What Women Dread Most At Christmas

Forget the in-laws, the shopping or the endless meal preparation, what nearly a quarter of women dread most about Christmas is trying to resist all that extra food. According to a new survey by tescodiets.com, resisting festive goodies is nearly seven times as bad as having to cook Christmas lunch (3%), three times as bad as having the relatives to stay (8%) and even worse than doing all the Christmas shopping (22%).

In addition, nearly 20% of those questioned said that their ideal fantasy Christmas present would be being able to eat whatever they wanted in the future without ever gaining weight!

And if that wish doesn't come true, a whopping 70% of those questioned said that losing weight would be a New Year's Resolution.

However, the survey also reveals that women may be worrying themselves unnecessarily about the amount of calories they are eating.

When questioned, over 60% incorrectly said that an average sized Christmas lunch contained 5,000 calories, not 2,000 calories.

And over 50% incorrectly estimated that a medium sized roast potato contained 175 calories, not 75.

Kellie Collins, nutritionist at tescodiets.com says: "There is always a lot of extra food on offer at this time of year, from party canapés to mince pies and chocolates so it can be difficult to say no.

"But it would be a real shame to ruin Christmas by worrying about a few extra calories. Our advice would be to try and make healthy choices where possible and watch your portions, but do allow yourself a few festive treats. Then you can start afresh with healthy habits in the New Year."

The survey also revealed that the traditional Christmas dinner is still a firm favourite, with a resounding 83% of us planning to tuck into one this year.

And finally, it would appear that the humble Brussels sprout may have grown in popularity. According to the survey, the least favourite Christmas dinner item is brandy butter (28%).

The survey was conducted amongst 694 people on behalf of tescodiets.com.