From a health & fitness, fat loss perspective my thoughts are very clear on Christmas Dinner – get stuck in to everything that is on offer!!

Christmas Day is the one day of the year that we are encouraged to eat and I think it’s very enjoyable taking part in such a feast. The average Brit will consume over 6,000 calories at the dinner table and there will be considerably more to come before and after too. I won’t go anywhere near making suggestions to find low carb alternatives or reduced sugar options. What is the point of tainting something so terrific? My favourite meal of the year is Christmas dinner and I can’t wait.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch though right? And that certainly applies to Christmas Day. If you eat that gargantuan feast then it is guaranteed that you are going to gain fat as a result. Carbs will be ingested into the bloodstream, your insulin levels will rocket and those fat stores are going to grow so the question is how can you limit damages?

To make sure I train like a Barbarian on a murdering spree beforehand will be my approach! I’ll train harder and more powerfully than normal to deplete my glycogen stores then I’ll be in a great position to fill them up again around 2pm and the day after will be a similar session too.

Yes I know not all of you will be like me, waking up on your own, in a cold lonely house, on your own, with no presents to open – and did I mention I’ll be on my own? You probably have a family around you and will be expected to do jobs but….can you steal an hour to get in the garage with your kettlebell or can you go for an interval sprint session out on the road? It’s an hour of the day that you can take for yourself before you go for it with the food.

I won’t be cross if you miss the session but don’t complain if you hit January the 4th fat and overweight because it’s the little differences like putting in a shift on Christmas Day that separate the achievers from the ones who don’t.

Now go have a Merry Christmas. And keep the change you filthy animal!