Get ready for 28 Days of Pain....

January has become a month synonymous with fitness and this month Ocelot editor Jamie Hill will be doing this in an extreme way. Starting on Monday January 7 until Sunday February 3 he will be doing ridiculous things to his body like dieting and exercising in an attempt to take part in a 10 kilometre race for charity. You will be able to follow him for every painful step of the way through his online warts and all blog - 28 Days of Pain. But be warned as for this overweight 38 year old former couch potato there will be a hell of a lot of pain. He explains below....

You know you're overweight when.... a friend tells you that you resemble a Fat Boy Slim album cover just because you've put sunglasses on.

Right. I get it. I'm fat. That is now what I'm dismissed as by most people. That fat bloke. As if having a bit of extra weight means that I've lost any other cipher of personality and it has become the sum of all that I am. I can't be anything else in other people's minds now.

Rather than just sit here and prove all of these slightly narrow-minded people right, I've decided to take the bull by the horns and do something about it. Namely this '28 Days of Pain Challenge.

Those of you who know me from Facebook will know that this is my fourth attempt at '28 Days of Pain'. I completed the last three in January 2011, January 2012 and September 2012.

Here's the rules -

1. Run four times a week.

2. Eat no more than 1,500 calories per day.

3. Only snack on fruit. If I feel peckish I'm not allowed sweets and cakes (the devil's work!) and have to have fruit to fill the gap.

4. Have three square meals a day (this will hopefully stop the snacking).

5. And then to finish all of this off I’m going to be taking part in the Longleat 10 kilometre race that takes place on Sunday February 3. And I’m not allowed to come last. I've never run this distance before. As far as I'm concerned it could be running to the moon and back as it just seems impossible at the moment.

Let’s not forget that I’ll also be raising money for charity throughout. The charity is ICP Support formerly OC Support.

You will be able to follow me every step of the way with my daily blog starting on January 7 for the whole 28 Days. You can see this at http://www.theocelot.co.uk

The Editor’s Chosen Charity - ICP Support (Formerly OC Support)

I am raising money for ICP Support (formerly known as OC Support) as my wife has suffered from a liver condition of pregnancy called intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) which is also known as obstetric cholestasis (OC).
ICP affects around 5,000 pregnancies a year in the UK and can lead to spontaneous premature birth, fetal distress and, in severe cases, stillbirth. The only symptom a woman is likely to notice is itching which is often on hands and feet but which can be generalized. It can sometimes be so bad that she can’t sleep and can scratch herself until she bleeds.

The charity has been a Godsend helping us get through some very difficult times.

You can donate through JustGiving at http://www.justgiving.com/28daysofpain