A final post before the holiday

Christmas is coming - the goose is getting fat. 

First of all, if it's goose for dinner he's not getting fat any more! He'll already be hanging! Secondly, if you are still in phases 1-3 of the Dukan Diet, you won't be having goose any time soon. (Unless it's a Stage three Celebration Meal).

Goose and Duck are no-nos. This rich fatty meat is not a good enough source of lean protein for the Dukan Diet. Relax, if you're planning to have turkey. The traditional bird for the season is fine. 

The average Briton apparently consumes some 6,000 calories at Christmas. I mistakenly put this at 9,000 on an earlier post. Pretty much three days' worth of calories in one. Is that really possible? Don't forget that this is apparently the average. That must mean there will be a good number of people staying sensible and a similar number passing the 6,000 mark by mid-morning. That is a sobering thought. A statistical fact however. Whenever statistical reports tell you what an average person in our population does, this does not mean a typical person. In many samples no individual needs to comply with the type describes as average. The average is a mathematical calculation, identifying all the variables and working out what would be the, well, the average. It's not the same as the mid point, although that is close. The median is simply the middle point in a range, the average is the middle value. If calorie consumption were evenly distributed across a whole range, then the mid point and the average would be the same. This would effectively mean there would be as many people consuming fewer calories and an equal number eating far more. If the spread is less even, and there are a low number going absolutely mad and eating 10,000 calories on the big day, then the average could still be higher than the majority of the sample. Unfortunately, I expect there is a fairly even spread and the 6,000 is relatively typical of the mid range point. 

We all think of the turkey and the sprouts, but they aren't the source of those calories. If you start with a slice of melon, it won't be that either. The villains of the Christmas meal table will be the potatoes, the parsnips, the Yorkshire Pudding, the gravy, the Christmas Pudding, the cream, brandy butter and custard and also everything you eat and drink in between in during the day. 

How many Quality Street tins do you have? How many boxes of chocolates? Do you have nuts - especially those chocolate brazils? Mince pies? Christmas cake later on? 

How much will you drink to wash it down?

Please, enjoy your Christmas holiday. Eat whatever you want. If you are dieting, well please try to stay focused. If you recently completed a diet, think about what you went through to get where you are. 

Please, whatever else you do, please think about what you will do after Christmas to get yourself back into shape. I'm not talking about some vague New Year's resolution. I'm talking about action. follow my blog and find out in 2011 what I'm talking about.