I’m fine this week, but I’m missing the family. It’s tough being away from your wife and kids and then having an injury on top of it, which makes it a bit more of a mental battle. Phil and I had a bad week on the scales after putting in a big effort, which is a bit tough to deal with. But this week Anthony Mundine and Lincoln Hall were here as special guests, which helped us get past what we were going through.

The week started out hard and on top of that I miss my family, but I know I’m here for all the right reasons. When you meet people like Anthony Mundine and Lincoln Hall who survived Everest, you look at your injuries and you know there’s no excuse not to train. 

It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster this week. What I find really hard is missing kids' birthdays and concerts, but hopefully at the end of this week I’ve hit the 40kg barrier and that will make it all worthwhile. I’ve just got to lose 3.6kg and I’ve cracked 40kg. So I’m trying not to dwell too much on the negatives and focus on being so close to achieving a pretty big milestone.

I’m looking forward to the weigh-in. I’m used to fitting in to 7XL t-shirts. We’ve been here five weeks and now I’m down to 3XL t-shirts. I love the Rabbitohs and I love my Rabbitohs gear, but I haven’t been able to wear it. It’s a pretty big thing for me to be able to fit into a Rabbitohs t-shirt and wear my team’s colours with pride.

To be honest, a 3XL is almost too big!

We went to the beach yesterday which was pretty cool. I haven’t taken my shirt off at the beach for 23 years, but I took it off and went in the water. I live on the Gold Coast, so having kids and not going to the beach is a pretty big thing. For the first time in so long there was no hesitation to take my shirt off, I loved it. I can’t wait to get home and take the kids to the beach and swim with them. So it’s pretty special.

It was a hard week to start off with but it’s ended really well. At weigh-in, 3.6kg is all I’m looking for. I would love more, but it would be great if I reach that.

I know I’m doing the right thing. It’s all about the power of positive thoughts, and I know I’ll walk out of here having achieved so much. I’ve got this far and I’m pretty happy with where I’m going.

At the end of the day, you make weight loss as hard as you want it to be. It really is Calories in and Calories out. It’s about committing to it and giving it time and treating it with a bit of respect. It’s so easy to come up with excuses, to say ‘I’m too busy, I’ve got this injury etc’, but that’s rubbish. It’s just an excuse. That’s what I’ve learnt the most, I was one for excuses. At the end of the day, you have to do it, but once you stop making the excuses and get out there, it really is that easy!

I’ve learnt that the most in here - don’t have the rubbish in the house, don’t go to the drive-through, when you’re out at a restaurant make healthy choices and exercise. It’s not that hard. We make it hard, we create these diets - the diet industry is the biggest con known to man. What I’ve learnt in here is that it’s up to you; Calories in and Calories out. You control what goes into your mouth. You’ve only got yourself to blame.

I had a moment in the kitchen when I wanted to go for it, but I didn’t. When people have those moments it’s about taking a step back. You can knock back a thousand Calories but it’s going to take about an hour and a half to work it off, it’s just not worth it.

You look at a big packet of 200g chips, it’s over a thousand calories! Is that worth an hour and a half on a treadmill or cross trainer? No! Once you get that into your head and you know what it takes to burn it off, you don’t eat it.

This is the lightest I’ve been in 17 or 18 years. Now I’m starting to get to the weight I was as a teenager. I just love the fact that I can wear these shirts…I can’t put a price on it.

When you’re passionate about a team and want to wear your team’s colours but can’t because they don’t make the clothes big enough, you still buy them thinking you’ll fit into them one day. Well, today’s that day!

I love my wife and kids and I miss them heaps, but we’re together as a team and I know my wife would be doing it hard at home. I also know that we’ll get there.

Dave