People who are careful about what they eat and are trying to lose weight often dread the holidays.  While others are excited to bathe in festivities, these few prefer to be locked up in a closet in order to avoid the calories and the inevitable weight gain.  The good news is that the holidays don't have to cause so much stress.  You can enjoy the foods you love around the people you love without feeling guilty.  Here are some tips to help you out this holiday season:

• Never go to a party hungry! Most of us make the mistake of saving our appetites when we know there will be a lot of food at a holiday party.  However, when you do this, you are setting yourself up for disaster.  Continue your good habits regardless of any party that might be on the horizon.  Eat breakfast and eat throughout the day (snacks and meals every 3-4 hours as usual) so that you can make better food choices at the event you plan on attending.  If you go starving, you can easily consume 4,000 calories in just one night!
• Eat a snack before you go to dinner.Yes, you heard me right, eat before you eat.  Eating a small snack of about 150 calories helps to curb your hunger and make more sound decisions about what you will eat when you go out to dinner or to a party.  Some examples are 4 dried apricots with 12 almonds or 4 whole wheat crackers with 2 tsp of peanut butter or 1 cup plain light yogurt and a fruit.
• Save on calories and not on taste. There are many things you can do when cooking or baking for the holidays that can easily cut calories.  Some examples are reducing the sugar in a recipe by 1/3 the amount indicated, using applesauce to replace some of the oil in a recipe, using low-fat vegetable spreads or butter instead of the full-fat versions, using low-fat yogurt instead of sour cream, using broth in a recipe to replace butter, and serving raw vegetables with low-fat yogurt and salad seasoning for appetizers instead of full-fat cheeses and high fat dips.
• Don't drink your calories. A 1/2 a cup of wine and a shot of hard liquor both have 100 calories each.  Just imagine having 4 drinks of vodka and orange juice.  You've just consumed 1200 calories from liquid!  Your safest bet is to drink in moderation, 1-2 alcoholic drinks for a night out (and make them last).  For the rest of the night, try some sparkling or still water with a slice of lemon.
• Have a game plan. Always be ready to plan ahead.  If you know that you have 3 parties to attend in one week, make sure to eat correct portions sizes and to not go overboard when you are at the events.  If you know the people that are giving the parties, call and ask what foods will be available so that you can decide beforehand what you will eat.  Having a rough idea of which foods will be at a party will give you more opportunity to plan and therefore control your choices.
• Have a goal NOT to lose weight. Let's be realistic.  The holidays are a time of celebration and no human being can resist having a few extra bites or their favorite foods.  The best expectation and goal to put forth during the holidays is to maintain your weight.  You can take a holiday from weight loss itself and allow yourself the opportunity to relax and celebrate.  Besides, studies show that people who take breaks in weight loss to maintain their weight for a couple of weeks, have more likelihood of keeping the weight off in the long run.

My warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a safe and healthy 2012 :)

As always, you can contact me with any questions or feedback.