THANK-YOU FOR VISITING MY NEW BLOG

Thank-you for taking the time to visit my blog.

So, what's my story?  Well, I'm Ben Murphy and I live in Epping Forest.  I’ve always been a big lad at 6ft 6 inches, with a stockiness which has been beneficial on the rugby pitch over the years, but more recently I have just continued to pile on the pounds, eating however much of whatever I fancied, whenever I fancied it.  Moreover, I’ve coupled that greed with less and less exercise which has left me horrifically unfit, massively overweight and even finding a simple flight of stairs draining!  I’ve done all sorts of fad diets over the years with short-term successes, but the harsh reality is, I need to completely restructure my lifestyle, cutting out those boozy lunches, the occasional cigarettes, and that Indian on the way home from the pub.  I need to put down the pies and pick-up my trainers and stop being so lazy!

Ultimately, I have decided to set myself a huge challenge…to lose 5 stone (70lbs, 32kilos) in the 8 months between the 1 January and 31 August 2013.

Okay, so the challenge is set, but one question remains…what will make me succeed this time?  Well, I’ve finally gone public with the challenge.  I’m being open and honest and I’ve decided to have a public weekly weigh-in and allow people to follow what I’m doing and how I’m getting on, so that people can effectively be my judge and jury, or my "Majorie Doors", giving me grief if I mess up and praise if I do well.  It'll be the ultimate Fat Club!

All jokes aside, I have been asked to raise money for the Dream Factory. I’m not a parent, but I am an uncle and a godfather many times over and I can’t begin to imagine the pain a family must suffer when they find out a child has a serious illness, let alone an illness which is life-threatening or life-limiting.  All any parent wants is for their child to have a life packed full of fun and laughter and that is what the Dream Factory offers these children.  The tragic truth is, we never know when we or someone we know and love might need to use the services provided by this really remarkable charity and wouldn’t it be horrific if it didn’t have the funds to help?

So I ask that you consider donating a little something to help make the dreams these children become a reality. http://www.justgiving.com/TheMurf