• Continue to eat 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Don’t skip meals to “save up” for a holiday meal as more often than not this will lead to overindulging. Also, never go to a holiday gathering or party hungry. Have a snack before you head out the door such as a piece of fruit with a serving of nuts, a small bowl of a broth-based soup or high fiber cereal, or even a half of a sandwich.

• Don’t hang out at the food table at a party or holiday gathering. Steering clear of the food table helps to prevent unconscious nibbling which can lead to overindulging. Get a small plate of food, step away from the table, and enjoy.

• Enjoy only your favorite holiday foods and skip the rest. Choose only the foods that you consider an essential part of the holidays and cut back on others. For example, if you don’t like fruitcake, why waste calories on that when they can be used for something that you do enjoy this time of year?

• Beware of liquid calories. Liquid calories from soft drinks, punch, and alcohol can add up quickly. Instead try sparkling water with a twist of lime, club soda, or seltzer water with a splash of 100% fruit juice so that you can allocate more of you calorie budget to your favorite holiday foods.

• Practice mindful eating at holiday meals. Evaluate your hunger level before you begin eating and throughout your meal. Eat slowly, savor each bite of food, and before thinking of going back for seconds ask yourself if you are still truly hungry. If the answer is “no”, stop there. Seconds will only leave you feeling uncomfortably stuffed and regretting that second helping.

• Serve yourself and plan responses to insistent hosts. Serve yourself to limit portions and to choose the foods that you really enjoy (but remember to eat your vegetables!). To insistent hosts or family members that feel you should eat seconds, have a planned response such as “No thank you. Everything was delicious but I am stuffed.” Don’t give in or back down from your reply.

• If you like to bake, limit the number of baked goods that you prepare this year. Only bake enough cookies and other sweets to give away or for a single festivity. If you have any leftovers, consider freezing them. Beware of sampling the batter when baking as these calories do count and can add up quickly.

• Stay active over the holiday season. Continue with your exercise program to burn calories and to help minimize holiday stress. Consider a workout just before a holiday meal (and use that meal for recovery) or round up your family members or friends after the meal to go for a walk.

• Remember that the actual holidays are just a few days (not a few months). Splurging a little only on the actual holidays can fit in as part of an overall healthy nutrition plan. It is the cycle of splurging on too many calories and not getting enough exercise from October until January that can cause weight gain during the holiday season.

• If you do overindulge at a holiday function, don’t beat yourself up about it. We all tend to overindulge now and then. Rather than fretting about that splurge and giving up on the nutrition plan that you have worked hard to achieve, jump back on your healthy eating plan at your next meal and roll on.