Ten top diet & fitness tips to stop you piling on the Xmas pounds!

7:00am Saturday 29th November 2008

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Christmas is a time for fun, family and food. Too much fun and family can leave you with a headache, but make sure your waist line doesn’t get as big as Santa’s this Christmas by following these diet & fitness tips:

• Start your day with a healthy breakfast. Try smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, a bowl of warm porridge or an omelette.

• If it’s snowing, go sledging or have a snowball fight. You’ll burn lots of calories without even realising!

• Make your Christmas starter a healthy one. Serve prawn cocktail, vegetable soup or smoked salmon instead of higher fat pastry alternatives.

• Pile your Christmas dinner plate with lots of vegetables first, so there is less room on your plate for higher calorie and fat food options.

• Wrap up warm and go for a walk after your Christmas dinner – it will stop your feeling bloated.

• Tis the season to be jolly, but watch your alcohol intake! A pint of beer has 182 calories, a small glass of sherry 68 calories and a small Baileys 129 calories.

• If you have a Wii Fit get it out of the box! Start up a healthy family competition.

• If you are cooking this Christmas, only offer one or two desserts. That way, less leftovers for you to eat the next day!

• Move away from the food and TV and play some fun, active games. Try Twister, charades or pretend your family are on Britain’s Got Talent. Can you come up with funky dance routine?

• Enjoy yourself this Christmas, but only eat when you are hungry. That way, less calories to burn off in the New Year.

GEMMA WEBSTER, Nutrition & fitness expert, Stourbridge

www.nutsaboutnutritionandfitness.co.uk