I’ve had a lot of hits here over the past couple of days. We’re all alive with resolutions and intentions. One of mine is to post more here and to have a proper record of my journey – I’ve not written at all for almost a year.

When I come across abandoned slimming blogs, I always assume that the person’s given up or given in and abandoned the blog at the same time they abandoned the diet. That’s not the case at all with me; I’ve just been lax with updates here.

So…

In 2013, I lost the most weight I ever have. I’m two and a half stone lighter than I was this time last year, even after the excesses of Christmas. I can finally buy trousers from M&S instead of Evans, I have more energy than I can remember and I feel good about myself. Mostly.

I could have done far better. Life gets in the way sometimes, and it doesn’t take much to throw me off course.

I still have a very long way to go.

If you’re reading this and wondering whether Slimming World’s for you, do give it a try. It depends on clean, basic food and a bit of forward planning. But it’s worth the effort. I can create something pretty lovely in less time than it used to take to have a pizza delivered.

It depends on following it properly, though. There’s a kind of mysterious alchemy to Slimming World that works perfectly when all the components are there. Not so well when I do it half-heartedly.

And go to a class. I haven’t done that enough at all this year. Go to a few if the first doesn’t seem right for you. Find one where you fit and you’ll have the best support, friendship and a very gentle kick up the bum on the weeks where that’s what you need most of all.

For so many of us, this is a very long journey. It’s always good to have company.