I WISH I had the resolve of Culcheth's Melanie Killilea.

Imagine the 34-year-old, weighing in at 23 stone, and desperate to lose weight so that her three years old son, Conor, would not be mocked when he started school.

Where do you start? It has to be somewhere -- and for your own sake, no one else's. Two years ago this week Melanie decided enough was enough, and like hundreds of other local women she made a New Year's resolution -- but this time doggedly stuck to it. She is now 10 stones lighter and has dropped from size 32 to 14 -- and at 5ft 10in that's slim.

Melanie did it thanks to the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club at Croft. She joined as a quivering wreck, but as the weeks went by the pounds started to fall away and she dropped a size every few weeks. She even started shopping for clothes at charity shops because new garments didn't fit for long enough.

Unlike Melanie I have the opposite problem. To my horror I started going up a size every few months! It's the 3K tins of Quality Street and 400gm blocks of Dairy Milk you know.

Now, like Vanessa Feltz, Melanie has given me inspiration.

I've never been sylph-like but I've vowed this time I'll get back to be a size I'm not ashamed of.

I'll keep you informed -- but don't hold your breath!