Yoga and nutrition - what to eat in the run up to Christmas

We are at that time of year when diet seems to go out the window. Meeting up with friends and family to celebrate the year over a meal is a lovely way to connect with each other.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be a complete disaster. Adopt a pragmatic 80/20 rule for the next few weeks and then in exactly 4 weeks time, while you are sitting down for a bit of stuffed turkey, you won't be; a stuffed turkey that is!

Now that the cold weather is here, make use of soups to fire up your engines in the evening. Either make your own or buy a good qaulity soup from the supermarkets. I recommend root vegetables and more spicy soups to increase the warm feeling inside.

For breakfast, have a smoothie. Again adopt an 80/20 rule here so 2 days a week you can have what you like but the rest of the week stick to this recipe for a hearty breakfast smoothie that will pack you full of vitality till lunchtime.

In a blender add -

2 scoops of a non whey based protein powder

1 scoop of Arbonne's Greens Balance or any other powdered alkalising supplement containing spirulina. Arbonne's Greens Balance contains spirulina, kale, chlorella, red coffee bean, papaya and purple sweet potato.

1 apple quartered

1/4 cucumber

1/2 avocado or 1 banana (alternate each day)

1 tbs Chia Seeds or 1 scoop fibre

1 stick celery

1 carrot

1 large glass water

Drink in the morning and bring the rest with you to work in case you get peckish through out the morning.

For lunch, avoid bread, pasta and anything processed for the next few weeks or you will definitely see your clothes start to fit more tightly.

And watch the calories in your drinks as well. Remember there are 35 tea spoons of sugar in a large coke. So if you use fizzy drinks as mixers or as main drinks, you are opening yourself up to a shocking amount of sugar and calories there too.

Finally, we can often put ourselves last coming up to Christmas in the rush to get everything done so don't drink too much coffee because you are not sleeping enough. Caffeine is not evil in itself but when consumed as Coffee, it can leave a distinct nervous energy behind as well as upsetting your tummy. If you need extra energy to get through the day, use natural sources of caffeine such as green tea and guarana. Arbonne's Fizz Sticks are a replacement to your morning coffee or when you start to feel the afternoon slump. Key Ingredients: B Vitamins, green tea, panax ginseng, guarana.