My bite-size secrets to keep off the pounds and they do include a daily tipple

is this: breakfast is a hard-boiled egg and three cups of coffee with soya milk.

Eggs are a good source of protein and are also filling, so guard against elevenses. Lunch is homemade tuna mayonnaise with seven or eight cherry tomatoes, half an avocado and two pieces of cheese, washed down with lots of water. Sometimes I have artichoke hearts instead of avocado.

Supper is fish, usually a small salmon fillet or sea bass, panfried with lemon juice and eaten with a small portion of green vegetables or salad, and a couple of glasses of wine. Sometimes I have tuna, seared after being marinaded in soy sauce.And occasionally I have treats.

I almost never eat meat. I am largely gluten free: I cannot remember the last time I had pasta or pizza. I used to love potatoes (still do) but I have them at most only once every few months.

I don’t eat rice, biscuits, crisps, cake, very much fruit or anything like jam or preserves.

But on to those treats. If I stick to the above diet, I can get away with the odd piece of chocolate (not a huge amount) a couple of times a week.

I don’t find it hard to resist the temptation of cakes and biscuits. Kate Moss got absolutely monstered for saying: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” But it’s true.

In normal times, I also used to go out to restaurants a couple of times a week and by sticking to the same principles, could eat quite a bit. If your diet is largely comprised of fish and vegetables, as mine is, choosing dishes

FOUR SIZES BIGGER: Virginia in her teens when she was a size 14