and I won't lie by saying I've been super-healthy and that weight is dropping off. I haven't and it isn't.

My excuse is that it was my birthday last week and I was wined and dined on several days. You see, there is a reason that the banner at the top of this website is a sumptuous meal rather than a more obvious picture depicting exercise. My downfall is food and drink, particularly wine. That, combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle is the (obvious) reason for the explosion in my weight over the past few years.

That's it, though. I don't really have any excuses left. I want to get into better condition.

Eating healthily isn't an issue - sure, I need to change my diet a little if I'm to become fitter, but not as much as people think. Booze is my downfall when it comes to health. I am going to attempt to drink a lot less alcohol, certainly during on week nights and eventually I'll go without booze for several weeks in an attempt to turn the tide of too many years' good living.

I have no intention of becoming completely tee-total, however - hell, I'm even starting a website dedicated to wine - so I won't pretend to enjoy not drinking.

The good news is that I have done a fair bit of walking over the past couple of weeks and some of it at a relatively fast pace. I've decided that I should try some of those weird-looking MBT shoes

particularly as I do tend to suffer from a painful achiles heel. So I'm off to buy a pair this afternoon - straight after joining a gym!