I will never forget that moment as long as I live, midnight on 15 May 2008, the moment I stepped on the scales in the throws of labour with my second child and they tipped to 21 stone. That was the biggest wake up call of my life, a reality punch in the face, that I was effectively carrying the weight of another person around with me. Technically speaking I was, given I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy 10 minutes later, but at 6lb 4oz,  the truth was at 5ft 4.5 inch and 21 stone I still had over 10 stone to lose. Up until this point I was in total denial of the person I had become, both physically and mentally.

 

With my self esteem at an all time low, I became determined to lose weight. Although I had lost a lot of the weight I needed to lose when I rocked up to Fat 2 Fit in September 2012, I was still self conscious, overweight, but most significantly seriously unfit. I had a life long hate of exercise. A deep rooted fear within me had formed. Yes, I was that podgy kid at school, stood bright red cheeked through embarrassment in the sports hall, nervously tugging my vest over my gym knickers in attempt to cover my chubby thighs, knowing all the time that I wouldn’t get picked for either team I would just join the team with the least number in, because no one wanted me on there team. But I stuck at and through training at least four times a week and eating clean balanced diet I am fitter and healthier than I have ever been.

 

I’m not going to deny it, it has been tough, it has taken a lot of discipline and determination to get to where I am today. I’m the kind of girl that if someone says I can’t do something, I’ll turn round and say “watch me”, so I guess I am thankful to those that didn’t pick me and those that taunted me with cruel comments about my weight and ability because I probably wouldn’t have done it. But when all is said and done it’s about much more than that…….I did it for me…….I am doing this for me, for my health, for my family, to set an example to my children and give myself the opportunity to see them grow up and support them through life.

 

Training for and running the GNR helps me to achieve my fitness goals and in the process allows me give something back to a charity that is so close to my heart.

 

 

Why British Skin Foundation

 

Think back to being a 13 year old and imagine waking up one morning and on your body and face red, itchy patches have started to appear. Each day there are more patches until one day 50 % of your body is covered in large red scaly plaques. Try and imagine how you might feel. This happened to me, at the age of 13, I developed psoriasis, a horrible, debilitating skin disease that left me feeling embarrassed, self conscious and vulnerable and was hugely responsible for my life long battle with food.

I have been very fortunate over the past two decades to have received such great support and care from my dermatology unit at Harrogate Hospital, which means currently my psoriasis is very well controlled. The care and support of the nurses and consultants at the hospital has been amazing and I am so thank ful for everything they have done me.

My treatment does mean however, that I have a suppressed immune system, because I have to inject myself on a weekly basis with an immunosuppressant drug. This of course brings with it a number of serious health risks, but this is a small price to pay for being effectively free of such a horrid disease and the physical and emotional side effects that can cause..

Skin diseases are very common - psoriasis, eczema, vitaligo, skin cancer. At the moment there are about eight million people in the UK with a skin condition. About 4000 of these will die due to the disease. Skin disease does not discriminate in terms of who it affects and people often forget about the ways it can affect people physically and psychologically. It is very likely that you will have friends or family that have a skin condition.

Research is extremely expensive. Since 1996, the BSF has funded over 250 research projects at the cost of over 7.4 million. At the moment BSF can only fund about 25% of the research they come across, but with your help they can fund even more.

Currently there is no cure for psoriasis or eczema, having suffered chronically with both, along with immediate family members; I hope you can see why I am so passionate about supporting a charity that carries out vital research into the treatment of these diseases. I live in hope that one day, for the sake of my children and future generations that research will eventually find a cure.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

This is so important to me and I really appreciate any help you can give to support this amazing charity, so please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you

G xxx