SNJ editor Sue Smith is getting into shape for an adventurous holiday.

BY SOME miracle I have managed to lose weight this week and I have no idea how it happened.

Admittedly I have been trying to watch the calories although that goes out of the window pretty quickly as soon as an invitation to somewhere nice pops into my inbox.

A new hotel launch on Friday with fizz and canapes should have been my downfall but being mindful of the impending event I only had a very small lunch that day and somehow it seemed to do the trick.

A drinks party on Saturday and a roast lunch at a friend’s house on Sunday was not going to be missed and although I didn’t hold back at either of them I had been pacing myself beforehand and didn’t over-indulge outside those events.

So that seems to be the key.

Who would have thought it would take me this many years to work it out?

It’s fairly obvious when you think about it.

Will be on my bike in sunny Spain soon and then trekking up and down dale in New Zealand which I am hoping will set me into a sensible pattern before Christmas and all its temptations looms.

So, I am going to leave the column here.

It has been frustrating at times and quite hard work at others.

But it has been good to experiment with various forms of exercise and different eating regimes. But there’s really no getting away from it.

What really works and we all know it works is to eat less and move more.

And that’s what I intend to do now. No more fads, no more punishing regimes. Forget the quick fix – the key is patience.