With Christmas parties galore and the New Year approaching we are often challenged by opposing thought processes and motivations when it comes to what we should eat and drink.  On one hand summer is here and with it less clothing so it becomes a time to want to slim down and make resolutions for a fitter, healthier and slimmer me! 

On the other hand we have the end of year stress and fatigue making disciplined eating and exercise less likely, combined with a high concentration of exposure to food and drink in socially acceptable environments!  As I work my way through a box of gingerbread generously provided by a client, I hear myself saying

‘Christmas only comes once a year, why not enjoy it' but is there a price to pay for overindulgence and can we still enjoy the festive season without going overboard? The eating of food, especially with company, is an essential part of our social being and certainly can be one of life's greatest pleasures.

It isn't just the nutritional content to feed our cells, the provision of key building blocks to make hormones or ‘feel good; neurotransmitters and all the basic vitamins and minerals essential to life itself which makes food so important.  The pleasure that comes from tasting a really nice glass of wine or a piece of fine quality chocolate or a superbly prepared and presented meal is often hard to describe and often taken for granted.  Imagine not being able to eat anything for an extended period of time and of course those who have ‘dieted' in some form know of the added stress that comes from not being able to eat what we want and when we want. 

There is also a whole emotional element to eating which can often unbalance the physical element.  Research indicates that as women we are more susceptible to letting our emotions dictate our eating habits especially when those emotions are negative as we attempt to eat away our low self esteem, or our fears or our unhappiness.  Whereas when we are feeling mentally strong and secure, we tend to make positive choices about what we put in our mouths and do with our bodies. It is often not what goes in our mouth that is the problem but what is going on in our heads!  This explains why diets don't work for so many, if it was simply an eating issue then eating a healthy diet wouldn't be so difficult.

I often talk to clients about food for the soul and food for the body - we need both but the breakdown of how much for each is important and will influence both our emotional and physical health and ongoing wellness.  ‘Soul food' is the food you enjoy most but isn't necessarily good for us on a nutritional level and should make up no more than 10% of your diet.  Denying these foods completely is unrealistic for many and is the source of much guilt when we do eat them which counteracts most of the enjoyment of eating it in the first place.  Although I try to eat healthy as much as possible, I understand the role my ‘soul' food has so when I make a conscious decision to eat say some chocolate I also make a decision to enjoy it.  Food for the body should make up about 90% of what we eat and includes the complex carbohydrates, protein and good fats we hear so much about.  So back to this festive time of the year.....I guess the bottom line as always is trying to balance things and if the soul food: body food ratio gets a little out of whack then we just have to be prepared to deal with the consequences.

A few tips to consider are:

• For every glass of alcohol you drink, alternate with a glass of water.
• Homemade pies, cakes and puddings will always taste better and often are without the preservatives and additives we can do without.
• With most parties taking place on the weekends try to stock up on food for the body during the week and keep the soul food for the weekends.
• Eat slowly, keep portion sizes small and make it a rule never to have more than 2 of anything!
• Make a promise to yourself that you will do a detox program in January.