Weight Loss Blog Part Two
A New Start …A New Me or You! Let Me Help You Start your Weight Loss
The day I hit my goal weight loss goal in February 2011 I will never forget. The last 1-2 stone had taken me the longest time to get rid of and the last 7lbs seemed to take FOREVER to go away. But that morning when I stepped on the scales and saw my weight was 1/2 pound UNDER my goal weight I jumped off the scales and ran around the house screaming! I was so so happy. I’d finally done it and it was an unbelievable feeling. This feeling of euphoria lasted about 10 minutes before the enormity of what I had achieved actually sunk in. I sat on my sofa in the lounge and just started crying and crying. I cried on and off for most of the day. I know that sounds completely ridiculous, but my life had been completely consumed with reaching my goal for the last 2 1/2 years and now I had DONE IT! Part of the tears were of absolute joy and part of me was crying with fear – fear of not being able to maintain and stay where I was. The worry of “what the hell was I going to do now?” was also a big part of it. I had lived and breathed dieting… now what was I going to do?
Well – 2011 certainly was a year of firsts for me! February – I reached my goal weight! March – I took up jogging for the first time as a little hobby to keep me on track, April – I ran the furthest I’d ever run in a 10km race! July – went completely insane and started training for the Dublin marathon (as the Wicklow representative for the Spartan Challenge) August/Sept – appeared in the local and national newspapers for my weight loss and marathon training stories! October – I completed my first ever marathon in a time of 3 hours 33mins and 58 seconds (and was also crowned Queen of the Spartans and the Spartan Challenge winner!) Also in October I started a college course in Health and Fitness – I had finally found a new direction for my life, with all the skills and experiences I had picked up during my life as a dieter. 3 1/2 years after that eureka moment “fat” photo, I have a certainly flipped my life completely on its head. I KNOW that my husband and children are happier – not to mention HEALTHIER than they were before and whats more I am the person I always knew I could be… the person I always was actually! Just lost… now I have been found! 🙂
Since starting up a business and launching Why Weight Ireland in March 2012, the business has gone from strength to strength and with new members signing up each day it is fantastic to see people wanting to change their lives. Members are shedding pounds and stones, centimetres and inches, getting fitter and hitting their final goal weights. Why Weight Ireland and my story made the front cover and was published in the weekly (May 7th 2012) Women’s Way issue which received great feedback and also in two issues (one being a front cover) of the Irish Runner magazine – and in the words of editor Frank Greally “Few front covers in our 30 years of publication have prompted as much response as the feature in our last issue focusing on Hannah Nolan….the reaction to the story was overwhelmingly positive”. I have also continued my running and have ran another marathon (Kildare) in May 2012 and came 5th, completing it in 3hrs 24mins and also received bronze in the Senior Leinster Road Race Championships and silver in the Leinster Club Championships.
In June 2012 I was asked to be the Ambassador for Athletics Ireland Fit4Life, which I proudly accepted. The Fit4Life Programme is designed to give people the opportunity to get fit and enjoy walking/running in a structured environment.
I have continued to give motivational talks to various groups and corporate companies which has gone down really well. At a recent motivational talk given to Grant Thornton, one of it’s Partners wrote: “Hannah is an inspirational character – We discovered Hannah through her profile interview in the Irish Runner and invited her in to speak to our staff and share her story. What she has achieved is truly remarkable and she tells her story with such ease, nothing is sugar coated and the harsh reality of where her life was is revealed for all to see. Hannah doesn’t hide the difficult moments and shows how true grit and determination can bring anyone to a dawn. The most addictive aspect of her story is that there really is something in it for EVERYONE”.
At the end of June 2012 I was also asked to Manage the Pat & Karl Henry Fitness Centre in Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin which I gladly accepted and only added to the image and success of Why Weight Ireland.
In July 2012 I featured on the front cover of the Irish Independent Fit Magazine and had a featured article written about my story, my running and Why Weight Ireland. I received a massive response from both men & women who felt that my story had struck a chord with them.
In September 2012 I decided to set myself another goal, one that I hadn’t done before and that was to try cross country running! I’m a girly girl so the idea of getting muddy didn’t appeal to me but I thought I’d give it ago as long as I could wear girly looking spikes 🙂 I started training for the cross country straight away as the new season was starting in early October. The Novice County Cross Country Championships and the Intermediate County Cross Country Championships were the first two races of the season with the Senior County Championships in middle of December. Those of you who have ever done cross country before will know that it is tough and much slower than road racing so this was something that felt strange to me. I’d be running as fast as I can but going much slower than when on road! The races came around quickly; I was full of nerves and nearly pulled out of the novice race before it even started. I’m glad I didn’t as I ended up winning Gold and also won Gold in the team event. I then went on to win Gold in both the Intermediates and Intermediate team event, Bronze in the Senior team event and also won Athlete of the Year 2012 with Parnell AC too so it was a fantastic season and something I was glad I had done. I just had to believe in my self and believe that I had done enough in training to get me past the line.
In December 2012 I finished up Managing Pat & Karl Henry Fitness Centre as Why Weight Ireland had gone from strength to strength and was now becoming well known for it’s fantastic results and ease of use. With this in mind the first Why Weight Ireland Local studio was born and was set up to give people an even better chance to lose weight and tone up. With some people needing the extra one-to-one personal touch Why Weight Ireland LOCAL offers private weigh-ins, toning & body conditioning classes, Zumba classes and private one-to-one Personal Training sessions. The first Why Weight Ireland Local studio opened in January 2013 at Unit 2 Riverside Business Centre, Tinahely, Wicklow (Ground floor Unit as the rear of the Business Centre – behind the Credit Union) and with other studios coming on board across Ireland, there will hopefully be a Why Weight Ireland LOCAL studio near you.
2013 has started with a bang and with Why Weight Ireland going from strength to strength it certainly is going to be a year to look forward to. I am going to do a couple of more marathons this year as well as all the club & local races. Having won the Senior Wicklow Road Race Championships and received bronze for Wicklow in the Leinster Road Race championships as well as coming 4th in the Kildare Marathon with a new PB of 3:19, I’m looking forward to getting some good training done over the summer and focusing on the Dublin City Marathon 🙂
I hope I will be able to continue to help people achieve their goals and become the person they always deserved to be.
Visit www.whyweightireland.ie or contact me directly at Hannah@whyweightireland.ie for any information
Hannah x
A True Story about Weight Loss, and The Start Of Something New…
I hope by telling my story about my Weight Loss it may help and motivate someone to get out, get active and find the person they really are inside.
Since my late teens I have tried many diets – counting points, drinking meal replacements shakes, even “detox” diets. On one particular occasion about 10 years ago I attended weekly meetings and stuck to my diet and I lost about 1.5 stone. I then floated around the same sort of weight until I met my husband. I got a little bit comfortable and gained a few pounds. We got married and I guess I got a little more comfortable over time gaining a further 2 stone… I got pregnant and then I got VERY “comfortable”. I gained a lot of weight during my son’s pregnancy, using it as an excuse to constantly eat!
I had managed to eat my way up to 16 stone and knew I had to do something about it. Even getting the buggy set up left me puffing and out of breath let alone actually taking my son out for a walk! I knew I was in there somewhere but instead the real me was being hidden by this big body. I felt invisible. Nobody else knew that the real Hannah was being held hostage in her own body! I remember walking through a shopping centre pushing the double buggy feeling like a fat, frumpy mummy – definitely felt a LOT older than my years too. I used to look at the slim women and think how easy they had it. I was jealous and sometimes even found myself thinking spiteful thoughts about them – even though that was just completely out of my character, sometimes I felt like my eyes were throwing daggers at people who were in any way, shape or form closer to what I WANTED to be.. happy, slim, attractive, confident.
I’d lost ALL of those qualities along with the weight gain. I felt utterly stupid just talking to people in the shops sometimes, just because I felt so lost in my own body. Nobody would notice me walk past them in the street – unless maybe I was eating something, and then I would swear I could hear them saying “she doesn’t need that“. Shopping was an absolutely AWFUL and soul destroying experience. I’d go out with the usual thrills and excitement of buying a new outfit, only to face clothes that either didn’t fit or didn’t stock my size. Even the sizes that did fit made me felt unattractive; the reflection staring back at me was not somebody I really recognised anymore… I think I found it hard to know who I actually was anymore.
I started losing weight on my own first and it was a real struggle. I thought I “knew what I was doing” but in reality I had no clue! Although I’d lost weight before I had only ever thought in “points” so I really had no real idea of what calories and fat were in foods.
My husband got me a cross trainer for Christmas 2 months after my diet had started to help me along. At first I could barely manage 5 minutes but I gradually built it up. I used to set the cross trainer up in front of a mirror and wore just a sports bra and shorts so I could see myself – when I wanted to give up because I “couldn’t do it” any more I’d look at myself and see my reflection.
I did not want to be like that anymore! That used to give me the motivation to carry on for an extra 10 or 15 minutes!! I think what I learnt from this is – even when you think you can do no more… you CAN!
There were some days that were harder than others, days where the site of my reflection staring back at me reduced me to tears and sent me scuttling off to the biscuit tin – old habits die hard, and other days where I picked myself up and somehow managed to keep going and stay on track. I think with anything in life, sometimes things just might not seem to work, but if you persevere it will happen… even if it isn’t straight away!
I carried on and managed to lose about 3 1/2 stone in 7 months. At that point I found out I was pregnant again. I didn’t “diet” as such, but I was eating healthily and managed to maintain my weight pretty much throughout the pregnancy. I gained 2 stone in the last few months of the pregnancy, but a stone of that vanished the moment I had my daughter!
Then it was back to the dieting. I didn’t know how I was going to manage it on my own. Then a friend of mine recommended using a food diary which calculated all my details and told me how much I had to eat in a day and how much exercise I needed to do. It was the push I needed and also helped to re-educate me about food. I learnt so much and even started enjoying cooking and making up my own recipes, finally understanding much more! I kept my diary, did my exercise and lost the weight. I then went through phases where I just lost all motivation. My diary was filled in… but not truthfully. I’d snack on things and then just “forget” about them. I was kidding myself. I’d gain a few pounds and then speak to one of my fellow dieters and got myself back into the swing of things – filled in my diary PROPERLY and HONESTLY, did my exercise and finally lost the weight.
Most business owners believe by just putting a website live it will magically jump on page one and make money, but far is from the truth. A big factor in where your website is ranked in a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing) is really down to how the website is built and how or if it is SEO friendly. For instance if you were a business based in the UK and targeted SEO Portsmouth, Waterlooville or even Chichester you would need an SEO in Portsmouth expert to work on these basic keywords. The key start point is to actually build your website with basic SEO services and internet marketing in mind, and be realistic with what is possible in a set time scale.
Portsmouth, Waterlooville & Chichester Small Businesses looking for SEO help
With many online marketers offering quick solutions, or instant results in search engine rankings. When really the honest approach for many local or national campaigns is that it can takes weeks to months to years with a lot of hard work involved. There is no real ‘quick fix’. Just imagine that a new retail shop popped up in your local town of Waterlooville, compared to a business that has been there for 5 years and is well known. As a buyer who would you trust? this is how Google looks at websites online. Although not exactly the same, but hopefully this will give you a glimpse of what online marketing is all about, especially when setting up a business online.
Branching out from the banks when starting up a business
In 2013 there are many business minded people looking to start up a business, and usually accordingly to figures by the Department for Business four out of five businesses only start to actually think about money only a few days before actually needing it. With the internet a ready place to find funding it is thought that most people only spend an hour searching around the web, and with most people using the big four banks. With many finance brokers in the commercial market sector, speaking to one is a must to see how they may be able to help and advice.
With the NACFB (National Association of Commercial Financial Brokers) being active since 1992, it’s job as the national trade body for finance brokers is to help bring businesses and funders together in one place. With a massive choice of over 100 different funders available, all with something different on offer. It can be very daunting talking and using the current batch of high street banks, so it can be a relief to find something different that isn’t readily available on the high street.
Biggest issues effecting every new business
The main issues effecting every small business start up in the UK have virtually remained the same is the last 3 to 5 years, and with the scarcity of funding and a reluctance to lend to most businesses. Banks like Lloyds TSB are probably the worst in lending, as it is virtually impossible to even borrow £5000 as reported by many small businesses. Natwest are slightly better, but every business director has jump through many hoops to borrow such marginal amounts of money. We have heard and experienced the tough financial times on many people attempting in setting up a business.
A few things you should know about finance
- The big four High Street bank aren’t the only lenders.
- There is quite possibly a local broker within 3-5 miles from you.
- Don’t spend hours searching and learning about all the lenders out there, find someone who is already one.
- Look at every aspect of your business, how to get paid. Do you get paid on time? Debt Collection could be another option.
- Remember some smaller financial businesses can offer more specialised services.
- You can deal with people direct, one on one. No more calling call centres!
Need some advice?
For many Small Businesses Debt Problems can be a problem, but what are the best options in Debt Collection?
The important thing to remember in a debt collection process is that it is vital to establish as much information about the debtor, most importantly the/their finances. Unfortunately if the person or business that actually owe you or your business money have any assets or income? This could be something important in ascertaining if you get paid in full or even at all. Ideally it should have been clear when you took the job on, and of whom you were contracting with – private individual, sole trader, partnership, limited liability partnership (LLP) or a limiter company (Ltd).
If you are owed money, here is what to consider
If you are owed money by an individual your claim is against that person; if it is owed by a sole trader or partnership, your cause of action is against the individual(s) trading as the business name; and if it a limited company or LLP, your claim would be against that Ltd company or LLP. A limited company/LLP is a separate legal entity from the people who own or run it, and they are not generally personally liable, except in very limited cases. For example if they guarantee a loan through the company to the bank.
Unluckily for any small business, there is never any guarantee you or your business will get paid, even if you have a watertight case. This is just what every new or old business has to deal with in this current world of companies in the UK. We suggest to think carefully about how you are going to pursuer your bad debt, considering the amount of monies owed (plus the cost of your time) and where the finances of the debtor currently stand. There can also be the massive risk of throwing more and more money after bad, strongly think about whether you can actually retrieve any monies at all.
Top Tips of Bad Debts
To sum things up, your options as a business are: 1.) Taking County Court action. 2.) Threatening and pursuing Insolvency proceedings if the debt is more than £750 and not disputed (Bankruptcy for individual/businesses, Liquidation for Limited Companies). 3.) Calling in a debt collection agency.
If you are a thinking about setting up a business, we highly suggest looking through our website for our top tips of running and building a business, and of course the financial side always comes into play, as you have read in here.
We would all love a new set of Golf Iron Headcovers to go with our golf clubs, but do we spend more time on the accessories than actually on our health? what we say is.. ‘Keep Fit & Healthy by Playing Golf’ and we believe in the UK that both can be very much achieved by using golf as a way of keeping fit and healthy, and this can be achieved and you can notice the benefits by playing and enjoying the game. With some people never been near a gym on any basis, or maybe not enjoying running as they may believe it is a waste of energy. When setting up a business, business owners throughout the UK need to do stress and golf is an excellent way to do this and here is why..
Keep Fit and Healthy by Playing Golf…
Forget those new golf clubs, and Keep Fit and Healthy by playing your beloved sport. Yes those buggies can be rented quite cheaply but it means riding around and being a bit lazy! If you actually think of the walking that can be done, this can actually burn that dreaded fat whilst enjoying yourself. Plus all of those hills and bunkers will keep those legs moving. The biggest problem in 2013 is that it can be hard to motivate yourself to keep fit and healthy, but if you actually have fun at the same time then you will do it again and again.
The common cold, the flu and other bugs can keep some people in bed at home. Or maybe they are more susceptible than others. But if you make the connection with starting to play golf regularly instead of being a couch potato and getting sick, our business suggestion is to get your golf iron headcovers on your golf clubs and get to a course near you and go get some fresh air in your lungs. Get fit and mentally strong.
Look Fit, Feel Fit and Stay Happy by Playing Golf
Apart from feeling fit and being healthy we think that it is very important to look it too. Even during the spring or summer months (although not often here in the UK!) you can get a lovely tan from walking around and potting some balls too, you’ll know when you look different when people ask “have you been on holiday”. Just pass a little grin with happiness inside.
We take a local look at Small Businesses in Waterlooville, Portsmouth and Bishops Waltham..
With the local advertising that is on offer these days from papers to magazines, is it really dead or alive? We took an informative and specialised view on the best and worst forms of local advertising for small businesses in the Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Bishops Waltham area of Hampshire. Going back to the days before the internet, the only way to advertise was through local and national newspapers, or localised magazines. This was always the very best way to get your business known, especially when setting up a small business, but with the ever emerging internet and the latest smart phones. People now prefer looking for a local company on the web, and Google is the number choice with over 85% of the UK market.
Spending money on Search Engine Optimisation, for small businesses in Waterlooville, Portsmouth and Bishops Waltham
So is it best to spend money on Search Engine Optimisation for your small business in Waterlooville, Portsmouth or Bishops Waltham? The truthful answer is yes, the reason is that to generally optimise a website for a local search on somewhere like Google, Bing or Yahoo is can cost between £100 and £300 a month. Which we believe is great value for money, and the best thing that can be done for anything on the internet is that it can be tracked. We were asked recently how can you track it, we said that you can through any website you can insert a small snippet of code and throughout the day it can be tracked. This is great to see where, when and what people are looking at, but the truth is that 90% of websites don’t even do this!
Should I spend money on local advertising, if I run a Business in Waterlooville, Portsmouth or Bishops Waltham?
The answer is yes and no, if you can afford to spend money on your small business, then do both. But the main issue with local advertising is that once you have seen an advert once, you have seen it a million times. You don’t really know how many get delivered and the ones that due most probably end up in the bin. Times have changed in 2013, and magazines and newspapers are something of the nineties and are not viewed in the same way. An average advert in a magazine (A4/A5) at full page costs between £130 – £550 a month, and an advert in a newspaper costs from £25 a month for a very small advert (which doesn’t really get seen). Then a full page isn’t really worth talking about, due to the costs!
Nowadays money can be spent much better and smarter, for example find a local company that has the best knowledge and won’t charge the earth for what they do, do as much as you can for free and do it correctly. For example anyone can setup a Facebook page, and we have seen many local companies doing this recently, but most of them only really understand advertising from a paper point of view. If you take the wrong advise or pay peanuts then expect it to back fire on your business, but spend a decent amount on getting your social media completed correctly then your will see the results. You can even pay someone to fully train you.
Best advice for small businesses in Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Bishops Waltham
Our best advice for any small business in Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Bishops Waltham or even Fareham is to consult a expert for expert advice. Look at what you are spending monthly and spend it more wisely. If you have a shop and sell locally and you aren’t on the internet, then we suggest hiring someone that can help you.
As always we can really help you, just use our contact us page and get in contact today.
Every local business should have a good Website Design Waterlooville, if you are a small businesses in Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Chichester or Bishops Waltham and don’t have a website then you should seriously consider reviewing their current shop front online, especially with the internet getting bigger and bigger these days. Can any business afford not to be online? Local business searches for website designers in somewhere like google can provide some local options. Finding someone who is a small business and work in the area locally to them, offering the very best in helping to build a better online presence that can help improve their business.
Offering the very best Web Design services to Waterlooville, Portsmouth & Chichester
From the outside a web design looks fairly easy to replicate, but building a Website Design for Waterlooville based businesses is just the start, get your site looking correct, working in the right way and making sure it loads up fast is just the start. With paper advertising simply something of the past, nowadays Google is the standard way for looking for something online. But is your website working correctly and being found locally? For example if you were looking for a web company locally, you would do a Google search for “Website Design Waterlooville” or even Portsmouth, Chichester or Bishops Waltham, obviously depending on where you are based. The general belief these days are of working with local businesses rather than one from miles away, this also can help build a strong relationship between businesses and help each other network. Especially when Setting up a Small Business online, this is a must.
Serious design involves an expertise and a major skill set, including creative thinking graphic design, computer programming, usability skills and knowledge of how to work out page layout. Designing a website isn’t just about the ‘visual design’ of the pages, although getting the look correct will help. The actual coding and backend very much is a must, it also has to serve as a tool for your business and deliver a healthy return on business investment.
A few questions to consider are…
- What is the purpose of the web page?
- Will you be selling online?
- Is your website going to be a online brochure?
- Will you be blogging?
These are some of the basic questions to ask yourself, mainly because if you offer a service eg. Plumbing, then a standard site would be adequate. But if you are thinking of selling online eg sweets and sell them through a shop front, a full Ecommerce Website would be a more ideal solution. Every web company can provide help and advice, and a portfolio of previous projects that can point the customer in the best way forward.
Setting up a Small Business in Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Chichester, Fareham & Bishops Waltham
If you are Setting up a Small Business online or maybe you are already a established company and are looking for Web Design, SEO or a E-Commerce Shop in Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Chichester, Fareham and Bishops Waltham. We highly suggest finding a web design company who have or come with a glowing reference and can very help and improve your business online, especially in SEO. But that’s another story for another day!
Colours really do influence everyday shopping, and here’s why…
Did you know that Colours Influence Buying? It’s true that over 65% of UK consumers are completely unaware that colours actually influence their shopping behaviour. It is said that an average of 23% or people correctly picked out certain business characteristics with certain colours, reflecting connections that have been proven through many years of research by the experts.
Across areas such as creativity, customer service and economic success, those who were able to select a colour to main business attributes within the place of work did so with a knowledge that shouts colour expertise. For example Red is the proven colour that most retail buyers associate with economic success, prosperity and the most successful businesses. Blue is the favourite colour with a massive 30% of people choosing it above all other colours. It is also seen as the most brain stimulating colour for a perfect working environment and is also the most common colour that the larger business organisations use, as it seems it is a corporate colour. Black has and has always been viewed as the most professional colour, and seeing as black is the easiest of colours to use this will always be the case. Last by no means the least he best colour is green, or racing green was picked as the freshest colour and the most associated with great customer service and for any company a great colour for a clean, crisp and fresh look.
At Setting up a Business we believe that the general person is truly unaware that whether someone is everyday shopping, driving in their car or simply crossing the road colours very much influences them. Subconsciously we or you take note on colours, we put trust in every companies chosen brand colours that are used whether we know it or not. It has also been proven that in many years of research over 80% of colour influence is based on instinct, and we suppose this can be good for business. In the subconscious area of the human brain it is highly proven that it responds to the colours that we see which goes back to the primal instincts of flight or fight, showing that colours influence shopping.
When you next think about Setting up a Business UK have a good think and strategise what colours you use, what suits your business and what others may think of what you are trying to achieve and show. Get it right and you will succeed and get it wrong and possibly struggle for success. If you need business tip then have a look at our dedicated page for Setting up a Business Tips here.
Computer Repair in Bishops Waltham, Southampton
When it comes to Computer Repair in Bishops Waltham, Southampton within the Rural Meon Valley, South Hampshire which is near Wickham and there is only on place to visit and that is Plates PC’s, run by IT expert Wez Hall and with over 11 years experience in all aspects of Computer Virus Removal, Computer Repairs, Computing Networking and much more within the IT support world. When Setting up a Business a crucial thing to consider is that of what computer to buy, what system to use and what to do when you are need of help. As well as continuous IT support whether a small or large business, We highly suggest talking with the self proclaimed “Tekkie People”.
Computer Virus Removal Bishops Waltham, Southampton
Computer Virus Removal Bishops Waltham, Southampton? Something that happens frequently in the world of business is the constant attacks of viruses on personal or business computers, but who do you ask for help? It is a complete nightmare when an attack on your computer (as we well know) happens and you think that you may lose all of your precious computer records and material. Our first call was to look for computer repair Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. Plates PCs was our first call, and their reassurance really did help and our business computer was up and running within a couple of days.
Computer virus’ can cause all aspects of problems from massive system failure to a long endured deterioration in the PC performance, which can lead to other problems. We have all been surfing the web and had those very annoying pop-ups appear, and these are sometimes just the start or the end of the problem. With Plates PCs many system tools available they can advise on the best way to protect your computer before or after the problem, sometimes prevention is better than the cure. This really does make a difference when these “tekkie people” build a computer to become a complete bespoke system for the potential customer.
Computer Repair Bishops Waltham is part of Plates PCs life, they can be found on St Georges Square, Hampshire. SO32 1AF feel free to drop in at any time for help and support.
Other Computer Services Include:
- Custom Built Computers
- Networking – Wired and also Wireless
- Apple Support – all aspects of apple systems
- Complete Backup Support
- Computer Repairs
- Upgrades and Servicing
- Email and Internet Support
- iPhone Screen Repairs
- Virus Removal
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