so shocked; my skin was grey and I just looked ill! I said enough was enough and decided to do something about my weight. I tried every diet and bought every gadget on the market to help me lose weight. Most things would work for the first couple of weeks but then either I would be nearly ill from eating nothing or my weight would start to go back on. However, that is all they were, quick fixes, gimmicks, gadgets and fads. When we moved from Dublin to South Wicklow there were no fitness classes or meetings near enough for me to attend with two small children at home so I couldn’t get any advise or help from anyone. I had to do it alone. A friend of mine suggested I keep a food diary to track what I was eating. I did this and started to write down everything I was eating and drinking. I was soon able to see patterns in my eating and soon my weight began to come down and stay down. I was still able to eat the foods I enjoyed…just in smaller portions. I had also never exercised so I began to go walking (previously, trying to put the kids buggy into the car boot made me out of breath). I started adding a few more minutes each time I went out for a walk and my husband bought me a cross trainer which I used at home quite a lot since being seen in public exercising was a big problem for me as my self esteem was rock bottom. When I almost hit my goal weight, I suddenly had an idea to jog to the next lamppost and although it was tough I felt good so I kept trying to jog one post further each time I went for my walks. Before long, I found a local race and for some reason decided to enter. Crossing the finish line I was beaming with satisfaction and that was the start of my passion for running. Since that first day running, not so long ago, I have come fourth in a Full Marathon, won the Wicklow Novice & Intermediate Cross Country Championships, Wicklow Senior Road Race Championships and various other races around Leinster. While I got closer and closer to my goal weight, the more and more I researched how to start my own business, as finding a job was seemingly impossible at the time. I was constantly being asked how I had lost my weight and people were asking me to help them. It was at this time I decided to retrain in Fitness & Nutrition while I setup the business. I wanted my business to be everything that was real to life. It is not real life to be drinking shakes three times a day. It is not real life to starve yourself every day to lose weight and it is not real life to live off meal replacements or even off a set food plan. They just are not sustainable. My business had to be different to everything that was available and with that thought; Why Weight Ireland™ was born. I managed to sort out the business setup and paperwork side of things pretty quickly, completed all my research and planning fully and contacted the companies I needed to help me get my ideas onto a computer and before I knew it Why Weight Ireland™ were taking memberships and helping people lose weight and get fit. The combination of the food diary and the exercise which had got me to where was now going to be my business and my life – for life! Did you have many doubts? Absolutely, every day for the first year I had doubts and many sleepless nights. Being a wife and mother to two small children, it was a huge family decision to even go ahead with this new venture. Once we decided to do it, we all stuck together and put everything we had into the new business. From our research and planning we were hopeful that Why Weight Ireland would work out but with anything like this, it is a risk and but a risk we had to take. I do not have a business background so I’ve had to learn everything as I went along, so there were times that I regularly doubted my own ability. Many, MANY, times it has felt overwhelming and just “too much” but I’ve always tried to keep a positive mental attitude, remind myself how far I have come and that my own self belief had got me to my dream weight which I never thought possible – so the impossible isn’t always so impossible! Just keep going! Was it difficult choosing staff or people to work with? So far I have only employed staff locally for the studio, but I will need to add additional staff too at some point in the near future for the online business. For me I find it very difficult to think of employing somebody else as the business is my “baby”. I know that I can’t do everything myself – but I also find trusting someone else to have the same work ethic and belief system as me hard to come by. There are a LOT of fad diets and sales pitches out there and I do not want my business to have any association with that kind of thing, so again from that point of view I do find it difficult to trust other people to be completely on the same level. What has been your biggest barrier / hurdle you have overcome? I hold a Masters in Music from Cambridge so business was far from my usual conversation topics. Because I was made redundant and I needed to work, studying how to start a business was not an option for me. The biggest hurdle for me was having to learn everything about business on the go; starting a business, marketing a business, running a business, VAT, TAX, accounts etc. It was ALL new for me but all things I HAD to learn as I tried to make the business a success; and every day I continue to learn. Have you had many mentors? I really made the decision to go out on my own and with my husband’s support, it was a learning curve for us both without any real mentoring. We tried to look for professional advice but the price range was just out of our budget so we really had to go it alone. My father-in-law has been very helpful with advice along the way and I was also lucky enough to meet the editor of the Irish Runner - Frank Greally and previous editor of the Irish Independent PJ Cunningham who have also both been very helpful in offering advice from their years of experience. In terms of consistent mentorship – it really has just been a day-by-day approach to working through it all as best we can on our own! What advice would you give to somebody starting off? / What's the greatest piece of advice you've ever been given? Stick with it and believe in what you are doing. It IS tough – but most things that are worth it will be. The best piece of advice I have ever received was about a year after starting and I was getting a bit frustrated with it all and a friend (successful business owner) said to me, “It takes ten years hard work to be an over night success”. What has been your greatest moment? There are a lot – but for me seeing my members change before my eyes, hit their goals and grow such self-confidence. One of my members thanking me for changing her life when she told me that she no longer had to take medication for her Diabetes – that made me feel proud and still brings tears to my eyes that little old me could’ve had such a positive impact on her life. When I started this venture I always said if I could help just ONE person achieve the same success I would be happy, as I had paid it forward to someone else. To know that I have helped to support, and guide, much more than that now, and continue to do so has to be the greatest thing ever. From a business point of view, Why Weight Ireland winning the Best Innovation Award at the last Wicklow Chamber of Commerce Business Awards was a very special moment; it made all the hard work worthwhile and was the first award the business won. Even more recently, Why Weight Ireland has been selected in the regional shortlist as ‘Online Startup Business of the Year 2014’ in the Bank of Ireland Startup Awards 2014. For more information you can check out the Why Weight Ireland Facebook page, Twitter or whyweightireland.ie.