Ah, the time of Christmas feasting has passed, to be followed inevitably by the season of denying the scales in your bathroom even exist because you really don’t want to know!  Our New Year’s Resolutions then consist of “I will never touch alcohol again” or “chocolate? Not for me!”.  And about two weeks later, you have a stressful day at work and the be-good resolution is out the window.

There is no point in setting yourself a target, knowing that in all likelihood you are going to fail.  It’s got to be achievable!  And it’s not all about what you weigh, it’s about how you feel.

So here are my top 5 tips that you should be looking to work with over this Christmas:

1. Stay Active.  Not only will this help keep you in shape, but going for a walk each day will also help maintain a positive mental attitude, and reduce the effect of the cold on all those aches and pains that appear around now.
2. Don’t Do New Year’s Resolutions.  It’s almost a standing joke now – New Year’s Resolutions fail.  It’s because your target is behind you, not in front of you.  Aim to do something by a certain time, not to do it because of a certain time, and you have a visible goal to work towards.
3. Eat Sensibly.  Don’t give up all the nice things and restrict your intake to the point you can think of nothing but how hungry you are.  It’s a given that we are all going to over-indulge over Christmas, but by gradually phasing out some of the worst culprits such as anything with a high sugar content you won’t send your body into a carb-craving shock.
4. Be Realistic. Going from doing no exercise at all to jumping around 6 days a week at the gym is never going to be sustainable – and you are very  likely to end up injuring yourself!  Start with doing one or two sessions of exercise in a week, and then gradually work up to doing 4 or 5.
5. Exercise Smart.  It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.  A walk in the countryside can be just as good as half an hour in the gym if you put some effort into it, and half an hour in the gym can be extremely damaging if you don’t do it right.  Get advice from a professional if you aren’t sure what is going to be best for you.

And one final hint…If you are suffering from aches and pains that you are hoping will just go away, remember that the sooner you get them looked after, the sooner they will go – don’t leave it until it is too late!