Why bother?

These pics, boys and girls, are a reminder of what can happen to anyone who enjoys their food and drink just a little bit too much.

Truth be told, I've always had a tendency to put on weight, even as a kid. That, combined with the fact that I've made my living for the past few years from writing about wine, food – often wine and food together – and the good things in life (and when I'm not researching things to write about, I'm sat on my arse in front of a computer screen), has taken its toll on what used to be my figure.

I've decided that this is the year I'm going to put it all right. This is not a daft New Year's resolution, though, even if I am starting this blog on the 1st of January 2008, just the inevitable consequence of the realisation that I'll have even further to go if I start the process in six months' time.

Why bother? Part of it comes down to health reasons – my dad had his first heart attack when he was in his late 40s and my mother is a type II diabetic (she's also pretty big herself). Most of it, however, is about vanity. I'm sick of not being able to go into a shop and try something on that fits and I'm on the verge of outgrowing my 'fat clothes'. If I carry on at this rate, the only thing that will fit will be patterned marquees.

I'm no stranger to diets, but like most foodies I have little patience with most diet plans. Many of them seem to be devised for people who don't really like food (which begs the question: how do the people who come up with these diets think we got this way in the first place?) Other trendy diets seem unhealthy (hands up anyone who thinks eating fats and animal proteins but no fresh fruit for several months at a time is a good idea – especially given that one of the known side-effects is death breath). And I don't really go a whole bundle on the humiliation of weekly public weigh-ins and standing up in front of a group to share my struggles ('My name's Natasha and I'm a greedy pig').

Nope. I've decided to try and come up with recipes for dishes I might actually enjoy but will still help shave the inches off and, although I'm loath to go down this route, regular exercise is inevitable (if you don't tone up as you lose weight, bits of you go all saggy – never a good look). Along the way, though, I'm going to have to battle all kinds of temptation – my job means that I spend a lot of my time in restaurants or visiting wine producers (I can feel the sympathy vibes from here), and when I'm not working there's nothing I enjoy more than cooking for my partner, Mark (who, bless him, enjoys food just as much as I do), or inviting my friends round for a slap-up Sunday lunch (one thing I learned from my mother at a very young age – that food equals love – something I'm clearly going to have to unlearn pretty darn fast).

I'm hoping that this blog will help anyone out there who's got a few kilos of their own to shift. After all, if I can do it, I reckon anyone can.

And the reason for the humiliating pictures? On the first of each month, I'll publish photos of me wearing the same three outfits so that you can see the results of my diet for yourself (sometimes words just aren't enough...)