Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations. As a result, many people gain weight between Thanksgiving and the New Year. What's to blame? Perhaps all the tempting treats available during the holiday season or pressure from family, friends and co-workers to overeat. Maybe it is tied to emotional eating or holiday stress. Often times eating and physical activity regimens get tossed aside in anticipation of the strict "new diet and exercise plan" you are going to start January 1st. Regardless of the reasons, it is not necessary to avoid holiday festivities in an attempt to maintain your weight! Let me share some eating tips you might like to try for a healthy holiday season.

1. Focus on weight maintenance vs. weight loss during the holidays. If you are currently overweight and want to lose weight, this is not the time to do it. Maintenance of your present weight is a big enough challenge during the holiday season. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by making unrealistic goals.
2. Plan on NOT dieting after the New Year. Anticipation of food restriction sets you up for binge- type eating over the holidays. Besides, restrictive diets don't usually work in the long run. They increase your loss of lean body mass vs. fat, slow down your metabolism, increase anxiety, depression, food preoccupation and binge eating and make weight re-gain more likely.
3. Be physically active every day. With busy holiday schedules exercise often gets set aside. Physical activity, especially aerobic activities, like walking, jogging, bicycling and skiing can help relieve stress, regulate appetite and burn up extra calories from holiday eating.
Invite family and friends to take a walk after the holiday meal, it can make everyone feel more energetic and you can enjoy the company of those around you.
4. Eat a light snack before going to holiday parties, along with eating your regular meals throughout the day. Going to a party famished makes it more likely that you will overeat. You will also be less likely to resist the temptation of eating the higher fat and higher calorie foods.
5. Make a plan. Think about where you will be, who you will be with, what foods will be available and what foods you really want to eat vs. those that you could probably do without. Also, look at your personal triggers to overeat and how you can minimize them. Once you have thought about all of these things, make a plan of action. It is much easier to deal with a difficult social eating situation if you have already planned for it.
6. At parties and holiday dinners, we tend to eat, or keep eating, beyond our body's physical hunger simply because food is there and eating is very "social". Try eating consciously, make one plate of the foods you really want. Eat it slowly, enjoying and savoring every delicious bite. When you are done, pop a piece of gum in your mouth to chew or get a tall glass of water and sip on it through the festivities. Move yourself away from the food to keep yourself from overeating.
7. Try to incorporate some healthy substitutes into your holiday cooking and baking. Try using applesauce in place of oil in your favorite holiday bread. Use whole grain flours in your baking. Put out a vegetable platter with hummus while baking cookies. Experiment with the many healthy and tasty recipes waiting out there for you to try.
8. Choose your beverages wisely. Drink water, water and more water every day, it is calorie free. Try a splash of cranberry juice or a squeeze of lemon, if you want a little flavor. Alcohol is high in calories. Liquors, sweet wines and sweet mixed drinks contain 150-450 calories per glass. If you choose to drink, select light wines and beers and use non-alcoholic mixers such as water, tonic and seltzer. Limit your intake to 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks per occasion. Watch out for calories in soda, fruit punch and egg nog.
9. Enjoy good friends and family. Food can be a big part of the holidays, but it doesn't have to be the focus. Holidays are a time to reunite with good friends and family, to share laughter and memories, and to celebrate and give thanks. Focus more on these holiday pleasures. The important thing to remember is balance and moderation. It is OK to eat too much once in a while. Just relax, enjoy the holidays and remember what the season is all about.
10. Maintain perspective. No one is perfect nor should we try to be. Overeating one day won't make or break your eating plan. If you over indulge at a holiday meal, put it behind you. Return to your usual eating plan the next day without guilt or despair.

Sweet potatoes are on everyone’s mind this season. They seem to go hand-in-hand with the holidays, but eating these and other sweet vegetables needn’t be limited to this time of year. Cravings for sweets can be greatly reduced by adding sweet vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, beets, squash, turnips and rutabagas, to your daily diet. Sweet potatoes elevate blood sugar gently, rather than with the jolt delivered by simple refined carbohydrates, so there’s no energy crash after you eat them. Much higher in nutrients than white potatoes and especially rich in vitamin A, sweet potatoes offer a creamy consistency that is satisfying and soothing. They are healing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and help to remove toxins from the body. They can increase the quantity of milk in lactating women and can lessen cramps and pre-menstrual symptoms. If you don’t have any sweet potatoes in your kitchen, go out and buy some (organic and local if possible) and make the recipe below.

This recipe is an eye-opener for those who find sweet potatoes annoyingly sweet or who are tired of eating them smothered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Japanese sweet potatoes, with their pale flesh and delicate flavor, are a treat if you can find them.

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

WHOLE FOODS MARKET STORE TOUR, Friday, December 1st, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM, at Whole Foods in Framingham, This is limited to 6 people so sign up now by calling or e- mailing me. Click here for more details...

EAT, SLEEP AND MOVE FOR MORE ENERGY, Sunday, December 3rd, 6:00-7:00 PM, at Life Alive in Lowell. If you are interested in attending this workshop, contact Heidi Feinstein at Life Alive, 978- 453-1311 or e-mail info@lifealive.com. You can check out Life Alive at www.lifealive.com. Click here for more details...