A BRITISH expat has launched a campaign to raise £1 million for charity by losing 30lbs (13kg) in three months.
Mark Elliot, 43, from Akrotiri, left his job as an oil and gas executive last week to fulfil his “Big Fat Ambition” to lose weight and raise money for two charities, Help for Heroes and the Wounded Warrior Project.
“I handed in my notice last Wednesday, and by the weekend we had the site up and running. It received 445 visitors yesterday from people as far away as America.”
Campaigning in the UK and the US simultaneously, the website has received just under £270 and $1,000 in donations so far. However if he is to raise £1 million, he will need to enlist some bigger donors – and his sights are set on the big oil and gas companies.
“Oil companies have received a lot of bad press recently, and I want to show that there are good people in the industry. There are already a couple of companies interested in donating.”
Asked what inspired the project, he described a range of influences including his parents and armed forces organisations.
“After 20 years as an oil and gas executive I wanted a career break, and of course I want to lose weight – I have until May to do it.”
For Elliot, this is also about doing something positive and inspiring in a time of recession “All the greed and expansion over the last few years caused a recession, and now it’s all doom and gloom. It is time to hear some good stuff.”
He has enlisted the help of top PR experts, web designers and the all-important personal trainer, Bonnie Toward. “So many people have volunteered to help and given freely without question.”
The task ahead of him is certainly a big one. At 217 lbs, (98kg) Elliot has 35 per cent body fat and, according to his Nintendo’s Wii, the fitness of a 66-year-old.
Asked about his planned fitness regime, Toward said, “He is very unfit and overweight, so we can’t start a rigorous schedule yet. Our main focus now is getting body fat down to 20 per cent.”
Is this challenge possible? “Yes it is definitely do-able. It really helps that he is 100 per cent committed and is putting his whole life into it. That is half the battle. The important thing is to do this safely.”
Elliot will begin with a detox and some dietary changes. “We are cutting down on fat, and giving him around 15 per cent protein and 65 per cent carbohydrates. Once we have improved muscle tone, we can begin to do more rigorous activities.” Toward said.
Asked which was the greater task, raising the money or losing the weight, Elliot said “Which goal am I going to achieve? I hope both!”
- You can follow Mark’s progress on his website http://www.bigfatambition.com/
