FOR quite possibly all of my adult life, I have set myself a new year s resolution to lose weight, get in shape and be healthier. And for quite possibly all of my adult life, that pledge has been broken within a couple of weeks – so pretty much by the tim

FOR quite possibly all of my adult life, I have set myself a new year's resolution to lose weight, get in shape and be healthier.

And for quite possibly all of my adult life, that pledge has been broken within a couple of weeks - so pretty much by the time you're reading this article.

Which is why, as the years have gone by, it's not just my age that has been creeping up, but my waistline as well.

But this year is going to be different, for I have called on the help of a specialist to help me fight the fat.

Yup, Rosemary Conley is my new best friend.

I have been forced into action after the latter part of 2007 saw me reach a record-breaking - and trouser-busting - weight.

There are many factors I can point an accusatory finger at, such as my keep-fit regime going to pot after I ran my second London Marathon.

And I don't suppose the cause was helped much by office traditions such as Doughnut Thursday (you can work out for yourselves what that entails!).

But the final straw was just before Christmas when I was tagged in some photos of days-gone-by on Facebook, and seeing just how different I looked two or three stone ago.

This is where Rosemary comes in, or rather Lindsey Peters, who runs the franchise in WGC, as well as in Ware and St Albans.

I signed up to her Saturday morning class at Monk's Walk School and once there, it was time to face the moment of truth and step on the scales.

Yikes, I thought, as the electronic reader settled on 15st 1/2lb.

It was the heaviest I'd ever been, and a rather worrying figure considering it was a stone-and-a-half more than on marathon day just eight-and-a-half months ago. Damn those doughnuts!

Once you've got your starting weight, you've got to decide a target, and I plan to use my marathons as benchmarks.

The first mini-goal will be to get back down to my 2007 marathon day weight of 13st 7lb.

Ultimately, though, I'd like to get down to what I weighed when I ran the 2002 race - 12st 4lb.

Can I do it? We're going to have to 'weight' and see!

So with the weigh in out of the way, what will my diet entail?

This year Rosemary has launched the Gi Hip and Thighs Diet.

I will discuss more in future articles, but in a nutshell:

Gi stands for Glycaemic Index, which ranks food according to the speed at which they are digested.

Food that has a low Gi rating keeps us feeling fuller for longer, thus reducing hunger pangs.

Add this to only eating food that has less than five per cent fat, portion control and regular exercise and voila, you have the makings of a successful weight loss programme.

To get things off with a bang, the first two weeks is an uber-strict regime brilliantly called Fat Attack Fortnight.

It is said that in this period, dieters lose an average of 7lb - the idea being a big loss at the start will help motivate you to keep going in the long term.

I suppose proof will be in the pudding - that is, if I'm allowed one!