As you can see from the clever widget I've put there on the left-hand side of the page, I am participating in Channel 10's 1 Million Kilo Challenge. I don't watch Channel 10 and nor do I have 1 million kilos to lose, but when I heard you could participate in it whilst raising funds for charity it struck me as something tangible I could do to honour Max. There's no way I'd survive a marathon run in his name. I watched Leslie come over the finish line in a half marathon and his nipples were bleeding, which scarred me forever. I also would not be any good at climbing a mountain or trekking through a jungle in order to raise money. I would not have the appropriate footwear, I whinge wholeheartedly upon receiving a single mosquito bite, and some poor bastard would get stuck carrying my bag as I collapsed under its weight.
Something I do know how to do, though, is count calories. I am the queen of imaginative diets. Ask Anika about my yet-to-be-patented 'Furry Friend' diet in which I ate only Furry Friends for about 3 months, yet still managed to lose a few kilos. Anika is about the only other fan of my creative eating ideas, having had quite a few herself over the years. She also saw me through the Sustagen diet - you guessed it, where you drink only Sustagen for as long as you can put up with it. And Kate has witnessed, though never condoned, the diet shake revolution. I've also been to Weight Watchers and done Lite n Easy, which was easy, but not tasty. Hence that did not last long. Weight Watchers was also short lived because everyone hated me there and I did not like the idea that you had to keep your shoes on when you weighed in. How have they got away with bypassing the most important rule of weight watching, which is to get rid of every conceivable weight-bearing item before you step on the scales?!
I know all of this sounds obscenely stupid as I am quite a slim person. But I'm a slim person trapped inside a fat person's mind. Some people label this kind of paradox as a 'syndrome' or a 'disorder' but I'm not as pathological about it as all that. I think I loathe myself just the usual amount, not a 'clinically significant' amount, so there's no need to worry.
Anyway, this is all just an aside. What is important is that losing weight and making myself healthier and stronger through exercise is something that I can commit to do for my son. I hope that this experience will help me to learn to appreciate my body more for the amazing things it is capable of; for everything it did to help Max grow big and strong. Despite how sick I was during my pregnancy, Max was in close to the 90th percentile for his gestation which means I must have been doing something right! I have also been very angry at my body, though, for failing him. I think it will take a long time for me to shake this feeling, and to trust my body again, but I want to try.
The other important side of this challenge is the opportunity to raise funds for charity. I did not hesitate to choose the Royal Women's Hospital as the recipient of my fundraising efforts as everyday I am reminded of the constant care, compassion and treatment Max and I were both given during our time there. We could not have been in better hands, medically speaking, and the staff who cared for us, both midwives and doctors, were also amazing people who I felt fortunate to meet.
My obstetrician, Dr Fiona Cullinane, set up the Preterm Labour Clinic at The Women's, and it is through this clinic that I would be managed for any future pregnancies. They have had wonderful successes in treating women with histories like mine and all in all, most women who are patients there will eventually get to take home a little baby to love and care for. Whilst it is promising that there are more and more treatment options, there is still so much that is not understood about what causes women to go into preterm labour and how they can prevent it. Researchers at the hospital are undertaking a number of projects whose findings will benefit me, and other women like me, in the future. You can read about those projects here.
I would be so grateful if you could sponsor me, no matter how tiny the amount, to help researchers turn these studies into tangible outcomes. I am already overwhelmed by the support I have received, and the number of people who have joined my team to achieve their own personal goals whilst helping out this cause. Max has touched so many people's lives and I am so happy to be able to do something good in his name. I hope he would be proud of his mummy and daddy. I am pledging to lose 5kg and Leslie is pledging 8kg. Wish us luck and send any helpful tips and tricks our way!
And most importantly, click on that widget at the top of the page and donate some money!
Thank you all!
