Christmas Day is a special day, a day to indulge and have some fun and, perhaps, ease up on your healthy eating programme knowing you’re going to get back to it the next day.

There are many tips I could give you for Christmas Day and it’s up to you whether you take any notice or just decide to go crazy and do what you like. You have my permission to ignore me!

But for those of you who are interested, here you go:

1 Eat a protein rich breakfast on Christmas morning so you’re not snacking on chocolates, nuts and nibbles before lunch.

2 Wake up and do a little exercise, even if it’s just a 10 minute workout. It will make you feel better for the rest of the day.

3 If drinking alcohol have a glass of water in between each drink to stay hydrated and avoid an horrendous hangover on Boxing Day.

4 Don’t eat until you feel sick: just until you’re full.

5 Don’t sit near the chocolate tin in the evening. You can consume hundreds of calories without even noticing.

Now, about that period between Christmas and New Year? You know the time, when there are ridiculous amounts of leftovers.

This is when, if you don’t avoid the temptation to eat them, you will definitely put on weight. And you’ll start the year feeling bloated, tired and fat.

Christmas Day is one day – enjoy it. If Boxing Day is also important to you then it might be that you over-indulge two days in a row.

But after that I advise you get back to clean eating as quickly as possible.

Eat plenty of protein and vegetables, drink lots of water and stick to three meals a day (no snacking.) Also, remember to get back to exercising as soon as you can: don’t wait until the beginning of the new year.

The sooner you get back into your routine the sooner you will feel better.

It takes no time at all to get out of the habit.

If you’re looking to start a new exercise plan then do it the day after Boxing Day, don’t put it off!

Here’s my recipe for Christmas pudding.

It is certainly not as calorific as the traditional pud. And it tastes yummy, too.

Christmas Pudding (serves one)
Ingredients: 3 eggs ¼ cup oats (you could use almond flour) 1-2 heaped tbsp organic mincemeat Large tsp cinnamon 1 tbs chia seeds
Method: 1) Whisk the eggs together and add the oats, mincemeat and cinnamon 2) Heat in a microwave for one minute or on the stove which is much better than the microwave 3) Add the chia seeds and reheat for a further minute 4) Stir and serve as it is or add fresh blueberries and natural yogurt.

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