It's hard to believe, and you may not be ready to hear it, but Christmas is right around the corner again! With Christmas comes more parties, more drinking, more eating, and more things to fit into our already hectic schedules! All these combined can easily contribute to sabotage your health and fitness plan! And by the time the New Year arrives, if you aren't careful, you could find yourself with an extra ten pounds to lose when you set your resolutions for 2002! But it doesn't have to be that way....

There are just over five weeks left until Christmas. Make the decision - right now - to put that time to good use. Instead of starting to slack off and make excuses to let your programme slide, kick it up a notch. Resolve to change the old patterns and make this year different.

First of all, set yourself some goals for the next five weeks: a goal weight you want to reach, the number of pounds you would like to lose, the number of times you will exercise each week, anything that is important to you. My goal is to lose six pounds before Christmas; what is yours?

In order to achieve the goal(s) that you set, you will need to make whatever lifestyle changes necessary. For me to achieve my goal, I intend to increase my exercise, lower my calorie intake slightly by eating only nutritious low-fat foods, and monitor my eating habits by keeping a food diary. These three changes are basic components of a healthy lifestyle and are the ones I recommend to all my readers regardless of the five week goal that you have hopefully now set for yourself.

Once you have identified the changes you need to make, figure out the details. Don't leave your exercise schedule and your meals to chance - even the best of intentions can fall by the wayside when confronted with the disruptions that you will be sure to face during the upcoming festive season.

Schedule your exercise. Once a week, sit down and determine a plan for the upcoming week. Write down what activity you are going to do and when in your appointment book or planner and stick to it no matter what! It is an appointment with yourself and should be given the same priority as a doctor's appointment or anything else that you wouldn't consider missing. One tip for you to consider as you plan your exercise schedule for the week: if you can, try to exercise first thing in the morning - you will be less likely to get too busy or feel too tired! And you will have more energy for the rest of the day if you get up a little earlier for a vigorous workout in the morning. Try to get a couple more exercise sessions in than normal for the next five weeks to help counteract the extra calorie intake that will likely be unavoidable during your hectic social schedule.

Plan your meals for the week in advance. Take your own lunches to work, and be sure to pack fresh fruit and vegetables to eat for healthy snacks. Cutting calories during the meals you prepare will help prevent you being thrown off course by the higher fat meals you will likely be served at all the upcoming social events.

Keep a food diary.. I have said it before and I will say it again, self-monitoring is the best tool for initiating healthy lifestyle changes. Write down every calorie-containing morsel that passes your lips, and that includes drinks (and egg nog!) You will think twice about eating that Quality Street or handful of nuts or any other fattening temptation if you have to confess it to your food diary.

So you have homework for the next five weeks:

Write down the Christmas goal(s) that you have set for yourself and place it somewhere prominent.

Read and feel your goal every day at least once a day. Picture yourself comfortable in the cocktail dress or suit that was a little too snug last year, imagine how good it will be to get compliments at your Christmas dinner, feel how proud you will be of yourself when you reach your Christmas goals.

Plan your exercise schedule in advance and stick to it.

Prepare healthy meals and snacks to take with you to work or your Christmas shopping excursions. Eat light whenever you can and keep treats to a minimum.

Record everything you eat and drink in your food diary.

And I would be amiss if I did not remind you to drink water, drink water and drink more water.

By putting a little extra effort into your exercise and eating habits over the next few weeks, you can avoid the bloated, gluttonous, self-loathing feelings that often accompany the excesses of the Christmas season. And you will be able to go into the New Year one step closer to your ultimate goal of becoming BodyWise!