It's the end of week one of the 100 Day Challenge and David Skinner, The Royal Gazette's chief photographer is physically feeling the pain, but as the days pass by he's getting more and more determined. Here's his report.Since starting the 100 Day Challenge, it seems a lot longer, but I have come to the end of week one (insert dramatic music here.) I sit nursing my wounds, rubbing my muscles as if replaying a scene from the movie Gladiator I do understand how you would get my physique mixed up with the likes of Russell Crow.More importantly, I'm contemplating what I've learned in the past seven days. I've discovered that it isn't easy or cheap to get into shape. It also takes a lot of commitment to do it and a certain amount of encouragement from family and friends to keep it up.The biggest eye opener was a trip to Lindo's on Friday evening, where Jenille Smith, one of our designated trainers, took us on a label-reading exercise. I swear that you need some sort of Phd to understand this stuff.After a quick ‘what to look for in a label' we walked around the aisles to examine the reverse side of various food product containers. While we were doing this, I spotted some of my old mates at the deli section ham, salami and proscuitto. ‘Hey whaaaat's uuuuup guys? How's it hanging?'Around the corner were whom I fondly call ‘the green gorillas' Heinekens! In all their glory, neatly lined up, standing to attention as if they were about to march onto the parade ground. ‘Yes, mate! Good to see ya, me old friends' almost giving them a salute we go back a long way. Then, something happened; (insert more dramatic music here) I didn't stop I walked right past! I did, however, look over my shoulder with a tear in my eye, like a mother seeing her child off to school for the first time, and knowing that there was a long list of ‘friends' I would not be seeing for a while.When it comes to reading the food labels, they do tell you what you should stay away from and what you're allowed to eat in moderation. Yup. The big word of the week is ‘moderation'.Well, the bad news is, the odds are stacked against us. From what I've been able to figure out so far, if you like it, it's probably bad for you. I think we all knew that, we just didn't want to believe it or as fitness expert the great Jack LaLanne (who passed way last week at the age of 96) once said: “If it tastes good, spit it out!”The other one that got me was the serving size. I picked up a packet of Fig Newtons and looked at the label it looked good; calories check, fat good, protein OK, carbs wonderful, sugars sweet! So far I have a winner in my hands. Serving size TWO! What? Who on Earth eats two Fig Newtons? How can you just eat two cookies the size of a postage stamp and walk away happy? I eat these things by the packet. Well, the upside is that one packet should last 12 to 14 months. Sort of like that fruit cake you got at Christmas.So right now I'm experimenting cooking some of those healthier foods with spices and herbs, and the small amount of permitted marinades. Teaching my body that broccoli and cauliflower does not grow with cheddar cheese sauce. That eating string beans does not need a good lashing of butter to make them taste good, and that eating egg whites in the morning is as good as two eggs over easy with a side order of hash browns, bacon and sausage and toast; well, not really, but it's not that bad. There are a few lost causes, of course. Brussels sprouts it ain't gonna work no matter what ya do, dem things are just nasty! So, before I start getting e-mails with the subject line: ‘Great Brussels sprouts recipes', forget it! Don't bother! My e-mail filter dumps all e-mails in the trash with that ‘B' word in it, along with those e-mails from Nigeria saying that I've been lucky enough to have been selected as a business partner.I would like to take a minute to talk about commitment. I can, of course, only talk about what I've seen from my team, Team Sea View. Bright and early one morning at the gym now, I'm talking about army early, 6am early we went for a run up and down Dock Hill, not once, not twice, but six times in the pouring rain. I saw commitment that morning, I saw pain and tears in the eyes of some of my comrades, I heard the grunts, the groans and gasping for breath and perhaps a little cursing (that could have been me, actually), but no one quit. No one gave up, till they had climbed that big hill, and it had been conquered six times. If we'd had a flag, I'm sure we could have re-taken the picture of the US soldiers raising their flag on the top of Iwo Jima in WW2. That gives you some idea of the mindset of this year's contestants.So, if you know any of this year's contestants, or see them training, or scratching their head in the food aisle holding a packet of Fig Newtons, give them a high five and a few words of encouragement, because these people are giving it all they've got, and those words of encouragement will go a long way.n If you want to support the contestants send a message to news[AT]royalgazette.bm - we'll compile them and post them on our website.