Half way through his 100 Day Challenge, The Royal Gazette's weekly columnist David Paynter finds it is getting easier and easier to motivate himself.

When a friend, who was the same age as himself, died last year due to weight-related problems, David decided he needed to do something about his own weight. For him, sticking to the 100 Day Challenge hasn't been hard because he made his mind up after going to his friend's funeral.

So even small setbacks don't get him too down and now he even finds time to really enjoy food. "My daughter's birthday was yesterday and I had cake," he said. "I had a piece of cake and it was OK. It was not the healthy way, but I just didn't have as much as I normally would have had. It's not part of the norm anymore. It's an extra special treat. Then I had a workout today."

Although it was a treat and not something he would normally eat, by having a smaller portion he also savoured the cake more.

And that is what the whole process has been for him — smaller and smaller portion sizes followed by smaller and smaller pant sizes.

Relishing his success, David beamed when he spoke about being able to go into a regular clothing shop as opposed to a Big and Tall shop. He said: "I went to a regular store and to buy pants, it was good. Last week (I went) to pick pants and had to say 'I need a smaller size'."

With just 50 days to go, David has no plans to stop and has his daughter, wife and neighbours all helping him. Rather then sitting in front of the computer now, he is going out to play basketball or baseball and making exercise a priority.