With all the parties and formal Christmas dinners, it can be easy to gain weight during this time of the year. If you keep some of these healthy eating habits in mind, you can fight the food frenzy during the holiday season.

STRATEGY: Bring a healthy dish to a party to ensure there’s a main course you can indulge in.

• Eat the most nutritious foods first: don’t skip out on the broth-based soup and salad. They can help you avoid eating too much during the main course.
• Stand more than an arm’s length away from munchies while you socialize. That way, you won’t be tempted to snack the night away.
• Concentrate on your meal while you’re eating: savor the taste and focus on chewing your food slowly. Research shows that multitasking during meals can make you eat mindlessly. If you slow down, you will be more aware of what you are taking in.

STRATEGY: Never go to the mall on an empty stomach to reduce the food court’s appeal.

• Plan your shopping route so you don’t have to pass Coldstone’s or McDonald’s a dozen times. Enticing Sights and smells can persuade you to indulge.
• For lunch, choose to eat at a proper restaurant instead of the grab-and-go food court. Request a table away from distractions and loud sounds: bright lights and noisy atmospheres can speed up your eating rate and lead to overeating.

STRATEGY: Have a healthy snack before a party to curb your appetite.

• Eat breakfast: The most important meal of the day, breakfast can prevent over-eating later in the day.
• During a party, limit the number of high-calorie foods on your plate. Research shows that, when faced with a large variety of foods, people eat more – regardless of their true hunger level. By watching your plate, you can cut down what you end up eating by 20 to 40 percent.
• Choose your foods wisely. If you fill your plate with more low-calorie items (salads, vegetables, lean proteins) and take smaller portions of rich foods, you can eat a larger amount for fewer calories and still feel full.

STRATEGY: Store healthy foods in your desk at work so you’re not as tempted by the office treats.

• Try to keep the communal office holiday treats out of view. A study showed that people ate 26 percent more Hershey’s Kisses when the candies were in clear dishes versus white ones – visibility matters. In another study, the average person only ate four chocolates a day when they were placed six feet away, instead of an arm’s length.
• Do something healthy before you eat an office snack: walk around the office for five minutes, climb the stairs to run errands or eat a piece of fruit.

For more tips on how to eat healthy during the holidays, visit link .