Surviving holiday parties

’Tis the season to be merry — at work parties, family gatherings, special dinners, cookie swaps, cocktail receptions and more. As joyous as the season is, it’s also a time when many people put on a few extra pounds.
Although most people gain only a pound or two during the holiday season, for many people the weight lingers long after the decorations are put away. A pound or two gained every December can add up to a substantial amount over the years.
That’s why sticking with a healthy eating plan and having a few party-survival strategies up your sleeve is so important this time of the year. Try these ideas:
• Never go to a party hungry. Eat a healthy snack before leaving the house. If you’re not starving by the time the food arrives, it will be easier to stick to your healthy eating plan.
• Fill up on good-for-you foods first. Allow yourself a few treats, but make a pact with yourself to eat foods that are lower in fat and calories first, such as crudités, cut fruit, sushi, shrimp cocktail and other healthy foods.
• Just say “no” to your personal “red-light” foods. Red-light foods are the ones that you can’t stop eating once you start. When you’re tempted by these foods, visualize a large flashing red stoplight. Stop, and don’t even take the first bite.
• Follow the two-bite rule for desserts. You don’t have to deprive yourself of special holiday pastries and cookies. Just limit the amount. Take two bites. Savor the flavor, then drop your fork and push your plate away.
• Set a cutoff time to stop eating. When you’re at a party late at night, it’s tempting to keep eating because, well, the food is there. So set your mental cutoff time and, at the stroke of that hour, step away from the food.
• Watch liquid calories. Alcoholic beverages, hot cocoa, eggnog, dessert coffees and other beverages can be a healthy eater’s minefield because they don’t fill you up, yet they’re loaded with calories. Pick your favorite beverage and sip one serving of it slowly.
• Focus on fun and friends, rather than food. Work the room, not the buffet table. Find people you enjoy talking to, and position yourself away from the food.
• Don’t pick. Grab a plate and sit down to enjoy your meal instead of grazing the buffet line. It is easy to overeat when you pick a little of this and a little of that, so sit down and savor every bite.
• Bring a great-tasting healthy dish to share. Call the host of the party first and offer to bring a healthy dish. Your hosts and friends will appreciate having something that tastes wonderful and indulgent but won’t weigh them down.