Blaise Tapp: I might need to invest in a better belt or even a pair of braces

As I write, I am inching towards a three stone loss in just under six months which, on the face of it, sounds pretty impressive until you consider that last autumn I was a stone above Tyson Fury’s preferred fighting weight and he’s a good eight inches taller than me. A heavyweight legend I ain’t.

Although I have to guard against falling back into bad habits, I am pretty confident that this time I can keep most of it off, as previous attempts have seen me shed the flab before succumbing to the lure of drive-thrus and warm sausage rolls. While losing nearly a sixth of one’s body weight is a cause for celebration it also brings with it a number of challenges, including building up a new wardrobe.

While sartorial matters have never really been very high up my list of priorities, I do look like I'm wearing somebody’s else’s togs everytime I step foot outside the house. Until recently, XXL wasn’t just the name of a banned type of dog but the size of most of my jumpers and t-shirts. Whenever I bend down now, I have to keep one hand firmly on my over-tightened belt in case I share too much with the rest of the world.

To replace all my clobber at once would probably require a green light from the bank manager so it will be a gradual process - probably months of rummaging through racks of reduced garments. But my main challenge is one which would trouble Trinny and Susannah - what to wear?

As somebody who is fast approaching his half century, I have a choice to make; do I embrace my new shape and buy clothes that one might wear on the dancefloors of Ibiza or do I add to my collection of comfy jerseys - in a smaller size of course? My eldest has already passed judgement on the handful of tight fitting t-shirts I own by declaring that I’m ‘dressing like a teenager’.

Perhaps she’s right - do I really want to dress like one of those cool dads, with the turned up jeans and pristine trainers? Smart? Yes. Trendy to the point of trying too hard? Probably not. While I’m not ready to don brown polyester trousers and a beige pullover, there comes a time when you do have to start acting - as well as dressing - your age.

In the meantime I might need to invest in a better belt or maybe even a pair of braces.