Starting to start....

Allow me to introduct you to my Mission Possible.  I'm going to blog over the next 12 months, charting my fundraising and body transformation journey. I have a feeling that, at times, it's not going to be pretty...

A bit of background.

• I am 43, live in South Wales, own a day spa, married to
• Andy (short, short-tempered, muscly, Glaswegian, strength and conditioning coach, determined, moody, frustrating, can't-live-without-him, Cancer, 36), mum to
• Tom (eldest, so handsome, lovely, clever, insightful, fab musician, Virgo, 24, almost 25) who lives in Hampshire and
• Ben (so so funny, witty, gorgeous, loyal, brave, typical Leo, 23, almost 24) who, since finishing university, lives back at home (which I secretly love) with two Staffies,
• Daisy (deaf, half blind, shaky, skinny, rough coat, grey faced, much loved, had her longer than the husband, 16 going on 103, hope she'll get to the end of this year long blog) and
• Hamish (just like his Dad, always got a frown, short, muscly, Glaswegian, 8, always eating or sleeping and punching above his weight).

Tom married just last week and I have a beautiful new daughter in law, Suzie. She and Tom have been together since college so I can't imagine our lives without her. Then we have Ben's girlfriend, Lauren, who is living with us - she's just gorgeous inside and out. She's had to leave family and friends to come and be with Ben so for anyone to have that kind of wrench out of love for my youngest, she gets my vote. Besides that, she bakes like a dream.


Back to the fundraising and body transforming... This is what I have written on my JustGiving page:

Thursday, 14th July 2011, was the celebration of the marriage of my son and brand new daughter in law with most amazing day of sunshine, family, friends, dancing, laughter.... and tears.

The tears were for Baz, Suzie's beloved Dad, who wasn't with us as he had tragically died just three weeks previously from complications of Myasthenia Gravis, at the age of just 56. He would have definitely wanted the wedding to go ahead and it was incredibly touching, bittersweet and, at times, very painful for Tom & Suzie, Baz's wife, Sheila, and son, Oli.

Myasthenia Gravis translates as 'grave muscle weakness' and is an auto-immune disease which is characterized by fluctuating, sometimes fatal, muscle weakness. The body's immune system, in the form of antibodies, attacks and damages the nerve signal reception areas on the muscles causing a breakdown in communication between nerve and muscle; this results in a loss of effectiveness of the muscle. Activities taken for granted by most of us become difficult or even impossible at times - simple things like eating food, breathing, lifting arms, speaking to friends or laughing. At present, there is no cure for Myasthenia.

Baz was just the most brave, uncomplaining man with a determination to achieve goals and enjoy life. He wasn't interested in dwelling on his Myasthenia, he wanted to know about you and what was going on in your life. He placed his family before anything else and I think we honoured what would have been his wish by making the day memorable in every possible way.

I have invited everyone who attended the wedding to perform one fund raising act in aid of The Myasthenia Gravis Association, culminating in a huge party in 12 months time on Saturday, 14th July 2012. If we all raised just £100, that could be a donation of over £10,000 - a massive injection into the research of this incurable disease. The event can be small or large - for example, holding a raffle or climbing a mountain.

My personal challenge is to lose 4 stone (56lb) over the next 12 months with the final weigh in at the party (in public!). If I lose more (which is possible), the cap for donations is at 56lb.

You can sponsor as little or as much as you like, you can give 20p per lb (which is £11.20 max) or donate a set amount of say £10.00 or £20.00. Please also send me any tips or messages of support, they will be very gratefully received!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So, I'm planning to lose the 56lb (and possibly more) with a combination of the Cambridge Diet, a healthy evening meal and weight training/exercise.  Today was the first weigh-in at an excruciating 15st 6.6 lbs (big ouch!) and I'll be weighing in once a week with my losses.  I've had a banana CD milkshake - very nice indeed, thank you very much.  Not quite the same as the bacon sandwich my husband had but did give me a virtuous air which I think I enjoyed more than the shake....  The plan is to drink plenty of water to stave off the carbohydrate withdrawal headache and to wear earplugs so that I can't hear the fridge calling my name.

I'll be back to let you know how I'm getting on....