How to get through the festive season without feeling like you've had an epic health fail !

It's about 6 weeks until Christmas which means silly season is almost upon us. The shops are filled with Christmas tat and the food aisles are overwhelmed with mince pies, chocolates, Christmas cake and pretzels. Temptation is literally everywhere you look!

At this time of year people are least likely to start a new health or fitness regime. This is also when people tend to fall off the wagon altogether as can all get a bit overwhelming. Surely it's just easier to wait until the festive season is over? In January there is less temptation and everyone is in 'new year - new you' mode. All the chocolates, mince pies, cheese, biscuits and Bailey's have been eaten and drunk. But I promise you, in January the conditions will still not be perfect and they never will be. If we wait for perfect we'll never start or progress with anything.

Ask yourself the right questions

This festive season is an ideal time to do better than last year. It doesn't have to be a white knuckle ride of 'I can't eat that, I can't drink this. Going into restriction mode and then falling off the wagon will lead to the inevitable f**k it! moment! Instead you can ask yourself 'what's a better choice than this?' What CAN I have? What CAN I do? Do I really need to buy 4 family size tins of Quality Street to eat while I'm wrapping the presents? Or would a treat size bag do? At the works Christmas buffet what are the better choices? Do I really need an entire plate of sausage rolls and quiche? Or could I have couple of chicken drumsticks and a chunk of blue cheese, some grapes and salad? There are always 'better' options - aim for 1% better every day. It's about having control of your choices rather than playing the victim of your circumstances.

What CAN you do?

Throughout the festive season, there are still plenty of things you can do to win each day. You can still plan and prepare the majority of your meals. You can still plan your training and daily movement. You can think ahead and plan what you'll do when faced with the mainly beige Christmas buffet. You can plan what you'll have to drink and choose lower calorie options. The more prepared you are, the less wiggle room you have for error and the more likely you'll avoid a major disaster!

You don't have to win every vote to win an election, you just have to win the majority.

It's absolutely possible to enjoy the next few weeks and still stay on track with your goals. Think moderation not deprivation. Think about the cost of short-term pleasure versus long-term reward.

If you deprive yourself completely, you're more likely to over-indulge. So plan the indulgences that you really want, look forward to them and enjoy them. You don't have to say yes to every single chocolate, mince pie and glass of bubbly that comes your way but it won't completely derail your progress if you indulge in the odd one or two!

2 Questions for you:

1. If you had a magic wand to stop one bad habit today, what would it be?

2. What's stopping you from stopping?