So here I am, 12 weeks after starting my boxing fitness and healthy eating regime and, in a week when GSCEs were revealed, it’s time to do a self-assessment of how I have fared.

When I began, the plan was simply to improve my fitness levels and shift some serious weight, and I set myself a target loss of two stones in the three months.

To help me achieve my goal, I made a pledge to eat more healthily in general and even vowed to give up beer, for a while anyway!

And, without further ado, here are my results.

Hitting weight-loss target of three stone: B+

As you will see below, I have come up a little shy of what I wanted, but I figure dropping a stone and some change is no small accomplishment. Plus, what I haven’t lost in pounds I definitely have in inches, and I can now fit into a lot of clothes that haven’t seen the light of day for years.

Improve fitness levels: B

It will be hard to tell for sure until I play a full 90-minute football match but, in terms of making it through one of BoxLondon’s exacting sessions, I’ve got much more petrol in the tank than week one!

Healthy eating plan (including temporary beer hiatus): A

You might think I’m being fairly generous here when clearly starving myself a touch more might have seen me lose the extra weight but I’m not sure you can fully appreciate how hard abstaining from beer for three months is for an Australian. Also, I’ve swapped Kettle crisps for celery. Enough said.

Development of boxing technique: B-

Let’s not get carried away here. I’m not seriously considering launching a bid for London 2012 and Laila Ali has nothing to worry about just yet but, in the words of BoxLondon instructors Scot Dearling and Naomi Ryan, I’ve improved quite a lot from day one when, to be fair, I was rubbish! I still drop my guard every now and then and get the occasional clout around the ear but my sparring and blocking has come on leaps and bounds.

There you have it, folks. I’ve enjoyed the sessions immensely and can’t recommend them highly enough to someone who wants to be fitter and trimmer (sounds like a service you’d see advertised on Gumtree).

There’s also the added benefit of making a lot of new mates, with BoxLondon offering a very friendly atmosphere for boxers of any standard.

I think, most importantly, I’ve released just how poor my diet was before, so the changes I’ve made will now stay in place permanently.

The two stones may take a little while longer to lose but I’m confident I’ll get there and probably even beyond – and, for that guys, I thank you.

Weight loss so far: 1 stone, three pounds