I found over the years that just as it starts getting warmer, and one should be exercising more, that invariably I’ve done more damage to my weight. For some reason I managed to stabilise my weight in the coldest months, and as it starts warming up again, that is when I put on a few extra kilograms.

My biggest weight loss month over the years has always been January, and that is probably true of most people, probably followed closely by December and February. The key for me now is to increase the exercise now, even though we don’t have longer days, which makes it harder for walks, rides and runs and to watch very carefully what I eat.

There are no easy ways to lose weight and while diets do help, the simple truth that many people want to ignore is that it is really a combination of exercise, and I would certainly include walking as exercise, and eating much, much less. Most people eat way more than they need to and while some things are easy to give up, like the soft drinks and sugar, and those do make an immediate difference, the truth of the matter is that we are almost all accustomed to overeating and it takes a lot of effort and it is extremely difficult to cut down one’s eating and to turn away from the carbohydrates towards the proteins.