After a cold and rainy week, all you want to do is to snuggle down and surrounded yourself with mounds of comfort food. To make matters worse, not only are temperatures quickly dropping in those poorly insulated shacks of student housing, but the supermarkets are filling up with tempting Christmas treats. How will we live up to those sun-soaked promises we made ourselves only a few months back, asserting that this semester we really would eat healthily?

There is, however, hope, and a promise that we need not restrict ourselves to loathsome low-fat alternatives. Who better to assure us that such is the truth than Mary Berry herself? For years, we have watched with wonder as this tiny woman has consumed cake after cake on The Great British Bake Off, whilst never growing an inch. In fact, she has said that she has remained the same size pretty much all her life, and can still fit into the dresses she brought in her 20s. “Impossible!” we cry, it is just too unfair!

But her secret is far simpler than any of us could ever have believed, and in fact, really no secret at all. Eat smaller portions, and avoid those foods that are supposedly free of fat. Far easier said than done, perhaps. But it does mean that the devilishly fatty treats that have been staring at us these past few days in the shop can now be tossed into the basket, as long as we only allow ourselves a small slice.

Mary has been quoted as saying, “If people could just learn to do those two things, learn to enjoy smaller portions and not eat between meals, I really think it would help combat obesity.” The truth is, you probably already knew this, and knowing that all you have to do is eat less will come as no real surprise. Yet, knowing that someone whose life revolves around food is able to keep her figure is quite inspirational, and makes it seem all the more achievable.

At the same time as eating less, it has recently been said that we should revert back to eating those fats that we’ve been told all our life to avoid. This means choosing to eat full fat rather than opting for the seemingly healthier ‘fat-free’ labelled foods, which often replace fat with alarming amounts of sugar. Not only that, but we are being invited to buy real butter over those margarines we have always been told are so much healthier for us. Scientists have found that there is no evidence to support the claim that saturated fat leads to an increased risk of heart disease.

So what does this mean? Well, we can switch clear out all those low-fat labelled packages from our cupboards and fridges, and bring in all the foods we actually enjoy eating. Just in time for Christmas, don’t you think? No second helpings though, please.

Laura Rowlands