Let’s face it, over the next few weeks, most of us are going to over indulge. We do it every Christmas. Then every January, we look in the mirror and worry that things are softer than they were a month before. In reality, most of us won’t gain THAT much weight. And most of what we do gain will be water. We’ll lose it pretty quickly, once life gets back to normal. If though, you are worried about weight gain. There is one very simple thing you can do, which will stop things getting out of hand.. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to skip desert, or to avoid having fun this Christmas.

All you need to do, is say no to the last drink of the night. When someone says “one more for the road?”, or “fancy a night cap”. Just say no! I know it doesn’t sound like much, but all of those one last drinks, can really stack up. Consider that most pints of beer contain around 200 calories, some upwards of 250. A small mulled wine contains around 230 calories. A glass of wine is likely to be between 175 and 275 calories, depending on the size, type and strength of the wine in question. Oh and that festive Bailey’s.. a standard 50mi measure, contains 175 calories. What’s also worth considering, these numbers are just the drinks themselves. They don’t account for anything you decide to nibble on, once your inhibitions are lowered!

You might be thinking, we’re looking at around 200, maybe 250 calories. How much difference is that really going to make? Well, let’s look at that over the 2-3 week period around Christmas. Let’s say you drink on 10 separate occasions during that period. The maths is pretty simple. By saying no to that final drink, you’re saving yourself from an EXTRA 2000-2500 calories! According to NHS guidelines, that’s a days worth of food and drink.

So let your hair down this Christmas, over indulge a little, have fun! Just stop one drink sooner than you might be tempted.