I may be injured, but I am lighter than I have ever been. In just 6 months, I have lost over 10% of my bodyweight and am going to be hauling a lot less mass around the desert. At least one thing is going right for me.

Well, I say that, I am still 1.5kgs over my 78kg target, but that was always a little optimistic. What I guess is quite impressive is that I am almost exactly 15kgs (33lbs) lighter than this day last year before I headed off to the North Pole when I weighed in at a chunky 94kgs (207lbs).

What is all the fuss about?

I must admit, gaining and losing massive amounts of weight in short spaces of time for the 'Fire' and 'Ice' elements of the challenge has really made me question how on earth we can live in a society with a £220 billion weight loss industry (Metro 30/1/2014 - the paper with the real news... who coincidentally chose not to publish a story on this part of the challenge!). I will be really straight - it is really not hard to either gain or lose weight.

Admittedly, it is much easier (and more fun) to gain weight, but it certainly isn't hard to lose weight... it can just take a little longer to do (whilst staying healthy). I have learned a huge amount about nutrition (and how poor my own diet is), but more than anything, gained the experience of making quite radical changes to my body. There is a simple calculation at play here if you want to lose weight. Use more calories than you consume. That is it. nothing else.

It is will power and determination that enable some people to do this and others to fail woefully. Obesity is such a huge issue and whilst I am hugely supportive of people trying to lose weight, I can't honestly say that it is particularly difficult. Like anything in life, it just requires you to tackle the issue head on and deliver.