After all the festivities, January can hit really hard. So you had a few extra drinks. You had a few extra mince pies. The crisps and nuts needed eating up. The leftovers needed to be consumed.

Yes. Christmas is a time of excess but we shouldn’t feel too bad about it. That’s one of the ways we celebrate.

Now, however, you need to focus on the future and make a few adjustments to get you back on track.

Every January I mention detoxing. It’s a myth. It’s a way to sell you a book or a DVD or some menu plans. There is not one shred of scientific proof to support the concept.

Your body is a complex and magnificent thing. We have a liver and kidneys to do the work for us. Within reason, you can throw anything you like at them and they cope.

Any benefits of detoxing is down to the placebo effect – you are making changes, looking after our body and your body responds.

Like most people, I’ve eaten a bit too much and need to lose a little weight. I have ‘wintered well’ as the saying goes. So in January my aim is to get a little fitter and to eat a little more healthily.

Here’s my own personal plan. You can buy the book later.

1. Cut out the milk in drinks. Drink espressos or black Americanos rather than cappuccinos and lattes. Drink black tea or jasmine tea rather than have milk in it.

2. Cut down sugar in drinks. (It’s my one vice so I’ll be halving that).

3. Cut out snacking between meals.

4. Limit alcoholic drinks.

5. Try to fit in at least 20 minutes of walking a day (my house to the centre of town is 15 minutes so there and back will beat my target).

6. No takeaways for the month (don’t normally have many at all – I won’t feel too guilty if I fit one in during January).

7. Increase number of veggie meals per week from two or three up to three or four.

8. Have breakfast (if I’m in at 5am I find this difficult).

9. Sleep more (I normally only get four to five hours per night).

I’m not going to beat myself up if I miss out on a couple here or there but I think if I can keep most of it going, January won’t be such a chore and I’ll be feeling better.