About this time every year, I'm inclined to scoff at the unfamiliar faces jogging or cycling past my house in new Spandex purposely purchased for a better life in 2016.
Generally the faces last about three to four days before the stretchy stuff spends the rest of its natural life in the bottom of a drawer.
Indeed, we're a strange animal. However, this year this strange animal is giving it a whirl. And being in the position to do so publicly, it's a tad more binding.
Specifically, I've decided to forgo sugar.
Apparently we consume on average about 40 teaspoons of sugar a day - about 60kg a year - each. That's about 40-fold what our ancestors (who weren't sedentary like we are) took on board.
Romantic poet and painter William Blake penned the full version of this editorial's second line, which read: "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."
So do debauchery and wisdom go hand-in-glove?
Like many well-worn lines, the second half of Blake's quote (which adds much-needed perspective) is often forgotten: "You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough."
The start of the year may be an arbitrary time to embark on a more temperate lifestyle.
But as the wise have been heard to say, the best way to get something done is to start.
Here's to a great 2016 - and a fond farewell to the sweet stuff.
