Christmas is a great time for foodies, as there’s so much delicious food and drink around and everyone’s up for dessert, nibbles, and drinks. But when January rolls around it can be hard to suddenly stop eating a tube of Pringles a night. Here are some ways you can start getting back on track after Christmas.

Relish the fresh start

New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation, but there’s nothing wrong with setting them and taking advantage of that new year, new me feeling. You’ve just gotta be realistic about it. 2025 probably won’t be the year you hone an eight pack or become a professional athlete after all.

Set realistic, attainable goals and focus on the reasons you want to accomplish them for a fresh boost of motivation. The hope a new year brings is something to cherish.

Get back to normal as soon as you can

If you’ve over-indulged at Christmas, you’ll be dying to say goodbye to the festive food. What seemed appealing before Christmas can make us feel downright queasy when we’ve eaten our bodyweight in turkey and Quality Street, so if you’ve got anything unopened you don’t want, donate it to a food bank.

Make a meal plan for the first post-festive week where you slowly get back to normal. You may still be finishing off some Christmas food, and that’s fine, but returning to regular healthy favourites can go a long way to making us feel like we’re getting back on track. Just remember that the longer you leave it, the harder it’ll be to stop over-indulging.

Get some activity in

We tend to feel sluggish after Christmas, mostly down to overeating but also because we tend to be a lot less active than usual. It’s great to have a break and you shouldn’t feel guilty about doing so but starting to move your body more when Christmas is done and dusted will help you get back to healthy habits.

If you’re not ready for anything too strenuous, go for a few gentle walks to get back into the swing of things. Exercise releases happy hormones, so you’ll also benefit from that to get you back into the best mindset for weight loss.

Give your body a break

If you’ve had a lot of alcohol over Christmas, give your body a break for a few weeks by cutting the booze out, or if you can’t do that at least cut down so that you’re well within the NHS’ recommended max of 14 units a week, and make sure you have some alcohol-free days during the week.

Cutting out alcohol will give you a chance to rehydrate properly, which you can help along by increasing how much water you drink. The NHS recommends 6-8 glasses of water a day.

Don’t deprive yourself

One thing that makes overindulgence worse is trying to compensate for it by undereating. It might seem like it makes sense, but the thing with bingeing and restricting is that it just makes you more likely to eat more as you get too hungry and want to eat everything in sight. This can quickly become an unhealthy cycle that’s very difficult to break.

Instead, just draw a line under it and nourish your body with healthy, balanced meals that’ll satisfy your hunger. Sounds easy, right? Just try your best and don’t beat yourself up if it takes longer to get back to normal eating than you’d like, just don’t quit.

Christmas and alcohol often go hand-in-hand, which can be difficult when you’re watching your weight. 

When Christmas rolls around and you’re trying to lose weight, you’d be forgiven for keeping a close eye on your mince pie and pigs in blankets consumption, but don’t forget about the drinks.

Alcohol seems to be free flowing at Christmas, but it can really throw you off track as it’s easy to forget that alcohol is high in calories. But it is possible to have a merry Christmas that involves alcohol without piling on the pounds – here’s how.

• Stick to the NHS’s recommendation of 14 maximum units of alcohol a week and remember that 14 units is the max, not a target.
• Spread your drinking out over three or more days, and don’t binge drink.
• 14 units is roughly equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength (4%) beer.
• When drinking at home, make sure you measure out spirits, so you know how much you’re having. An eyeballed measure is always much, much more than you think it is. Especially when you’re a few drinks in.
• Try some lower-alcohol beers over regular strength ones. They’ll have less alcohol, but they tend to have fewer calories too.
• If you’re having a mixed drink, swap high calorie mixers for slimline alternatives. Have Diet Coke with your Jack Daniels instead of regular Coke and you’ll be saving potentially hundreds of calories.
• Stay hydrated by drinking enough water throughout the day, and don’t forget to continue this when you’re drinking. Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or a sugar-free soft drink to stay hydrated and cut down on calories from alcohol.
• If you’re a fan of cocktails, keep in mind that ones made with syrups, cream or milk will have more calories than juice-based ones.
• Savour your drink – sip it slowly to make it last and to make sure you’re really enjoying it.
• Remember that the calories in drinks soon add up. One pint may not seem like too many calories, but if you’re having several pints that’s hundreds of extra calories. Fine if you’re budgeting for it, but it can come as a shock if you’re not.
• What is it about a greasy kebab after you’ve been drinking that’s so appealing?! Bear in mind that the more you drink, the more you’re likely to pay a visit to your local kebab house. Kebabs can contain thousands of calories, so be wary.

Check out these drink examples:

• Gin and tonic: 120 kcals
• Gin and slimline tonic: 56 kcals
• Jack Daniels and Coke: 141 kcals
• Jack Daniels and Diet Coke: 78 kcals
• Heineken 5% (330ml): 138 kcals
• Heineken 0.0 (330ml): 69 kcals

You don’t have to go all out and drink loads at Christmas to make it a good one – just keep these tips in mind and you’ll still enjoy a great Christmas on your own terms.

Love Christmas? Us too, but it can be a tough time of year when you’re trying to lose weight. Here are our top 10 tips to enjoy Christmas without compromising your goals.

Break it down

The Christmas period will no doubt have more celebrations than your average month, which is part of what makes this time of year feel so difficult when it comes to losing weight. The trick? Don’t eat in excess too often.

Enjoy yourself when it’s an occasion to celebrate, but in between parties or gatherings do your best to maintain your usual healthy habits: eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep.

Know your limits

You want to have a good time (and we want you to have a good time!) but be aware that the festive period can be an excuse to drink more than usual and to overindulge on rich food. Do this too much and you’ll end up feeling fatigued, heavy, and may suffer from indigestion or bloating. Try to take it slow, as you’ll feel so much better for it.

Be mindful

If you’ve got a party later, it’s worth adjusting your daily diet accordingly. We don’t mean skipping meals, as going into a celebration so hungry that you want to eat everything in sight just sets you up for disaster, but just be wary of what and how much you eat in the lead up. Eat meals that are high in protein to keep you feeling nicely satisfied and pay attention to your appetite.

Discreetly decline

It’s ok to say no. Yes, people do tend to take offence at this time of year (how many times do people say, ‘but it’s Christmas!’ as an excuse for justifying overindulgence?), but if you’ve been trying to lose weight and improve your health all year and you don’t want to start reversing your progress, just say no. No one can force you to eat anything you don’t want to.

Indulge in healthy luxuries

Luxuries don’t have to be unhealthy. Think about whether there are any healthier foods you enjoy but rarely eat during the year – clementines, a nice bit of fish, turkey? Make the most of them while they’re around.

Avoid grazing

You know the rule: don’t graze while cooking. It’s very tempting to try a bit of everything, but if you graze and then eat a portion size as normal, you’re just adding random extra calories to your daily intake. Just hold off and eat once it’s all served up.

Get organized

Some people find that ordering the food shop online is a better option that going in yourself, where you’re bound to be tempted by all sorts of things that you weren’t planning on buying (no, you don’t need another tub of Celebrations).

It might be too late to book a good festive delivery slot, so go in with a strict list and don’t buy Christmas goodies too early, because you know as well as we do that it’ll all get eaten and you’ll still go out and buy another lot.

Plan out what you’re going to eat, make a list, and stick to it.

Keep exercising

Keeping your body moving means you’ll feel less sluggish and groggy when you (inevitably) eat loads of festive goodies. Long walks are a great way to get your steps in, and can be done with the whole family so you can socialize in the fresh air at the same time.

Set a date

How soon after Christmas will your overindulging stop? Will it be in the lull between Christmas and New Year, or would you rather take the pressure off and start again when January rolls around?

Whatever you think is best, it can help to set a date. Make a plan and stick to it – it’ll be tough but those healthy habits will be worth starting again.

Enjoy it

Despite everything, we do really want you to enjoy your Christmas. It’s rare that we get the opportunity to take some time out, to celebrate and reflect on the year and to spend time with loved ones, so make the most of it. If that involves more food and indulgence than usual, then so be it, you can pick things up again whenever you like. Savour your Christmas and enjoy every mouthful.