Surviving December was always going to take some planning. A difficult time of year to maintain weight as it is easy to get carried away with eating. I planned an approach and attempted to stick to certain rules (here). I did read a few articles for advice in the run up to this busy time.

Early in the month I ate out a couple of nights. I compensated by reducing the calorie count on days before and after the meals and I increased my walking. I normally walk around 22 miles a week as planned exercise and managed about 32 miles that week.

I used a Thorntons chocolate box for my advent calendar in December. The calculation was an average 60 calories a day per chocolate. I found this a useful approach as it is hard to calculate the calories for shop bought advent calendars and I didn’t want to miss out.

I managed to calorie count for 75% of the month except for the main holiday week. I’d already planned a five-mile daily walk over Christmas to compensate and I upped it to six or seven miles instead. One day I even managed nine and a half miles!

In December, I achieved a walking milestone, covering over 158 miles. This should definitely help prevent any unwanted weight gain. I haven’t weighed myself yet but I’ll do it around a week into January to mark a year of my new lifestyle (I started on the 6th January 2025).

I originally planned to revert to my 3-mile daily walk early in January. However, I’m going to try sticking with the 5 miles as I can normally achieve this in 90 minutes. I’ll let you know how it goes!

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About the author

Martin Brophy is the creator of everythingelse.blog, a UK-based culture and entertainment blog covering film, television, live events and nostalgic media. With a background in customer service, logistics, IT and management, he brings a sharp eye for audience experience and value to every review. He is also the creator of Magic Seats, a dedicated content channel spotlighting UK magic shows and performers.

For collaborations with Martin and everythingelse.blog, please view our latest media kit – updated January 2026

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