As I sit writing today, with the prospect of pre Christmas snow, it is precisely 1 month until the big day.   I’m not sure how many ‘shopping days to Christmas’ that leaves you but it will soon be upon here! 

Did you know the average person consumes 7,000 calories on Christmas Day alone?  I don’t know if you would be one of those people but as promised I aim to cover in this December’s article a few hints and tips as to how you can look forward to the festive period, without doing one of two things – neither of which is particularly good – firstly abandoning caution to the wind, saying “hang the healthy eating I have been working so hard on all year, I’ll get back to weight loss after Christmas (and the New Year)..” or telling your family that they will be eating lettuce and sprouts for their Christmas dinner and becoming the proverbial party pooper/scrooge.

No!  Christmas is a time to CELEBRATE and HAVE FUN and there is absolutely no reason why you can’t do this the same as everyone else.  The difference will be that when everyone else is holding their ears, to muffle the sound of the Alka Selzer dropping in the glass to rid themselves of hangovers and indulgent overeating – further compounded by the assault of slumping in front of the television for a two week period, with the heating on full blast, you will be enjoying every moment and not feel like you have been hard done by.  So SECRET NUMBER 1: Moderation not self denial!

SECRET NUMBER 2: There is so much more to Christmas than eating and drinking and now is the time to find something else as the MAIN focus.  Try these for alternatives up to, during and throughout the festive season

Book a trip to an ice rink – both indoor or outdoor it is great fun and great exercise
Wrap up warm and get walking – choose a different walk for each day that you go walking
Make use of those new Christmas presents – bikes, scooters, trampolines and even sledges (should the WHITE stuff arrive)

Switch off the television and play board games – great fun for all the family
Singing is a great form of exercise for your lungs, which aids detoxification – join a choir, join in with a local carol service, especially if there is a Salvation Army band to join in with or put on a CD at home – and singing Christmas carols are great for fully filling the lungs with air because of the gusty, deep breathing that is needed to sing the many verses that most have – not to mention the praise and worship element that will do your spirit good!

Dancing – a recent contestant in the popular TV show Strictly Come Dancing said that she had lost 2 stone during the competition.  Dancing is a really fun way to exercise and the great thing is it doesn’t even feel like exercise.  The varieties of dance classes for adults are really varied these days with everything from salsa to line dancing.  Check out your local press or the internet for classes being run locally, and don’t think that you have to have a partner; you will still be welcome to go along to most groups.  There is no better time than Christmas to get dancing with parties galore  and if all else fails then why not pick up a DVD  - there’s all kinds from teach yourself dancing to dance based workouts!

The bible tells us that laughter is good for us – if you do watch TV - watch a comedy – laughing will do you the power of good.

SECRET NUMBER 3: Instead of bowls of chocolates (Roses, Quality Street  etc) or crisps and peanuts, fill the bowls with mixed nuts, dried fruit – figs, dates, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, seeds, pretzels and popcorn instead.  If Christmas isn’t Christmas without chocolate to you then buy chocolate high in cocoa solids (70% +) the higher the cocoa solids the more intense the chocolate flavour and you are likely to eat less of it.  Make sure any boxes of chocolates you buy don’t contain hydrogenated vegetable fats (M & S have now taken all hydrogenated fats out of their products so they are a safer bet) E numbers or other additives.

SECRET NUMBER 4: Cat Nap! – Life is already busy enough and at this time of the year you pile onto your ‘to do’ list a whole host of extra chores like write & post Christmas cards, decorate the house, choose, buy and wrap presents, attend a wide variety of functions including the children’s school play and you shouldn’t be surprised if you get tired!  A 10/20 minute power nap (just long enough to stop you going into a deep sleep and feeling groggy) is all that is needed often to revitalise you and give you some renewed energy.  The best thing to do is to lay down on the bed, by laying you can fully off load your weight – if you are worried about sleeping too long set an alarm.  Use deep breathing (in to the count of 4 and out to the count of 9).  Whilst you may think this is impossible for you, remember that in order to get different results you need to do something differently – if you want to have more energy you need to give your body some help!

SECRET NUMBER 5:- Beware the Booze! From the weight gain point of view 1 gram of alcohol contains 7 calories so a 125ml glass of white wine contains 118 calories and a glass of red wine contains 85 calories and so it is easy to see how pounds can be piled on just by drinking alone at this time of the year seeing as ‘celebrating’ is not just confined to Christmas Day.  However there is a more serious side – alcohol is a toxin that your liver has to cope with – intoxicated literally means poisoned.  While your liver is trying hard to detoxify alcohol it cannot also be saving you from free radical damage and thus causes premature ageing (which is why people who drink a lot tend to look a lot older than their years).   The ethanol in alcoholic drinks is taken straight to the liver to be detoxified and if you drink faster than the liver can do this the alcohol will be returned to your bloodstream. 

There are two websites that sell non alcoholic drinks including wine and beer  www.lono.co.uk and www.thealcoholfreeshop.co.uk  so that you can join in with enjoying  the fizz and bubbles without the health implications.  Alternatively try sparkling water with ice, fresh lemon or lime juice and a nice glass!  A paper cup doesn’t work for me whatever I’m drinking!

But if you are going to drink do so slowly - don’t have more than one unit every hour and for every glass of alcohol that you drink, drink the same sized measure of water which will help to rehydrate you – alcohol is very dehydrating which in turn will make you feel bad, headache, dizziness.... Stick to one kind of drink  – there is a saying “don’t mix grape and grain” which is wise advice based on sound science.  Finally, eat something before you drink as food slows the rate of absorption of alcohol and will help to prevent a blood sugar spike as alcohol contains a lot of sugar.  Most important of all binge drinking (a large intake of alcohol all in one go) is especially harmful so don’t think you are okay drinking your weekly recommended units (no more than 2 for women and 3 for men) in one go and that a unit is according to standard pub measures and not the rather more generous measures that are easy to pour out at home.

 SECRET NUMBER 6  - tips for eating at party time....
1. Pile your plate with crudities and salad even if they were intended to garnish the platter. 
2. Even a small pastry (vol au vent, quiche slice) can be calorie heavy – especially saturated fat go for options without the pastry casing.
3. Choose chicken and turkey over salami, sausages, pate and other processed meats from the cold meat platter.
4. Once you have food on your plate move away from the table – if you stand and pick you will eat more than you think you have – likewise eat in a well lit area studies have shown that we tend to eat more if we are under the cover of dim lighting!
5. Avoid deep fried food and creamy sauces.
6. Choose oatcakes or rice cakes instead of cream crackers.
7. Choose wholegrain breads rather than white.
8. Choose fish and egg fillings rather than meat and cheese.
9. Choose nuts (not salted peanuts) rather than crisps.
10. Eat gherkins, pickled onions and pineapple cubes but leave the cheese.

Aside from the party food the one main consideration is Christmas Day itself.  Listed below is an idea of how you can serve a totally healthy Christmas Day lunch AND have a really enjoyable meal that everyone will remember!

Christmas Day Menu
Butternut Squash Soup  Serves: 2-4
1 medium butternut squash peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 orange pepper, de-seeded and chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp fresh coriander
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tsps Marigold bouillon stock
Roasted sunflower seeds to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

 Put all ingredients in a pan and cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until tender. Blend to make a thick, creamy soup. Add a little water is you want - filling and tasty. Serve with mini oatcakes.

Christmas Turkey Roast Lunch
Roast turkey
1 turkey crown (2 – 2.5kg)
Sprigs of fresh  thyme and sage
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp red wine
300ml stock (using Marigold bouillon)
Sea salt/ground black pepper

Slip the sprigs of thyme and sage inbetween the skin and the flesh of the turkey.  Mix 1 tbsp oil with the paprika to a paste and ‘paint’ the skin of the turkey until all is covered.  Season with pepper only and cover with foil.  Cook for around 1.5 hours at 190C/Gas 5 .    Then remove the foil and allow the skin to crisp.  When the turkey is cooked set it aside to cool and firm before carving.  Use the meat juices for the gravy.  To make the gravy – place the turkey juices, red wine and 300ml stock to a saucepan and whisk in the flour and keep whisking until thickened.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.

Glazed roasted white and sweet potatoes and carrots and parsnips.
Peel & cut both of these into large chunks, blanch in a pan of boiling water for 5 mins and then drain well and turn into prepared roasting pan.  Cut the parsnip and carrot into batons and place in the same roasting pan.  Baste all with olive oil and honey mixed together and sprinkle with rosemary springs and sea salt.
Serve with at least 3 from a selection of green vegetables such as kale,  brussel sprouts, shredded savoy cabbage, peas or broccoli.

Roast Spice Plums with Orange Yoghurt and Ratafias (serves 6)
6 large ripe red plums
1tbsp xylitol
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tub 0% fat Greek Yoghurt
1 tbsp squeezable honey
Grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
2oz chopped mixed nuts
25 baby size ratafias (about 50g)

Preheat oven to Gas 6/200C/400F.  Halve the plums and remove the stones.  Lay cut side up in a shallow overproof dish.  Mix together the xylitol and mixed spice and sprinkle over the plums.  Bake for 15 – 20 mins until the plum tops brown and bubble.  Remove and cool.  Mix together the yoghurt, orange zest & juice and honey.
Serve in a shallow bowl with the ratafias, plums and yoghurt spooned over.  Sprinkle chopped mixed nuts on top.

SECRET NUMBER 7: Christmas is a commercially driven machine that is designed to get you buying more, striving to do more, be more and have more  and this rat wheel, if you get on it, will leave you exhausted, lacking peace and stressed out.  Remember that is a time to draw aside to celebrate the birth of the Saviour – so make sure that you take the time to rest, pray and keep things in balance.

All that remains is for me to wish you a very Happy Christmas and look forward to 2011 with lots of tips for getting the New Year off to a healthy start!