Lee Randall: Drink, be merry, but you won't stay slim

YOU may recall that when I first pitched up at SureSlim's offices in early December, the lovely Francesca warned that an integral aspect of the diet's success – utterly non-negotiable in its early weeks – was an avoidance of alcohol. Perhaps I'd rather wait until after Christmas to begin?

No, I replied, fired with crusading evangelism, I want the weight off more than I want to drink. Why, I once went four years without alcohol, I added, prompting her eyes to bug out on stalks.

I was in my late twenties at the time and my body went ...