Whooah – two dirty words! Today I googled ‘Diets’ and there were 18,000,000 matches. There are pages and pages of debates on which diet reigns supreme, guidelines on what, when and how to eat, and specific diet plans with measurements right down to the last tiny gram.

People will argue over what to eat and which diet is best, strongly defending their own stance. Just check out the forums! Carbs or no carbs? Low fat, no fat or moderate fat? Is the sugar in fruit bad for you? Is lite really light? What about the glycemic index? Should we eat after 7pm? Is skipping breakfast really bad? Should we eat 1 big meal or 6 small meals? Is fasting healthy?

Flocks of people jump on these diet bandwagons with full abandon, mindlessly accepting any mismatched snippets of information they come across.

Instead of being swept into the debate, let’s just focus on what really gets results.

The truth: all diets will work... if you work.

Any diet with less calories than you need will ‘work’ if you have the discipline needed to follow it. It’s great to ask questions – carbs or no carbs, low, no or moderate fat.....

But really, there is only one question you need to ask yourself: Do you have the discipline to stick with it?

The diet that will work for you is the diet you can stick to.

The fastest and easiest way to lose the Christmas kilo’s ... is to not put them on in the first place!

I don’t know anyone who has lifted a weight once and suddenly had Schwarzenegger arms. I don’t know anyone who has gone for a long run and instantly lost 10kg of fat. And, although people blame the holidays for weight gain, I don’t know any person who has the ability to put on 3 dress sizes in one single meal.

Your body adapts over time, not in an instant. Eat whatever you like for Christmas lunch—go all out if you like! But the very next day be sure to get back on track. Because a series of actions certainly do have the power to see you stack on the kilo’s. Here’s the truth: One meal wont make you fat; however constant snacking, partying and drinking for 4 weeks certainly will!

I think that we forget the fact that Christmas lunch is one meal on one day. Not a whole month of constant reckless feasting on culinary delights. And, more importantly, Christmas is about spending time with the people you care deeply for, not about food.

Far too many people allow the busy holidays to throw them off their healthy eating and exercising routine. Once you have a habit pattern going, it’s fairly easy to keep it going. But once you lose momentum, it’s very difficult to get it going again because you must overcome inertia all over again. (An object at rest tends to stay at rest!)