A week or so into the new year and the excesses of Christmas are thankfully in the process of wearing off. I could never understand people talking about all the weight they put on over Christmas from too much food and drink, until this one.

I really did feel as if I had eaten my bodyweight in food, seeing as I was out and about quite a lot. It must be a middle-age version of FOMO (fear of missing out) that I eschewed any sensible inner advice to take it handy on foot of various invites for a beer or a meal. And I have no regrets, as I enjoyed many lazy lunches and late nights full of fun and laughs with friends and family.

All I need now is a little recalibration without much fuss. No Veganuary or dry January for me. No thank you. Extremism is a bad thing in all its forms.

And in the face of extremist fads when it comes to this time of the year, it is so refreshing to hear sensible dietary experts rubbishing the idea of turning ourselves into monks to save ourselves from ourselves. A bit of balance, cop on and perspective is what is needed to work the oracle.

Get out and exercise, eat well, cut back on portion sizes and if you enjoy a drink, well then enjoy it. Times have reached ridiculous levels when those who eat meat are made feel like environmental terrorists and those who enjoy a drink are some new form of selfish delinquent.

In all areas of society, there has always been and always will be the more vulnerable who need guidance and support in steering them in the right direction.

But now it seems that the rest of us are expected to kowtow when some clickbait online campaign is launched with the aim of body shaming those of us who aren’t subservient to their ideology. Leave me alone.

Whatever about poor diets and alcohol abuse, being miserable causes sickness too. And I can think of nothing more miserable than partaking in the circus animal that is Veganuary. And what is the point in giving up alcohol completely for a month? Wouldn’t logic suggest that if you even slightly feel that you need to give up alcohol for any prolonged period of time, then maybe you need to give it up forever?

Look at the immense pressure teenagers are under to look like they are heading to a Baywatch audition. They are reading an awful lot of tripe related to what they should eat or drink or do in the gym, but never much about just being balanced, sensible and active if they want to live a normal and healthy life.

Even a cursory glance at any recent National Dairy Council survey among teenage girls backs this. Frightening people regarding their diets is driving us nuts and many literally to nuts. As one exasperated chef told me recently he is sick of people who know nothing about coeliac disease asking if the food he is cooking is gluten-free.

Where will the nonsense end? No wonder Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is warning about the growth of Artificial Intelligence, seeing as human intelligence is on a downward spiral.

A work farewell

Last Saturday was a poignant one for us all in RTÉ Radio and in particular for Countrywide. It marked the last ever programme produced by my producer Ian Wilson. One of the founders of 2FM (Radio 2), credited with accidently creating Mrs Brown’s Boys and a legend in Irish broadcasting, we will miss him, his quirkiness, irreverence, advice and that infectious laugh. Ian, you were a pleasure to work with and will be missed.