I'm going to try to change a few things within the established framework, but I am intending to eat drink and be very very merry at Christmas. I'm not a great fan of sweets and cake anyway, but I know full well I'll eat and drink lots of great home cooked food and drinks - and as I'll be the one cooking it, I think I bloody well deserve to.

I take it Dr Frankie Phillips might be a Frances rather than a Francis and is obviously diet-obsessed or just a general kill-joy. :grumble:

Yes we all know we over indulge at Christmas, but 't is the season to be jolly. You don't put up decorations and dress a tree with ornaments and fairy lights and buy each other lovely gifts, then to sit around the Christmas table having a satsuma, a couple of dry slices of turkey breast, no spuds, no gravy and lots of boiled sprouts and carrots.

Oh and it's obvious (s)he has never had a home-made Christmas pud. I don't see how something made with suet can be classed as low in fat. and even if it were... how many calories does even a small portion contain given the amount of fruit and alcohol it contains. :laugh:

Obviously if folks have a mission such as a wedding dress to fit into by Easter, then they might go a bit light on Christmas day, but I for one shall be having my scrambled egg with smoked salmon for breakfast, followed by a cheeky Snowball with the girlies, then it's off to the pub for 2-3 halves of Aspall and then back home to enjoy roast duck with all the trimmings including sprouts with bacon lardons and garlic butter, thyme-honey-roasted parsnips, roasties done in duck fat, bread sauce with a tablespoon of single malt, red cabbage and sultanas in a red wine reduction followed by mince pies and custard or maybe even a bread & butter pud made with Bailey's. All that will be washed down with at least 2 bottles of Shiraz and probably have a large Bailey's over ice to finish the evening off while we play party games.

Then we do it all again on Boxing Day at our newly-wed friends' Christmas buffet. We'll have a few days off to recover and workout like crazy before we enjoy the Hogmanay bash at our Local and then another mega Roast turkey dinner on New Year's Day.

Sure I might wipe out all the weight I lose in December, but I'm not sitting round eating crispbreads and lettuce while everyone else is stuffing themselves silly and getting merry! :drinker: :bigsmile:

i will probably not indulge as much as usual, as my parents will be with us for dinner and dad is having problems with gall stones at the moment and has been told to severly monitor his fat intake, and i don't want to parade lots of temptation in front of him, there will still be lots of goodies but not as much as usual

I plan on having whatever I want - It'll be stress busting!!

I am going to be a (proxy) granny in June next year and the mum to be (daughter of my deceased friend) who we are stand in parents for had planned a wedding for June - she told me 2 weeks ago she's pregnant!! Its due 2 days after the planned wedding date!! (Shock all round but delight now)

SO - I will be helping her organise a wedding for Christmas week (in theory), helping plan and sort baby stuff (she's excited but petrified) PLUS - she's invited the little family she has got to lunch Christmas Day - including us and Auntie flying in from New York with 2 year old and mega rich partner. Her oven is tiny so yours truly is cooking the turkey! (At the very least) PLUS - it looks like they are all coming here Boxing Day.

AND - I'm on the short notice list for working in A&E over the Christmas period..


Damn right I'm going to eat and drink what I fancy!!!

The only difference this year is I am planning a post-dinner riverside walk, but if a trashy film distracts me from that happening it will not be the end of the world.

I am such a foodie and hosting this year, I won't be happy unless everyone is motionless in a gluttony coma!

Enjoy everyone, you totes deserve!

At the moment I'm down to work on Christmas day If I can't get swapped off then there'll be loads of treats at work and I will indulge. If I am off it will be xmas at my mums and I will indulge in what I fancy. My mums dinners are quite healthy thoughg, it's more the snacky stuff! I will be enjoying a bottle of Baileys over the festive period! The BIG dinner is in the New Year though, when we go to my in-laws for 'christmas' dinner. As they live in the midlands and we are in London we can't get up there on the day itself so my mum inlaw makes the dinner for us when we do go up. She makes LOADS and it's spuds roasted in lard, two types of meat, two types of stuffing, pigs in blankets etc etc etc. I definitely agree that you can cut loose at Christmas.

I am one of those Spring brides next year so I will not be just mindlessly eating this year, I will be savouring the christmas dinner and pud but will just avoid eating chocolates and rubbish inbetween, and take it all to work for people to eat and get fat on at work! :-)

I'm not going to stress about calories. I'm not fond of turkey (goose though is another matter.. mmm). this year it is just the 4 of us for the whole day for the first time ever and in order to enjoy time with the kids instead of stressing in the kitchen we're thinking of not doing home made for the first time. Last year year was fish pie, the year before was lamb curry, and the year before that was beef bourgignonne. This year we're thinking of buying in beef wellington, and making stollen (mmmmm marzipan!). Try to build in a walk/something outdoors and fun with the girls too

I have a target to reach by Christmas and so long as i reach it i will be eating and drinking whatever the hell i want over the Christmas holidays. Hoping to get in lots of walks with the OH and my stomach is definately smaller so i won't be able to eat as much as i used to anyway. It's all about having a balance and living life too. Plus i loooooooooovvvveeee Christmas.

I'll be taking 24th - 26th off of the diet, but I will still try to keep one eye on what I'm eating. My real favourite things are meat, cheese and bread, so I will be enjoying those aplenty, but I'll stay away from the sweets as I'm not so keen on those (though I would normally eat some anyway). If I can go back to work after the holiday weighing the same as when I left I'll be satisfied, and if I manage to lose any weight I'll be very pleased!