The festive time of year is upon us again. Chocolates, cakes, beer, wine, prosecco, mince pies and the lavish Christmas dinner.

Most people will react 1 of 2 ways to the line above. You will either be licking your licks and wanting to get stuck in straight away OR you will be sat there thinking of all the weight that you are going to put on. To be very honest with you i can accept both sides of the argument. Who wouldnt enjoy all the food that comes with Christmas. Alot of what we do over Christmas will involve family and friends and quite a few of us will be dining out several times over the festive period. Why wouldnt we be, its CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, back to the serious side of things. For those of you who started licking your lips and getting excited by the festive period, you will need to start your planning for January and ensuring that ou hit your dieting hard knowing, and accepting that you will be gaining weight over the festive period. This requires a whole different plan which you can read further down my post.

For those of you who are concerned that you may put on weight, we will go through this first. The festive period is a whole month of twinkling lights, decorations and parties! When it comes to your diet there really is only 1 thing you can do. Plan, plan, and then plan a bit more. Get your diary upto date and try to see where it is that you are going to have difficult days. Try to work these around your good days so that you can keep a balance between dieting and partying. What ever you do, do not stop enjoying yourself just for the sake of dieting. There is always January to catch up but this must stay purely as your backup plan for as much as possible.

The run up to Christmas Day itself can be really challenging and tempting. From supermarkets offing you tasters as you walk around the isles to the smell of hot chocolate filling the shops. All of these temptations so strong yet so dangerous. These small nibbles are where you begin to forget just how much you have actually eaten. Another tempting area is the canapes and treats that always come into work. All of these areas must be resisted as much as possible. As with all diets, the nibbling and snacking is the most dangerous part.  One simple rulefrom above, if its not in your eating plan, then its not yours to eat!! Be polite and decline anyone who tries to get you to eat some. Afterall, what benefits will you get from eating that mince pie or chocolate bar?

Chocolates…. hmmmm think most people have a weakness for some kind of chocolate. Again, do you really need 3 advent calendars? Do you really need to put out all the boxes of heroes or qiality street. Keep things in moderation again and ensure that binging in front of the television doesnt become a nightly habbit. Its so easy to do so be mindful of what you are doing subconsciously.

The run up has now been conquered and the finale is upon you. Hopefully you plan has kicked in and you have done well to keep to it. If you have planned to stay on track then going into the big day Christmas Meal with an open mind and wanting to maintain your diet goals is not a bad thing so what ever you do do not let it become a chore or start regretting what you have eaten, or want to eat. You can still enjoy everything as normal but as walys do it in moderation. Having that extra round of gravy over 3 yorkshure puddings may not be the best way. How about save some space on your plate for those juicy sprouts and peas instead? Have an extra slice of Turkey instead of the extra pigs in blankets that you so desire. All of these little things wil help you stick to your diet plan as much as possible. For starters and pudding just be sensible. These can rack up the calories really quickly. Think about what is in each dish you have. Again, do you need the extra cream and custard with your Christmas pudding?? For thos of you who may have chosen to have Christmas Day and Boxing day as completely off days then enjoy, just ensure that your planned dieting days afterwards are stuck to. This will not only make you feel good about the christmas period, but also know that you really can plan, and stick to a dieting plan well.

Its done!!! The big day has come and hopefully you can sit there with a smile on your face and say ‘I stuck to my plan’. If you can, give yourself a big pat on the back, you deserve it! But dont think that you can sit back and relax now. You have done the hard work and should feel deservedly proud of it, but that doesnt mean you stop! Life gets back to normal come January so why wait til then to ensure you are back to your diet. Get yourself started a week early and come the start of January it will be like you never stopped! This can be a big psychological boost for you. Being able to walk back into the office not feeling bloated or like you need to go and get out your larger clothes (you would be suprised how many people need to!) will not only be a huge achievemnet for yourself but also to show others that you did it!! You can start the new year fresh and ready to go!

Right then, for those of you who are sat there worried about all of the weight that you are going to put on. This really doesnt need to be the case. Yes all of the temptations are more prominant over the Christmas period but just as aboe, its all down to planning and a bit of will power. You really dont need to be sacrificing all the hard work you have recently put into your diet. The same as you dont need to put things on hold with the promise to yourself that you will start again in January. As much as this sounds like planning, it really isnt! Have a good read through all of the points above again. Hopefully it will start to make sense and make you feel a bit more relaxed that you can still enjoy the Christmas period without piling on the pounds again. Keep asking yourself the question, and if you keep ending up at this paragraph of the blog then it really is going to be a hard time in January for you!!!