If you believe the advertisers, Christmas is just around the corner and will consist of endless "fun" parties where people cheer cheese platters, feed each other canapes and scoff chocolates to take their minds off being locked in the bathroom (don't ask). As a child, my mother would never let me watch commercial television because she thought it was "common" (as indeed it is). Fortunately, there was only one such channel in the UK in those days so it was fairly easy to proscribe it. Now, however, those cunning advertisers insinuate their produce-peddling into every nook and corner of our lives. A chap can't even watch a vintage Open University physics lecture on YouTube without being subjected to endless scenes of Christmas bacchanalia. The pressure to over-consume (in both senses) at Christmas is considerable and, while restraint is to be encouraged, nobody could blame you for an occasional lapse. As the days grow colder and darker, the temptations become stronger. However, as the old saying goes: "forewarned is forearmed". In other words, if we know something is coming, we can prepare for it. Which brings me to the old Pilates legend that "a Hundred a day takes a mince pie away". Well, it's worth a try, surely? If you would like to put in some preparatory work, making room before the Christmas party food season starts, why not join me for one of my online Pilates classes? You can book via my website by clicking here.