After a good start to my new year's diet I'm finding myself going down the slippery slope again. Although I'm not due to weigh myself again until tomorrow morning I have a fair idea that I'm likely to be back where I started at the beginning of the month.

I haven't had any major problems, like a chocolate binge, but I'm just not stringing together enough good days to keep my weight going down.

What I'm finding is that in any given week one bad day can easily undo the other six good days, and I'm having enough trouble managing six good days.

This week has been spoilt by a buffet at work which my boss insisted I ate and a meal out on Friday with huge portions. It's the portion control I really struggle with - I just cannot leave anything on the plate going to waste.

This is OK at home where I can cook less, but when going out I am at the mercy of the restaurant. By the way, the pub/restaurant concerned, The Old Spot in Arnold, Nottingham, is highly recommended, although not perhaps for dieters unless they have a lot more willpower than me!

The staff there were all extremely friendly, helpful and professional. The restaurant was spotlessly clean and big enough to spread out a bit and the food was not only excellent tasting but incredible value (we had some vouchers from the internet). It's the first time we've been there but it won't be the last.

Anyway, back to the weight loss (or lack of it). It looks like I'm going to have to start again tomorrow. Maybe it's time for something drastic to really get things going.

Whilst sensible weight loss of a couple of pounds a week is the best way to go, if you have a bad week it's too easy to undo all of the good work. I need to crash through the 90kg barrier to give myself some impetus to get down to the 75kg I really should be.

It's exercise that's really let me down. I'm finding it so hard to motivate myself to do any sort of exercise which I need to burn off the calories. I'm going on Ebay now to look for some cheap exercise equipment.

First of all a happy new year to everyone. Hope 2010 will prove to be a great year for you all.

I've just been looking back at the start of my weight loss quest and seen that on the 1st August I weighed 95kg. I've started my new diet this morning and weighed in at 97.7kg. So my last effort yielded a 2.7kg gain. Doh.

Again I'm not going to follow a set diet, just try to eat sensibly, drink more water, less coffee, less stress, more exercise. I'm writing everything down on a weekly diet sheet (pictured right).

This is stuck to the front of my fridge and should help me keep track of everything I'm doing in order to reduce my weight.

I'm using it as a tracker, but you could also use it as a plan, writing down everything you are going to eat in advance, planning all of your meals and daily exercise, and crossing/ticking them off as you finish them.

I've set myself a goal of getting under 90kg by the end of March. That's a loss of around 8kg (17lbs?) in 12-13 weeks. Not much more than a pound per week, which should be achievable if only I could stick to it!

There are no birthdays or celebrations in the early part of the year so I have no parties to go to. The biggest problem is going to be work where I tend to overeat, mainly due to stress. I'm going to take a packed lunch and try to avoid the chocolate, crisps and biscuits which seem to be a staple feature of the kitchen.

Hopefully my wife will be more helpful this time. At the mention of diets she normally rolls her eyes and tuts (I think she knows how little willpower I have). She's going to have to stop buying crisps etc. in the weekly shop - I can't resist them if they are in the house.

If anyone else has set themselves a new years resolution of losing weight I wish you all the best and hope it goes well.

However bad 2009 has been for you, and it's been a bad year for many, 2010 is a fresh start. Think positive, try to make things better by your own actions. Don't wait for a miracle (I've just checked our lottery account online and we weren't the £10m winners!). You are in charge of your own destiny - improve your future!

New years resolutions are a good way to start, although how many people actually stick to them? That could be because they are often a bit airy-fairy. For instance, many people will be promising themselves they will "lose some weight". It's much better to say that you will lose 5kg by 31st March 2010. You have set yourself a measurable goal and have something definite to aim for.

Once you've set your goal make a plan to get there. Between now and the end of March there are 13 weeks so make a chart to plot your progress. Work out what you will eat for the next 13 weeks and when and what sort of exercise you will be taking. Write it all down and cross it off once you've done it.

Weight loss will definitely be one of my New Year resolutions. I also need to make some more money. This one is a bit harder to achieve. I am looking at improving a number of websites I own and getting them to produce a small monthly income if possible. I'm going to set myself a target of £50 per month by the end of March.

Once that target is reached I can then press on with getting to £100, £200 etc as the year progresses. It's going to be hard work and not as easy as it might sound to many who think the internet is a gold mine!

I've also been trying to tie up a lot of loose ends before the year ends. I've moved most of our accounts away from the godawful Lloyds TSB, just one more to go. I'm in the process of closing my poker account. I just don't get any time to play, and any spare time should be used making money. Although, saying that, I was in profit on my account but it just takes up too much time.

As I haven't played on my bingo account for ages I was also looking at closing that. I've used their money so far so I couldn't withdraw. I thought I would play it all and get rid of it. But I got a line and full house double win on my second game so ended up increasing my balance.

So I've decided to keep my account and use it as a distraction when I get a few minutes downtime. The bingo games only last a couple of minutes so I don't need a huge time investment.

Whatever you are up to tonight to celebrate the New Year have fun and stay safe. Don't drink and drive! All the best for a happy and prosperous New Year to all.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was very busy and I'm looking forward to a few days off now to relax (as much as you can with a 15 month old in the house!).

Nearly at the end of the year, in fact the end of the decade. It's a good time to look back on what's happened and take stock of the past, present and future.

2009 has ended well. My competition wins in December (three arriving in Christmas week) cheered me up no end. Although I have had a few problems this year, particularly with work, I am at least in work and nothing disastrous has happened this year in terms of death or illness.

We are a bit poorer financially than this time last year, a trend which looks like continuing for the forseeable future (lottery win permitting), but things could be a lot worse and there are plenty of people worse off than ourselves around the world.

I'm already looking forward to 2010. I've been hammering the competition entries over the last few days and am extremely confident that prizes will be showing up in January. I've already set up my 2010 competition wins page in anticipation.

I desperately need to lose weight and something drastic may need to be done on this front. My gym membership has had to be cancelled and I haven't had chance to try out my new running shoes with all of the snow and ice underfoot.

Need to do something with this website too. The money making DVD is still available as is the free money making ebook but neither have been making me any significant money so I'm looking at changing track. Not quite sure where to go at the moment but I have some time now to give it some thought and come up with some ideas.

Happy New Year to everyone. Hope 2010 brings you everything you wish for.

It was around this time I anticipated posting my first excellent news about how much weight I had lost. However.....

Things have not gone to plan and I haven't lost any weight at all so far. Only good thing is I haven't put any on either. I've bounced around within a few lbs like a yo-yo.

In Wii Fit terms I have been bouncing between the top of overweight and the bottom of obese. Whenever I hit OBESE it gives me an extra push to exercise a little more just to get back to overweight.

I could go into a number of reasons for my lack of weight loss, however I'm old enough and wise enough to realise that I would just be making excuses. I just cannot seem to get motivated enough.

In an effort to motivate myself I'm going to set myself a goal of losing three stone by the end of the year. I might even consider getting sponsored to do so to give me a little extra push.

It is ambitious, but I would rather set a hard goal than make it too easy and try to do it all at the last minute. Three stones in four months means I have to start now and start working hard straight away.

I'm going shopping later and I will take a look at the diet pills and products whilst avoiding the cake and biscuit aisles.

Just been notified that you can get a further 10% discount on your health products during August 2009 by using a checkout code with Health Express. Full details are on my health page.

If I receive any other discounts or freebies I will let you know via the relevant pages on the website.

Health Express specialise in treating impotence, obesity, smoking, hair loss and the flu. The medication on offer includes Viagra, Cialis, Reductil, Xenical, Propecia and Tamiflu amongst others.

They offer free online consultations before doctors diagnose and prescribe relevant medication.

I haven't used them myself so I cannot vouch for their services, however they have been around for a long while (since 2002) and they do have plenty of positive testimonials on their website.

If you have any feedback (positive or negative) on Health Express please let me know.

I've added a health page to the website. After all, health is about the most important aspect of improving and enjoying your future.

I've been very lucky with my health over the years and have had little contact with doctors or hospitals, save for a couple of football injuries (which led to my retirement from the game).

One of the reasons for this is that I try to keep fit and healthy and prevent problems from occurring. Recently I have had real problems with my diet and being overweight but I still visit the gym as often as I can and my last health check showed that my actual fitness level was pretty good.

I have never smoked, and, for the last 10 years or so have moderated my drinking considerably (I used to be a binge drinker in my youth). I'm always looking into new pills and potions to keep me healthy.

For those of you who have health problems, or those that don't wish to get any in the future, please visit my health section where you will find links to a number of sites dealing with some of the problems many of us face as we approach middle/old age.

I have tried the hypnotherapy myself, and I also once took half a tab of Kamagra (generic Viagra) just to see what would happen. It most definitely worked!

I can't comment on the hair loss treatments as I've not started thinning on top too much (not yet anyway) although I may recommend them to my Dad.