Anna Jones Buttimore

Over the last couple of weeks I mentioned that I was undertaking a sponsored slim for charity. Looking at my "before" photo I'm sure you can see why - I was "obese" according to our Wii Fit on 1st January. The charities I am supporting are described in my last two posts (scroll down) and so now it's time for me to tell you how to sponsor me. Please pledge a certain amount per kilogramme of weight I lose between 1st January (when I weighed 92kg) and 1st July. I am aiming to lose a total of 20kg but no more, so if you sponsor me £1 or $1 per kilogramme, the most you will owe me is £20 or $20, and quite possibly less if I don't do well. I know the temptation is always there to say "£5 the lot", but that really doesn't help me. It means whether I lose 1kg or the full 20, I am guaranteed that money for the charities, so that gives me no incentive. I'd far rather, if you planned to part with £5, that you said "25p per kilogramme" a...

I know this blog has nothing to do with my books, or any books, or writing in general. Sorry! I am using my blog to support my weight-loss efforts. Normal service will be resumed once I am thin. Last week I blogged about one of the charities I am raising money for, Godmothers, which is hoping to build six properly plumbed toilets at the Kampong Cham centre in Cambodia where 63 children rescured from sexual slavery in Phnom Phen live in safety. This week it's the turn of my other charity, something a little closer to home. We may like to think that we don't have grinding poverty in this country, but there are still many who, if they do have a roof over their heads, may not be able to afford to heat it, or feed and clothe themselves. In Southend, my nearest large town, is an estate which houses many such people, battling with every social issue from mental illness to addiction to abandonment and just plain old poverty. Southend Vineyard is an Evanglical Christian Church which do...

Last week I mentioned that I was losing weight in order to raise money for charity. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I have lost the first kilogramme, so all those who sponsored me £1 per kilogramme already owe me £1! Overall I hope to lost 20kg by 1st July and raise lots of money for my two chosen charities. I promised that this week I would let you know how to sponsor me. Well, you'll have to wait another week or two, because first I want to tell you about one of the charities I am raising the money for. Godmothers is run by a dear friend of mine, and supports the child victims of the sex-slave trade in Cambodia. Some years ago, my old school friend, Ruth, was touched by the story of a young girl who had been rescued from truly horrible and distressing circumstances by Somaly Mam, and was now being cared for and rehabilitated in a specialist centre. Unlike most people, Ruth didn't just flip the page and read the next news story - she contacted Somaly Mam and asked what...

Yeah, right. I know what you're thinking - every year I decide to diet, and yet every year I end up telling myself that I'm not fat, just short for my weight, or that the gravity on this planet is too strong, or that it doesn't matter as long as I am healthy and happy. The problem is that it does matter, and I'm not healthy, or happy (at least not with my weight), and so I'm going public with my dieting. I need all the help I can get, and shame helps. Here goes on the first weigh in... As of 1st January 2011 I weighed 92 kilogrammes. (I'm doing this in kilogrammes to remove at least some of the shame - all my British friends will be asking "What's that in stones?" and all my American friends will be asking "What's that in pounds?" Look it up, people. I'm not prepared to tell you.) I'm giving up cakes and chocolate (until Easter) and doing lots of exercise every day. I'm doing well already - the Wii Fit tells me that altho...