Four years ago, after I had my second baby, a spare tyre settled comfortably around my waist and refused to budge.
Nothing I tried seemed able to puncture it.
I went to the gym three times a week, I gave up alcohol, I briefly tried the Atkins diet and went to WeightWatchers.
But the bathroom scales still told the same depressing story.
Without any expectations of success, I took myself off to the Hypnotherapy Clinic ...
...these days, I seem to want a lot less.
When I got on the scales on Boxing Day - which is probably the worst day in the year for anybody on a diet to weigh themselves - I found that I'd lost 11lb.
There's still some way to go, of course, but my BMI is back within the healthy range at 24.98.
And I feel completely confident that with the help of another session or two, I will get myself back down to the size 10/12 that I've always been in my head.
My only regret is that it took me so long to start.
