How to burn off the Christmas paunch

You’re going to overindulge at Christmas – it’s natural. But you’ll feel much more secure if you can overeat and overdrink safe in the knowledge that you’ll be able to shake off that Christmas blubber. Look no further, gentlemen: these are the best ways to beat the paunch that’s been building up once and for all.

Before you hang your head in shame, listen up. Alcohol contains so many pointless calories, so if you’re looking to burn a couple of Christmas kgs, giving up booze is one of the quickest ways to do it. Although the term was originally cultivated by alcohol awareness groups and therefore meant for boozers, it’s actually great for porkers too. If you can’t quite face giving up the sauce for an entire 31 days, consider stopping for weeknights only – this will help considerably.

Deciding what you’re going to commit to for the new year before New Year’s Day means that you’re much more likely to actually follow through with your resolution. Deciding to take up cooking, run a marathon or finally join a gym might seem like a far-fetched dream, but committing to it at this early stage is the best thing you can do for your health – and your weight.

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to give up smoking. New year, new you, right? But if you’re concerned about your weight, it’s actually the worst thing you can do. On average, people average gain between half a stone and one and a half stone in the months after they give up smoking, so hold fire for the moment. Of course in the long term you should give up, but not before you’ve shredded the Christmas pounds.

Cycling instead of getting on public transport is one of the quickest – and easiest – ways to lose weight. If you can’t bring yourself to join a gym, hate running and have emptied your bank account because of the festive season, there’s nothing better you can do for your health – and waistline – than buying a bike.

Hit the sales hard and buy clothes in the size that you want to be, rather than the one you are. Use these new clothes as inspiration to actually lose the weight, and make sure you spend a good amount of money so that you do actually have to garner up the energy to try and lose the weight – hence fitting into your fresh garms.