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** Week 1 Update - I lost 5 pounds in my first week. ** Week 2 update - I lost 3 pounds this week. ** Week 5 update - I have now lost 1 stone and 2 pounds.... Very pleased to date. Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.    As you may or may not know it was national mental health day a few days ago (<a href="http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/home/">http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/home/</a>), with the emphasis this year on trying to alleviate some of the prejudice that comes from people who suffer with mental health conditions.   This subject is very real and close to my heart as about a year ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar and the condition resulted in me having to take time off work due to this. I am now stable having got excellent treatment and support from my local mental health team. Throughout the experience I have also been helped and supported by the Manic Depression Foundation (MDF), and to try and repay their support of me I have decided to raise some money for the work they do to support people with mental health problems. The MDF are run solely from donations from sufferers and from charity donations with no funding from government.   Unfortunately due to the strong medication I have been given for my condition, one of the side effects is weight gain and I have put on significant weight over the last year due to this. Therefore I have decided to undertake the challenge of losing this weight (my target is to lose around 6 stone), which will be a big (There is a pun there somewhere!), challenge for me and therefore the reason for this email is to ask for your help in supporting me in doing this by sponsoring my challenge. All money raised will go to the MDF for helping other people who experience mental health issues. Research shows that 1 in 5 of us will suffer mental health issues throughout our life so I feel this activity to raise money will be a worthwhile one and help me to give back something to the organisation that helped me out.   Alternatively you can sponsor me using more traditional methods.  My aim is to lose the weight steadily over a period of between 6-9 months, and I will keep people that sponsor me abreast of my progress. You can either sponsor me for the event overall or per stone in weight lost, it’s up to you.   So please dig deep and donate now.   thanks James

James Spencer’s Weight Loss Challenge for Mental Health Charity MDF

James Spencer’s Weight Loss Challenge for Mental Health Charity MDF

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