Mince pies in a million varieties, crisps with more flavours than your actual Christmas dinner, enough booze to sink a Navy warship and even the chocolate is camouflaged as sprouts these days.
A trip to Aldi to buy some pet food can quickly get out of hand and yes, just to confirm, I have succumbed to all of the above.
I did wait until it was at least December though in my defence.
There is so much temptation to want to try them all.
When I was a child of the 80s, a mince pie was just that. A no frills jar of mincemeat and pastry - job done. Now they are laced with almonds, chocolate, salted caramel and the rest and it all sounds, looks and tastes divine.
However, at the moment while half the world seems to be going out for festive drinks and Christmas work parties at our house it all seems rather more sober.
Within reason (the odd chocolate sprout is slipping through the net) we are pretty much on a diet of water, salad, greens, lean chicken and nuts and dried fruits.
I have heard people say there is no point thinking about diets (I don’t actually believe in them particularly as it goes) and healthy eating (this is more like it) until after the New Year.
I see what they mean, it is cold, it is Christmas and the first one without restriction being the word of the moment, really since 2019. Why not just go for it and enjoy it?
The idea is tempting but food and exercise can have a huge effect on mental health and well-being as well as your waistline.
So we are trying to resist temptation and go for lots of salad and vegetables, good carbs, lean meats and proteins.
My other half is up at 5am to train in the gym before work, I am hoping this weekend’s weather is a little drier as I need to get in a decent run and this is pretty much us until the big day.
The thought process is that the more damage limitation we can do now the better.
Make no mistake there will be a chocolate orange for breakfast on Christmas Day and dinner, trimmings and a few good glasses of Christmas spirit, plus some of those mince pies I imagine and we will be ready to enjoy it by then rather than having already had our fill.
It is also well known that the foods you consume affect your ability to function during the day and the more green stuff you have is better for the immune system and your body just works better.
It is perhaps this time of year more than most that we need to be on form, our brains ticking and not feeling sluggish which can often be caused by hangovers and sugar crashes and missed training sessions.
This time of year can also be stressful in terms of shopping for the perfect gift, organising family activities and planning the logistics of fitting 20 relatives around a fold-out table for Christmas dinner so perhaps the better our bodies are operating the same goes for our minds…
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