You may even have played with reinventing your image to suit the new you. But, if you are like me, it is about now that the weight loss goal from January becomes a bit of a priority. Some actions have been taken, but the weather has been cold and there was Easter, with cakes and chocolate. No more excuses. The time has come to tackle this one, but absolutely NOT by dieting. There are much better ways.

Ask yourself some searching questions.
"Why do I want to lose weight or tone up?"
"What have I done in the past to create the reality of being the size I am?"
"What were the reasons for it?"
"What can I do to change it?"
"How much do I want to change it?"
"What difference will losing some weight make to my life?"

We all know that to lose weight we need to take in fewer calories than we use. So the overall aim is to eat a little less and do a little more. It is also a fact that even eating one biscuit a day more than you use in energy can result in a substantial weight gain. So presumably, if you eat one biscuit less each day than the energy you use it will result in a substantial weight loss. So if you can work out where the extra calories are coming from and why, you can develop ways to divert your attention so you forget to eat them!

The important aspect of this to remember is that you are NOT going to be on a diet. They rarely work long term and in his book 'I Can Make You Thin' Paul McKenna states: "Diets are no more than training courses in how to get fat and feel like a failure……..If you continue to diet, you will gain weight and keep it on for life."
All I suggest is that you carry on all the good work you have put in on achieving your goals so far, by changing a few more habits.
Do you remember the formula E + R = O?
Well, if you change your eating response to events, the outcome of your weight problem will change. In the past you may have reacted to situations by eating, or by eating the wrong food. The outcome is a body that you are not happy with. So changing your response (R) will achieve a new outcome (O). Make new habits that will support your newly prioritised goal.

By now you will be aware that you have choices about what you do because you are taking 100% responsibility for your life. Your daily decisions about whether to eat that packet of crisps when watching the television (or even whether to watch that programme at all), or have a few biscuits with your cuppa when you get home from work are having an effect on your body and your long term happiness. Every small decision like this either supports you in creating your healthy new body, or they doesn't. You choose which actions to take. You are in charge of your life.

You remember the old saying
"If you always do what you've always done
you'll always get what you've always got."
Well, that applies to eating habits too. The odd biscuit or packet of crisps, justified with the promise that you'll do better tomorrow or what harm can it do, have created the person you are now.

I know from experience that will power won't do it, so we're not going there. Instead we (and yes, I am doing it too ) will change our habits and do things differently. And there will still be no diet.

The first step is to know the reality of your situation. When do you eat those extra calories – in what situations? What time of day? Why? Do you eat from boredom, stress, habit or because everyone else does? Once you know the when and the why you can begin to tackle the problem – so be honest with yourself. I snack from boredom, out of habit, because it is there and so I may as well eat it, because I ate my meal too quickly and so my body hasn't had a chance to register that I am full or because I am putting off doing something I don't want to do. I expect some of these will sound familiar.

The times I snack are when I sit down in the evening, after meals, when I am procrastinating (any time of day) and at break times when I am not at home. A few weeks ago I discovered how easy it is to develop a bad eating habit. In just two days I was in the habit of eating a biscuit with my break time drink because I was away from home on a course and the biscuits were there. Try as I may, I had to have a biscuit if they were there.
So since I clearly don't have any, we won't be using willpower here!

I want you to brainstorm what else you could do instead of eating, at your snack trigger times. Is there something that would help you achieve one of your other goals? What could you do to take your mind off your habit of snacking?
I don't usually have tea breaks when I am working from home, but if I do I get out a magazine to read instead of reaching for the biscuit tin. After dinner, I wash up straight away. If I am still hungry I phone a friend for a chat – it takes my mind off the thought of snacks until my stomach realises that I am not hungry. My biggest problem was crisps when I sat down in the evening. I thought long and hard about a new habit I could develop, then it came to me. I've gone back to an old hobby of knitting. It's great. I can't knit and eat crisps at the same time and the knitting is creative and gives me a sense of achievement.

So think about what you could do. At work could you take fruit or a yoghurt and have it started before the biscuits arrive? Could you take your drink back to your desk or sit in a different place? At home maybe phone a friend for a chat, read a book or magazine, go for a walk after dinner, swim or do an exercise DVD. Take up a new hobby or craft or cook the next day's dinner. If you want pasta, try making it from scratch. You could be so engrossed in the activity that you forget about snacking and you'll have a really great meal to look forward to. Challenge yourself to break old habits that aren't supporting the new you and try something radically different. I know someone who has a large exercise ball. She balances on it to watch television – that combines exercise with making eating difficult. I've even tried rebounding while watching television. Try things and see what works for you.

I have mentioned before that I sometimes ask myself,
"What would a successful person do in this situation?"
A better question to ask in this situation is
"What does the new slim and successful me do in this situation?"

Focus on your successes each day – one biscuit missed, some potatoes left on you plate at dinner – and list them I your Victory Log, along with how you feel about yourself for achieving it. Also write about how good your new habits make you feel too. Read them often to keep you going.

Get family and friends to support you, not taunt you with treats. Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting) is careful what she eats all week but has one day a week when she can eat cakes and biscuits and have extra portions. Only you can decide what will work for you.

You will notice that I haven't mentioned scales, target weight or target size. That is because they aren't important here. You are aiming for a slim, fit, fabulous and confident new you, on your terms. The size and weight that happens to be is not important. You will notice the changes as clothes become loose and you become fitter, happier and more energetic. The weight will come off slowly and naturally because you aren't focused on it.

For motivation pin up a picture of the holiday and a description of how you want to feel and be by then. When the going gets tough ask yourself:
What will happen and how will you feel if you do keep it up?
What won't happen and how will you feel if you do keep it up?
What will happen and how will you feel if you don't keep it up?
What won't happen and how will you feel if you don't keep it up?

Visualise the fun, fit and fabulous new you and then go and do something different to take your mind off those snacks! I'm going to knit while I watch television – what will you do?

Sue Courtney is a Personal Success Coach and Image Consultant who can be contacted on 01730 814439 or sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk