Really, I did.

You see, this morning I got on the scale. At first, the number looked not bad, good even, given the way my body feels. Then the figure started to climb, a pound or two at a time. Much to my horror, it kept rising -- and rising and rising! I stepped off, unable to face the final tally. After a moment, I understood that if I didn't get back on the scale, who was I fooling? Surely not myself nor my way-too-tight jeans. After a deep breath, I got back on, prepared for the worst. And sure enough, the same thing happened, the number kept going up and up and UP, far past the point of reason. With a flash, I realized, Wait, the battery is failing, that's what's happening. Sure enough, it was. New batteries solved the problem and instantly, I was 50 pounds lighter.

Whew.

But THEN I realized that without intervention, the scale will soon enough reveal my impending truth, frighteningly high real numbers (real weight, Alanna, real pounds!! I even have trouble saying the words) that can't be lost by, of all things, new batteries. I have to do it myself and there are no grocery-store aisle or midnight-TV miracle diets for losing 50 pounds in five minutes or even five months.

I called my sister. A couple of minutes in, she asked for a recipe, saying, "I'm starting to count points today." Like me, she has success with using the Weight Watchers point system to manage her weight. "I'm starting tomorrow," I told her, saying the words out loud for the first time, but firmly, resolutely.

Now I don't have 50 pounds to lose but if it's 10, 20 or 30, whatever the number, it doesn't happen overnight and without some gumption. So ever since, I've been thinking about my New Year's resolution toward losing weight, about how to make it stick. And I know that this is perhaps the most important step, planning my way there, visualizing my way there. If I just 'decide' without thinking about what behaviors to add, what behaviors to drop, I might as well right now add my name to the thousands/millions whose resolutions fall by the wayside on Day Two or by Week Two or at best in Month Two. Here's what I'm thinking.

Focus I need to switch my focus away from food. Since I do write both a food blog and a recipe column for my local paper, I can't really 'ignore' food. Luckily, my readers already know to expect mostly healthful recipes, with nutrition analysis for every recipe. But I need some 'new' direction too, some place to re-direct my time and energy when 'not' working. This one needs more work.

Portion Size This is one I'm pretty good at. I know that a pound of meat serves four, a pound of pasta eight.

Seconds This is a big weakness. I'm going to say it here, No seconds.

Temptation at Home My pantry and frig are still filled with post-holiday ingredients. Most will freeze fine. What doesn't, needs to go, despite a hesitation to waste food. Leftover Christmas cookies? Garbage. Ice cream purchased for Christmas? Dessert for a small supper tonight but leftovers, straight to the garbage. But it needs to go further.

Temptation Online Hmm. I do love the baking blogs. But I'm going to do myself a favor and re-organize my RSS feeds so the blogs that only do sweets go into a special folder, one to ignore for awhile, until I get myself onto a good track.

Cook More, Eat Out Less This one's a no-brainer for me, harder for others. But when we cook at home, it's easier to control what goes INTO the food and how much goes ONTO the plate.

Exercise This one needs work and a plan but for the moment, getting the dog out twice a day, is a start.

Document For me, this meant counting Weight Watchers points every day, no matter what. I'm going to add exercise information, too, so that visually it's right in front of me. And I'm going to set a goal, tracking progress. This is going to take months, not weeks. And it needs to become part of my every-day routine.

I know my plan needs work but it's a start, for now. What's on your list? And what are your own tips to share with others?

If you're serious about following the South Beach / low glycemic / low carb diet, I much recommend the guide to getting started on South Beach from my fellow Blogher editor, Kalyn Denny.

Many thanks to "Being Five" for the cartoon.

BlogHer food editor Alanna Kellogg collects low-point and low-carb vegetable recipes and organizes other recipes by Weight Watchers points.