Tis the season to get healthy...

Ah, the first Monday of January. The day people grudgingly traipse back to work or school, and return to whatever passes for normal in their everyday lives. And, of course, thoughts turn to health, fitness and dealing with the inevitable festive weight gains.

This time of year used to really get me down. The bombardment of ads in magazines, newspapers and on TV nagging away about *my* increasing girth (I always took this sort of thing personally), offering a seemingly endless array of possible solutions to give me the body I always dreamed of. And how would I react in the face of such bombardment? I'd head straight for the fridge and make my problem even worse.

It's different these days. Since I made my choice from the array in April 2007 and joined Slimming World, I know I have all the tools I need to get healthy and lose weight. I know because in my first 32 weeks with SW I lost 100lb. During 2008 I slipped back into some bad old habits, and my weight losses slowed down, then I began a cycle of gaining and losing the same couple of stones. This is entirely my fault. It proves that you can have the best information and resources and support to hand but if you're not switched on mentally, it is not going to happen.

Yesterday I made an effort to flip that switch, to get back into the right frame of mind and to remind myself how easy and enjoyable Food Optimising is. Especially now, with the launch of Extra Easy - flipping that switch has never been easier.

So, I feel confident to make a few resolutions... and here they are:

To keep that mental switch firmly held down

That means remembering the benefits of making the right choices. To ask myself at least three times if I really want whatever I'm contemplating eating. To remember that if I am hungry, when doing the plan properly there is always something available to eat.

To "enjoy responsibly"

I have been drinking far too much alcohol recently, and as much fun as it seems at the time, it never feels that great the next day... especially on those mornings when I couldn't recall what happened the night before. It is possible to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine on an evening without it developing into a couple of bottles, I'm sure.

To stop worrying so much

If I've asked myself three times if I want that bar of chocolate or glass of wine, then I'm to enjoy it, and not to feel guilty about it. This isn't a short-term, faddy, crash diet. This is a plan for life, and so the occasional indulgence is perfectly fine. Occasional being the operative word there.

To keep counting!

One of my major stumbling points during 2008 was having 'off days', where I would allow myself to eat whatever I wanted, without counting syns. This year I'm going to do my damndest to keep count, as best I can, even in a few weeks when I'm at a party in London with the girls from Luigi's. But that's when I'll use flexible syns.

To go to group every week, without fail

Every week. Even if I've screwed up, gained weight, and feel like a big old repugnant sack o'shite, I will go to group every week, and I'll stay for IMAGE Therapy, because the support of Slimming World is as valuable as the plan itself.

So there we are, I'm all fired up and ready to go for another year. How about you?