When were in Spain we decided to visit the Alhambra. This sounds as if it ought to be a bingo hall in Whitley Bay (US readers - for Whitley Bay think Atlantic City only smaller and colder). The Alhambra is, of course, an ancient palace originally built by the Arabs in Spain and then occupied by Ferdinand and Isabella the same year that they sent Cristoforo Colombo on his great overseas trip.

We asked Younger Son if he wanted to come. He declined. Was it the thought of the 8-hour bus ride? Spending a day with his parents? No, this is what he said about visiting places:

"You go into the first room, it's old and interesting. You look at it for a bit. You go into the second room, it's old and interesting but like the first room. You go into the third room and it's like the other two. Then there are thirty more rooms to look at. By the third room you want to go home."

Visiting castles and stately homes is a bit like that. However beautiful/grand/old they are, the novelty quickly wears off. The floors are hard, there are lots of steps, nowhere to sit down and so you come home with your head spinning and feet that have got two sizes larger than your shoes over the course of the day. Weight loss is like that too. At first it's interesting. You have made a new start; you sort out your cupboards and get new food in. You eat all the right things for the first week. WOW! You even exercise diligently.

The second week is less interesting and by the third week you realise that you have to be doing this for a long time (thirty more rooms!) and you are eating the same things every day (every room looks the same).

So here are some tips for getting over the Alhambra syndrome...

1. Decide each week what your aim for that week is.

2. Write your aim down in terms of what you can do.

3. Make it as specific as possible. So instead of saying "my aim is to eat healthily" (noble but nebulous) you might say "my aim is to eat one more home-cooked meal than usual this week" and then put that into your schedule for the week so you know when you are doing it.

Note that although you are trying to lose weight, stating that as an aim may not be helpful. Saying you are going to lose two pounds by Friday will only work if you say specifically what you are going to do to achieve that.

This might be - eating one more home-cooked meal than normal, trying a new recipe, or focusing on the taste and texture of your food at every meal (no more gobbling).

So just looking at the next week, what specific actions can you take this week?

What are you going to do, when are you going to do it and what do you need to help you do it? Plan, get your resources together and then do it!