I can't emphasise enough how important it is that you and your trainer get on. If you like your trainer then when you're trying to squeeze out those last few reps their words can be encouraging and motivational. If you don't like them it just makes you want to smack them in their stupid face.

Mindlessly staring at a question for minutes on end doesn't make the answer magically appear. All it achieves (if achieves isn't too strong a word in this context) is to make the question seem even more incomprehensible than it did in the first place. And it seemed pretty incomprehensible initially.

The underlying problem is that for women over 40, exercise ALONE is not enough to cause weight loss. This is not true for men. And it's less true for women under 40. But if you ask most women over 40, they will tell similar stories of exercise programmes that no longer delivered the goods when it came to weight loss.

I have written before that stress will eventually lead to people, who are normally vigilant with their diet, going 'tonto' - and losing control. Check: there is a wonderful photo of me gazing amorously at a slice of pizza like it is Monica Belluci. I didn't meet a single carb that I didn't like in Spain. Once I started eating badly, I didn't stop.

Where you store fat is the key to understanding your hormones. This in turn reveals how you should eat, train, and live to have optimal body composition and, ultimately, be as healthy as possible.

You might argue that if everyone ate less and did more exercise then they would lose weight. In my experience, it is not that simple. Many people try in vain to lose fat because they are not following the most suitable system for their needs.

Alcohol is ubiquitous at this time of year. Abstinence may make you feel virtuous but can also be dull. If you do drink, I'd advocate men avoiding beer. Beer increases levels of an enzyme called aromatase. This converts testosterone into oestrogen and leads to fat deposition around the pectoral - the dreaded man boobs. Stick to a few glasses of good quality red wine instead.