It’s my birthday in October - a pretty significant one. I’m turning 50.
It’s one of those milestones when you realise something about your own mortality.
Well, I’ve set some significant goals for the next 50 years, one of them being having a healthy body that will take me there!
I started work on my health goals about 10 weeks ago and have been walking regularly and eating better since then. But I figured that this is an opportunity to step it up.
I could do it quietly - but some support would be great. Also, if I made a public commitment, that would certainly provide some extra motivation!
So I thought how can I create a win-win-win?
And I came up with the idea of a 50 x 50 x 50 challenge.
Here’s my thinking: I will undertake a 50 day challenge and seek out 50 people who will sponsor me over the period - the idea being to raise $50 from each person to be donated to charity (that’s only $1 per day).
50 people x $50 x 50 days
So, it’s a win for me because I’ll get healthier over the period and kick start the next stage of my life.
It’s a win for you if you sponsor me because you’ll be supporting a worthwhile charity (and I’ll be doing all the work for you).
And it’s a win for the charity because they will get a bit of additional funding.
There are 2 charities I’ll be supporting – The Children’s Medical Research Institute and Diabetes Australia. (There is more info on each of them at the bottom of this post)
I was quite inspired by two emails I received recently very from friends of mine.
Ron Levi (David Levi’s son) ran to raise funds for the Prince of Wales Spinal Unit. He’s raised an amazing amount of money in memory of his cousin and best mate, Ash Levi, who spent 18 months in the POW Spinal Unit after an accident at a community camp. (Ash died very recently). http://www.gofundraise.com.au/14000steps
And Jo Cairns from O’Brien Glass who is ran to raise funds for MaAfrika Tikkun (MAT), one of two key charities supported by O’Brien® through their Giving Back Program. MAT create sustainable communities in some of the world’s worst poverty conditions, helping children to have a better quality
of life. http://www.gofundraise.com.au/jcairns
So how will it work?
My personal challenge will start on the 1st of October and go until the 21st of November.
What will I be doing?
• No chocolate or sweets
• No alcohol
• Reduced carbohydrates
• More fresh fruit and vegetables
• Smaller meal sizes
• A minimum of 60 minutes exercise per day
This isn’t one of those boot camps you hear a lot about that is really intensive and somewhat unsustainable. Rather it encompasses some lifestyle changes that will take me forward.
But I do expect to lose some weight as well – and that will be a good thing as I have been slowly but surely increasing my girth over the last 25 years!
You might possibly look at the list above and go “So what? That isn’t hard.” Well, maybe not for you, but doing this for 50 days is going to be a stretch for me!
I realise it isn’t a huge venture like walking from Adelaide to Melbourne to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research (Shane Crawford, the ex-Hawthorn AFL player did this very recently. He did have the advantage of being followed by a Channel 9 camera crew!).
However, I hope you’ll support me even without the news cameras! Please contact me or comment if you can help out.
I’ll keep you posted with how I’m progressing. Thanks for your continued support of me and my work!
Warm regards,
David.
PS – Do you want to join me in your own 50 day challenge? Perhaps you’d like to stop smoking, go TV free or complaint free? I’d love to encourage you to achieve something special also!
Childrens Medical Research Institute
The Children’s Medical Research Institute conducts fundamental genetic research to understand the genes important for health and development, and the underlying causes of disease. Established in 1958, the CMRI has contributed to real progress in children’s health, with a commitment to better treat and, where possible, prevent childhood illness and disability.
Our research is focussed on studying the key changes that occur during development so that we can identify when, where and how faults may occur. We have over 100 research scientists and world leaders in the areas of cell immortalisation, cell signalling and fate mapping.
We are a not-for-profit institute and independently funded through grants, fellowships and the Jeans for Genes campaign. For further information on our projects please visit our website www.cmri.com.au
Diabetes Australia-NSW
Diabetes Australia-NSW is a member based charitable organisation that is 99.7% self funded and is the only organisation caring for all people with diabetes in NSW. Our mission is to serve the best interests of all people affected by diabetes; to identify the undiagnosed and to drive research into finding a cure.
Our core business is the management, detection and prevention of diabetes. Diabetes is Australia’s fastest growing chronic disease. 1.8 million Australians have diabetes, half remain undiagnosed. One person is diagnosed every 7 minutes!
Diabetes Australia-NSW has over 53,000 members & targets the following 4 key areas of focus: Awareness, Research, Education & Advocacy programs. http://www.diabetesnsw.com.au/
