It's fairly easy to understand why people give up on diets.

We just like eating whatever we want, whenever we want and however much we want. But why do people give up on exercise programmes?

Well, for most people, exercise is incredibly boring.

But exercise doesn't have to be a chore and even if it is, there are ways around it.

First of all, you can try to incorporate exercise within your everyday activities so you won't even notice it.

For example, when shopping, park your car at the first space you come to and walk to the supermarket entrance. Or consider walking to work or at least getting off the bus early.

Many people prefer exercise when they need to get somewhere rather than walking for the sake of it.

True, you won't get a lot of exercise this way but it's a start and it will begin to change your attitude - next time the lift is out of order, instead of being cross, you might look upon it as an opportunity for exercise.

Now for some ideas to prevent boredom.

How about an exercise partner? A colleague for lunchtime exercise, perhaps, or a neighbour for evening sessions at the gym.

You will have to be quite determined not to slow down and be distracted by chatting but, on the other hand, you'll be less likely to cry off because you'll be letting your partner down.

If this suggestion doesn't inspire you, you can try to do something else at the same time as exercising.

I go on my elliptical cross trainer for 20 minutes every day in front of the TV news. It helps to pass the time. Or I sometimes video programmes to watch later while exercising. It suddenly makes daytime TV thoroughly acceptable.

And don't tell me you can't put the exercise bike in front of the TV because I have an answer for that, too.

Try a Walkman and cassette tapes. They could be music tapes, motivational tapes or even language tapes.

Another excuse I'm waiting to hear is that it's all too expensive. You can't afford loads of tapes or an exercise bike, perhaps.

No problem. You can always borrow tapes from the library and your local newspaper is probably full of second-hand exercise equipment for sale. Just make sure you're not the next person selling yours on.

Not all new equipment is expensive, either. There are plenty of items that will cost you less than £20, such as a skipping rope, a step, a mini-trampoline or an exercise video, to name but a few.

There are two main reasons why people get bored with an exercise programme.

The first is that they are usually too ambitious and the second is that they don't build in variety.

It's important to start your programme gently. To begin with, try about ten minutes a day. Little and often will get you into a routine. Gradually build up to 20 minutes.

As for variety, I hope you're beginning to get the picture that there's no end of choice - choose a different programme for every day.

It's certainly important to have outdoor and indoor and plans - for when it's pouring with rain. You don't expect me to be sympathetic to that excuse either, do you?

A little bit of exercise does you good weight watching *You can get support from Dr Judy Citron and her team of DietCoaches by joining her telephone weight-loss classes, right from your own home. "You lose weight and you're not on a diet. It's amazing." Phone free for more information on 0800 074 0260 or visit the web site at www.thedietcoach.com