Merry Christmas! I hope Santa Claus brought everyone the gifts they asked for. I got lots of lovely bath stuff, money to go towards my holiday and some rather fancy headphones from the lovely Jonny.

I did get lots of chocolates and a naughty hamper with mince pies, toffee and panatone which looks lovely!

When people don’t know what to get you, they often pick up little luxuries like nice chocolates and biscuits. It’s a terrible time if you’re trying very hard to lose weight – or even just maintain your current weight over the festive period.

So I’ve devised a little list of tips to help you enjoy your food at christmas that should help you prevent an unfortunate weight gain:

1. If someone gives you chocolates, thank them and share them among your relatives. You look generous and are less tempted to polish off the box!
2. At lunch time, fill up on green veggies and carrots. Turkey is a good, lean meat so don’t feel you can’t eat it. Do try and go easy on the roast potatoes, parsnips, chipolatas and other trimmings.
3. Take your time – too many people eat what is on their plate because it looks lovely. Learn to recognise when you are full and stop eating at this point.
4. Avoid attacking the chocolate tin when watching The Queen’s Speech or the Great Escape.
5. Christmas puddings are full of sugar and calories so eat a smaller portion and choose single cream or evaporated milk to go with it. You will be surprised how little can satisfy a sweet tooth.
6. Don’t drink alcohol to excess, make smarter choices when drinking alcohol and try and avoid creamy liqueurs after dinner.
7. Go for a walk or a short bike ride on Christmas day. You will probably want to sleep after dinner – that’s fine, just make sure you do something otherwise you will feel even more sluggish on Boxing Day.
8. Hit the sales. You don’t necessarily have to buy much but bag carrying is good exercise and we all know how exciting it is to find a bargain.