Be a Shepherd this Christmas, not a Sheep.

Finish the year as you mean to start next year, condition your mind and try not see December as a break in your weight loss and fitness goals.

Your body has no concept of what time of year it is, only your mind does. As you all know we are now being constantly bombarded with adverts making us believe that we won't have a good Christmas unless we gorge ourselves on food and drink ourselves silly. December is the month where you will get to really test yourself, put into practice the art of restraint, learn to say no thanks or I've had enough when you need to. From mid December through into New Year the average person will gain around 9llbs/4kg “because it’s Christmas” and “what the hell ....it’s Christmas”, mid January it hits and all those thoughts become regrets. I’m sure none of you want to have that feeling? So just try to keep a little bit of control. Be a Shepherd and not a sheep.

- Start by keeping to your Nutritional plans 80% of the time. - Don't forget to keep up with drinking water, Min 2 litres a day. - Stay active, you may not want or be able to work out as much as usual but walk when you can and choose moving about over veg-ing out on the sofa. - If you are going to drink spirits, try and opt for the lighter colour or clear ones and don't mix with fizzy drinks. - If you are going to indulge in some puddings, try to avoid processed foods and go for fresh or home made options. They will likely have less sugar and refined ingredients. - When you do indulge with food or alcohol make sure you enjoy it and enjoy it guilt free but if you know it's going to make you feel bad afterwards then don't do it in the first place. Your 2018 self will thank you for it! To inspire you here is a great recipe for Gluten Free, Sugar Free Festive Fig Truffles. Merry Christmas everyone Ingredients

12 dried figs (Sainsburys, Asda and other shops have them)

1 blood orange (or a normal orange), zest and juice

1 tbsp vanilla extract (or seeds from ½ vanilla pod)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

A pinch of chilli powder (more or less, to taste)

A pinch of ground cardamom seeds (optional)

A handful of toasted walnuts or almonds

1. Finely chop your figs. Remove the woody tip on the stem.

2. Mix the figs with the orange zest, 2 tbsp of the juice, the vanilla and all the other spices. Let the figs soak up the juice and spice for at least 30 mins or overnight.

3. Pop the mix into a food processor or blender and whizz with the nuts till it all comes together. If you don’t have any whizzy machines, just finely chop and mush the mix with a knife on a chopping board.

4. Roll the doughy mix into a log shape. Cut into 12. Roll each into a little truffle-like ball. Dust with extra spice, if you like.

Keep in the fridge and enjoy!