Tony McCoy looks forward to his first Christmas lunch without a strict diet

AP McCoy said the last time he had the type of Christmas he would enjoy this year was when he was 14 or 15.

Retired jockey Tony McCoy is looking forward to a Christmas with a difference this year.

For the first time in 25 years, the man from Moneyglass, County Antrim who retired in April, will be able to enjoy a full Christmas lunch without worrying about eating too much.

Five years ago, the 41-year-old, who enjoyed a record-breaking career, revealed he would consume just 597 calories on Christmas Day.

With Christmas midway through the racing season, he had to maintain his strict diet regime.

McCoy received a lifetime achievement award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show on Sunday.

"Probably the last time I had Christmas like I'm going to have this time was when I was 14 or 15 years old. It's going to take a little getting used to," he told BBC's Good Morning Ulster.

"Obviously we have racing at Kempton on Boxing Day so it's pretty much back to work. So, the diet and the regime, even though it's Christmas, has to stay pretty strict and you have to have a discipline to make sure you don't enjoy it from a food perspective too much.

"It'll be different from that in that I'll get up and have breakfast and not worry about what I'm eating.

"Obviously I did eat on Christmas day and I did have a Christmas meal, it'll be different this year because it will be Christmas meal not worrying about what I'm eating, or eating as much as I want and going back for seconds and thirds if I like and not thinking that I shouldn't be doing it.

McCoy said he missed the excitement and pressure of racing.

"Before you were worrying about what you were putting on the plate and maybe the roast potatoes were left out - things that everyone else would enjoy. I'll be having a whole lot this year that's for sure."

Another aspect of McCoy's life that has changed since his retirement is the time he gets to spend with his family.

"Eve, my little girl is eight, I didn't get to spend a huge amount of time with her for the first three or four years of her life, whereas Archie, my little boy was two in August, I feel that I'm lucky in the sense that I can spend more time with him and get to see him growing up a little bit more," he said.

The Moneyglass man said his family was now the most important thing in his life.

"That's very important, because at this point in my life the kids are the most important thing and for a lot of my life I didn't think anything would be more important than my career, but that's changed now."

On Sunday, the Moneyglass man received a lifetime achievement award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show.

He said he would miss the excitement and pressure of riding, but it was now time to find something else.

"I love the sport, I love horse racing - I love sport in general, so it'll be horse racing or sport," he said.

"Who knows, hopefully I'll find something and I'll be able to make the most of it when I do."

McCoy said he hoped to continue to be involved in sport in some way following his retirement in April.