Get off the “I’m on a diet” mindset. Now is no time to diet—in fact, a wonderful goal for the next six weeks is to simply maintain your current body weight so that the number on the scale reads the same on New Year’s Day as it does on Thanksgiving.

You can accomplish a check on weight gain by allowing yourself (and planning ahead for) indulging in small amounts of your favorite holiday treats. But be sure to make sensible eating choices the rest of the time.

Exercise more to offset holiday overeating

Don’t let your shopping and party commitments squeeze out your workouts.

Now more than ever is when you need to up your physical activity so that you can balance out the extra holiday splurges.

Make a contract with yourself to get an extra weekly workout in to cover your inevitable holiday indulgences.

Follow Healthy Eating Guidelines

Eat breakfast, don’t skip meals, drink all your calorie-free liquid, and eat small, frequent, lighter meals at home.

Carry healthy snacks like fruits and veggies and light yogurt, and never, ever arrive HUNGRY at an event where holiday treats are being served.

These yummy delights are impossible to resist when one is famished.

Before you go, appease your appetite with some light snacks such as whole-grain crackers and string cheese, veggies and hummus dip, or a glass of tomato juice.

And don’t forget to bring your own “lighter” holiday makeover dish to the party.

Use only small plates and load up on salad first if you attend a buffet

Take small tastes of the food and eat only what you love.

Limit alcohol consumption (liquid calories)

Alcohol is highly caloric, plus it can sabotage your best laid plans by affecting your judgment.

After a few drinks it’s much harder to refrain from eating all those rich gooey desserts.

If you do drink, stick with the lighter choices:

• A 4-ounce wine or champagne weighs in at just 80 calories versus a 5-ounce cocktail, a heavy 300 calories.
• Try alternating an alcoholic drink with a sparkling water and lime.

Lighter cheesy mashed potatoes

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: ~ 2/3 cup)
·         5 pound bag of organic russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
·         8 wedges of The Laughing Cow® Original Creamy cheese, room temperature
·         1 cup fat-free half & half
·         1 Tbsp. light margarine (tub)
·         ½ tsp garlic salt
·         ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
·         Chopped fresh chives (optional)

Procedure

• Place potatoes into a large Dutch oven and cover with water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 15 minutes or so until potatoes are tender.
• Drain in colander and return potatoes to Dutch oven.
• Cut cheese wedges into smaller pieces.
• Add the cheese and the rest of the ingredients (except for chives), mash with a potato masher and mix until smooth.
• Garnish with chives if desired.

Nutritional Information per Serving:

• Calories: 200
• Fat: 3.5 g
• Cholesterol: 10 mg
• Sodium: 145 mg
• Carbohydrate: 37 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 6 g