Guidelines on how to stay healthy over Christmas have been issued by the British Heart Foundation.

On Christmas Day it is easy to consume more than 3,000 calories - which is one and a half times the guideline daily amount for a woman.

Grazing throughout the day, not to mention the large Christmas dinner itself, all take their toll as part of the eating and drinking that goes with the festive season and come the New Year many will be wondering what went wrong.

That’s why the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has put together some top tips on its website to help you eat like a king this Christmas and still feel virtuous at the same time.

Opt for a healthy starter - Try a light starter of vegetable sticks with low fat dips or make your own soup with seasonal vegetables and help you to reach your 5-a-day.

Go skinless - Turkey is a good source of lean protein, but remember to remove the skin before eating to keep the fat as low as possible and save yourself about 50 calories1.

Let the fat run off - When roasting your meat or turkey use a metal rack or trivet to allow the fat to drain off.

Go chunky - Cut potatoes into large chunks to stop them absorbing as much fat and roast them in a small amount of unsaturated oil like olive oil or sunflower oil. Having four small roast potatoes instead of two large roast potatoes will increase your calorie intake by over 1001.

Have a fruity stuffing - Make stuffing using dried apricots or cranberries or chestnuts rather then a pork based one and save yourself a further 85 calories1.

Pile on the veg - Serve up lots of different vegetables (steam, microwave or boil where possible) and flavour with fresh herbs, spices or lemon juice rather than butter or salt.

Switch your milk - Make bread sauce healthier by using skimmed or semi-skimmed milk rather than full fat milk and cut back on 15 calories per serve1. Or have a dollop of cranberry sauce instead.

Go easy on the alcohol - Try alternating alcoholic drinks with water or fruit juice and keep within sensible limits (no more than 3-4 units a day for men and no more than 2-3 units a day for women). Drinking mulled wine made from juice instead of red wine will save you over 30 calories per serve1.

Eat more slowly and enjoy - Help prevent the feeling of being uncomfortably full by eating slowly and chewing your food well. You want to be able to enjoy it after all that cooking.

For more information about being good to your heart over the holidays visit www.bhf.org.uk.