5 STONE CHALLENGE SEEMS MORE DIFFICULT IN PRINT

Epping Forest Guardian - 27 December 2012

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EVENT AT M&S SIMPLY FOOD

Today, I joined Epping Forest MP, Eleanor Laing, students from St. John’s School and volunteers from The Dream Factory to help pack the bags of Christmas shoppers at Marks and Spencer Simply Food store in Epping High Street in return for donations for the Dream Factory.

It was a busy day, with very long queues of people waiting to pay for their Christmas shopping, but one with an enormous amount of Christmas cheer and great generosity from so many local people.  It was also a great way to see so many old friends and really got us all in the Christmas spirit!

I was also somehow talked into having a picture taken at the in-house bakery with a large tray of cakes ahead of my challenge beginning on 2^nd January…the things we do for charity, hey!

You can find an article about the event online here and I’ll let you all know how much was raised as soon as the buckets have all been emptied out and counted.

2 DAYS IN & £2,000.00 RAISED FOR THE DREAM FACTORY

Since launching the 5 Stone Challenge 2 days ago, I have been completely overwhelmed by the level of support friends and colleagues have shown.  The media have spread the word far and wide, so I give especial thanks to Everything Epping Forest News, Snapped Out and the Epping Forest Guardian.

We have also managed to raise just over £2,000.00 in less than 48 hours, which is astonishing.  I’m not entirely sure whether this is a testament to people concurring that this is an extremely worthy cause, or whether people don't have any faith in me completing this chellenge!!

I must say a special thank-you to everyone who has taken the time to make a donating of sponsorship so far: Adam Williams, Alex Horne, Daniel Carroll, Ray Wells, Sam Ellis, Robert & Christine Eales, Danny Cooper, James Humphreys, Jayne Boost, Laura & Tony Childs, Alex Rayner and Victoria Eales.

In addition, two friends, Chris Hazell and Dan Etherington, have agreed to sponsor me a whopping £500.00 each if I lose the full 5 stone.  However, they’ve thrown the cat amongst the pigeons by saying that if I happen to lose 6 stone, instead of the agreed 5, they will donate £1,000.00 each to the Dream Factory, so let’s hope this weight falls off at a rate faster than planned!

Just another reminder that you can share the link to my JustGiving website on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks very simply.  Thank-you again for any help you can afford spreading the word. 

LAUNCH DAY - MY 5 STONE CHALLENGE!!

Okay, so today’s the day we formally launch the challenge and I’m feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness.  It’s too late to turn back now though and I’m trying to convert that nervous energy into something more constructive by pulling together a plan of action for the first week of my big diet and exercise regime.  For anyone who is able to make a contribution of sponsorship, my JustGiving page is now live.  Whatever you can afford would be enormously appreciated.
I also wanted to remind everyone of the reasons why I have agreed to this challenge, so here’s a dream that was made a reality for a boy called Sandy.

Sandy is 16 years old and suffers from high risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which means he is regularly hospitalised for treatment in Scotland. Sandy’s dream was to be able to see and speak to his brother, who lives in Australia, and his sister, who lives in South West England, whilst he was spending a lot of time away from home.  So the Dream Factory brought him an iPad.  Something so simple really can make all the difference to these children's lives....and you can be a part of that.

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