SQUASH - 44kg lighter and keen to live beyond 50

Bondi Cotton won't be surprised if his children don't recognise him this Christmas.
Cotton has astounded his younger children by shedding 45 kilos from his frame over the last six months but his three older kids have yet to see the transformation.
"They all live in Melbourne and none of them have seen me since I lost all this weight so they're in for a big shock when they come home for Christmas.
"They'll be looking for me and I'll be right in front of them - but they won't recognise me," he laughs.
So what's Cotton's secret to losing weight?
Weightwatchers, the Atkins diet?
No, it's really a lot more simple than that - the Whangarei man has developed a love of playing squash.
He's moved from a very occasional player to something approaching fanaticism and it has paid off - his weight is down to 98kg, from a high of 142kg.
"I've been doing a bit of running as well and I've been trying my best to eat well, but mainly it's been the squash. I've sweated off a lot of kilos on the squash court," he said.
"The best way to lose weight is to do something you enjoy, something that motivates you ... jogging by itself wouldn't have worked for me, it's harder to get out of bed for a jog than it is for a game of squash.
"But for squash ... I'd beg, steal or borrow to get out on the court almost," he said.
It wasn't a conscious decision to become a squash junkie, rather it happened over time after the 40-year-old decided to try to lose weight.
"My GP said if you want to live past 50 you need to lose weight," he said.
Cotton's sleep apnoea, a breathing disorder, was worsening with his increasing weight - and then he found squash.
"I played at least an hour every day - sometimes a game in the morning and one in the evening ... and particularly since I joined the Whangarei Squash Club there have been plenty of people to play. People were queuing up to `hammer' the new kid on the block," he said.
"Here was me thinking I was the `bee's knees' of squash and then you play somone with a different style of game and you get cleaned up."
The competition helped him get enthused about the sport and improve rapidly.
"Of course, playing someone who is better than you, you tend to learn a lot more and you get better quickly."
He cut down the fizzy drinks, takeaway food and the processed foods to an acceptable level and was happy to see the weight dropping off.
"I usually get people saying `oh my gosh, where's the rest of you?`
"To be honest, I've never felt this energetic, fit or healthy in my entire life," he said.
And he won't be going backwards. He is mindful of how he was just months ago.
"I see myself as I was and it motivates me to stay on this track, because it wasn't a good space to be in," he said.
He hopes his story can help others who need to discover their own secret sporting passion and he warns against counting the cost of well-being.
"While jogging's the cheapest option, after all you only need a pair of good shoes, I don't see my squash fees as a waste of money at all.
"It's an investment in my health," Cotton said.