Tis the Season

Eight dos and don'ts for enjoying the holidays without having to loosen your belt buckle

During December, it's natural to have visions of sugar plums dancing through your head-and turkey and stuffing and eggnog. But unless you're careful, these holiday foods will dance through your head and find a permanent home in your thighs.

"Most people only gain one to two pounds during the holiday season," says Tara Gidus, M.S., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "The problem is the weight doesn't come off, so after 20 years of this, they're in trouble."

The best way to get rid of those extra couple of pounds is to not gain them in the first place. Here are eight ways to keep the weight at bay.

Don't diet. It may sound counterintuitive, but forget dieting during the holidays. Instead, focus on maintaining your current weight through a healthy diet and regular exercise. Dieting your way through December only sets you up for failure. Plus, it will make you feel alienated from celebrating and will be very hard to stick to.

Resolve not to diet after the holidays either. Knowing that New Year's means a strict healthy-eating regimen, you may overindulge, trying to fit in all your favorite foods, up until then.

Do plan ahead. The holidays are a time for celebrating, which means you'll probably have at least a few parties to attend. And most of them will revolve around eating and drinking.

To balance out the calories, eat a healthy breakfast and a light lunch. But don't show up famished. Eat a snack before the party to avoid overeating. If it's a buffet, peruse the lineup before grabbing a plate and choose only foods you really want to eat. If you're not sure there will be healthy options, ask the hostess if you can bring a dish to share, and make it a low-calorie one. Or consider arriving fashionably late and skipping the meal entirely.

Do plan a healthy party of your own. If you're hosting a holiday get-together, help your family and friends stay healthy, too, by serving low-fat, low-calorie fare such as vegetables with fat-free dressing, shrimp skewers and fresh fruit.

Also, put some thought into laying out your party. Instead of one large buffet, spread the food out around the room. It will make it look less like the main event and will encourage mingling among guests. Arrange the food on each table deliberately, too. Put the healthiest choices up front where they're easy to reach. And put bite-sized snack foods, such as nuts and popcorn, into carafes so that guests have to lift and pour them onto their plates, discouraging unconscious munching.

Don't follow the recipe. "Traditional holiday meals are fairly healthy, if you skip the gravy and don't bake your greenbeans in cream of mushroom soup," says Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., R.D., also a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. So feel free to continue to make your favorite holiday dishes- just make them a bit healthier. Is there butter in your mashed potato recipe? Try chicken broth and skim milk instead. In salads, pass on the mayonnaise and substitute nonfat plain yogurt. Swap some of the oil in baked goods recipes for applesauce.

Don't forget to count drink calories. Eating a healthy holiday diet won't amount to much if you wash every meal down with a soda or glass of eggnog. "Keep the lid on alcoholic beverages," Gerbstadt says."They're a big source of hidden calories."Opt instead for sparkling water, diet drinks or plain ol' water.

Do plan active gatherings. Coordinate activities that don't focus on food. Take the family ice skating or for a walk through the neighborhood to look at holiday lights .And limit the number of holiday "specials" the kids watch on TV. Instead of watching Frosty the Snowman, tell them the story as you build a real Frosty in the yard.

Don't beat yourself up. If after trying hard, you still gain a couple of pounds, don't be too hard on yourself. Just return to a low-fat, low-calorie diet and ramp up your physical activity combined with regular massage therapy for a more balanced lifestyle. And be patient."The bottom line is it took two months of excessive eating to gain it," Gerbstadt says."It's not going to come off in a couple of days." -By Shelley Flannery