By Community Correspondent Axel Kemp Every new year we make a dozen resolutions to better ourselves for the coming year. Lose weight, work harder, become a nicer person – the list goes on and on. And unfortunately, when it comes to the new month, the majority of these are forgotten about. Luckily, you can stop this trend by following a few tips.

Firstly, particularly during weight loss programmes, it is vital to set goals for yourself. Even a dedicated person would most likely not be able to go from fat to thin right away. Stages are vital, if only to help us divide up our time and to motivate ourselves.

It is often helpful also to keep a journal tracking your progress. It’s all very well telling yourself you are meeting your goals, but without the record to review your progress you won’t progress far at all.

Finally, don’t give up. Resolutions were never designed to be easy – the word is linked to “resolve”, meaning determination in this context. It may seem tempting to give up sometimes, but as long as you keep at it you will reach your resolution – and be skinnier, achieve higher and be a nicer person – in the end.