Survive the party season without gaining a pound

Over the Christmas and New Year period, the average person will gain 5lbs (2.2kilos). But with a combination of daily exercise and forward planning you can start the New Year without gaining a pound - a very good way to start!

Here are our ten top tips to help you survive Christmas and New Year in great shape:

1. Eat a small healthy snack before going to a party, that way you're not starving when you arrive. Avoid just diving into any food available.

2. At a buffet, go for the salad and raw vegetables, fresh fruit and sliced chicken or turkey, rice or boiled potatoes. Avoid foods wrapped in pastry like vol-au-vents, quiche, or that looks fried, avoid foods that contain cheese, cream, mayonnaise or oil.

3. When dipping crudités go for salsa or yogurt based dips. Avoid mayonnaise, coleslaw, hummus and cream or cheesy-type dips and sauces.

4. For snacks, go for fresh fruit, crudités, pickled onions or pineapple without the cheese, plain popcorn, rice crackers, pretzels, bread sticks and twiglets which are very low in fat, yet fun to nibble. Avoid the crisps, tortilla chips, olives and nuts.

5. With alcohol, either alternate an alcoholic drink with a low-cal soft drink or have spritzers. There are now many low-carb alternative brands out there including beers, lagers, wine, and even a champagne! Avoid liquers, as they pack a lot of calories even in small amounts, and be wary of mulled wine as you can't be sure of its alcoholic or sugar contents.

6. Move away from the buffet and kitchen areas after you have filled your plate otherwise you will just keep picking away without realizing it and keep getting tempted. Choose the healthy options, fill your plate only once, and don't return.

7. Make sure that you exercise every day. If you can't get to the gym or pool, you could go for a brisk, long walk every day as an alternative way to burn off any extra calories that slip past you. (A brisk walk will burn 180 calories in 30 minutes - a mince pie can have 250 calories in it!). If you can run-walk or run, so much the better! Avoid sitting on the sofa watching TV, nibbling snacks, make inactivity your enemy!

8. Hydrate. Drink water before you go out and before you eat, it will help to fill you up. Drink some water (sparkling is good at parties) whilst you are out, and when you get back home. Drink water the morning after. 1.5 to 2 litres a day should be your goal. You can count decaffeinated or herbal teas as part of your water intake too.

9. Hungover? Avoid the full English breakfast cure, you'll just pile on more calories and for very little benefit. Instead, try making a nutritious breakfast of fresh fruit salad, it will make you feel better much quicker and carries far less calories.

10. Copy this list to your desktop, print it out and stick it on your fridge door.

Have a great Christmas and New Year!

By Kerry, Personal Trainer and Fitness Writer