(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Short of heading for a deserted island between Thanksgiving and New Year's, what's the game plan for staying on a diet during the holidays? The game plan never changes - negotiate. That's why it works. Any time in any place that you face food there is a way to negotiate an option. First, set a simple goal. Maintaining your weight during the holidays is a simple and realistic goal and an achievement to be applauded.

A study (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200003233421206) done in collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina and the National Institutes of Health showed that the typical holiday weight gain was little more than a pound, far less than most expected. The researchers concluded that the 5-plus pounds people expect they'll gain are a myth. Another study (http://today.ttu.edu/2010/11/holiday-weight-gain-a-growing-problem/) from Texas Tech University showed that the average holiday weight gain was no more than 1.5 pounds. Appreciate that research indicates trends not specifics, so if you use the holidays as an excuse, you could be the five-pound exception rather than the one-pound rule. The researcher also noted that even if the holiday weight gain was small, when it isn't lost in subsequent months it could become cumulative, year after year, and would be enough to account for a middle-age spread of 10 pounds in a decade.

There is no question that the holidays are tough and it may be hard to keep losing weight but you most definitely shouldn't gain.

If you host the party:

• Serve some lower calorie choices along with traditional dishes.
• Modify traditional recipes to have fewer calories.
• Chew gum or plan a good-for-you nibble while you cook or bake.
• Give calories away -- send your guests home with goody bags.

When you're the guest:

• Before you go out, have a piece of fruit to blunt your appetite.
• If you're looking forward to a certain holiday meal - plan. Eat lighter during the day before the party or exercise more.
• Alternate drinks. Have one alcoholic or calorie dense drink, like eggnog, followed by two no-calorie drinks like diet soda or sparkling water with a twist of lemon.
• Dilute alcohol for more fluid and less calories per serving. Have a wine spritzer rather than a glass of wine and order other drinks on-the-rocks.
• Circulate away from the buffet spread and the bar rather than stand near either.
• Keep a beverage in one hand. It will be hard to hold a plate and eat with the other.
• Eat fewer fried and cheesy hors'doeuvres; enjoy a shrimp cocktail and cut up fruits and veggies.
• Eat light at the meals before a party but don't fast because that will set you up to feast.
• Exercise more the day before and after a holiday event.
• Survey the whole buffet table once, then get on line and make choosy choices. Place no more than three things on your plate at once. Go back if you wish but stick with three items. This slows down eating and gives you more time to feel satisfied.
• Want pie for dessert? Eat the filling, leave the calorie-dense crust behind and save over 150 calories. Pumpkin pie is such a healthy choice it can count toward your daily fruits and veggies. Better yet, split a dessert portion with a friend.
• Enjoy every meal, just don't super-size it. Smaller servings equal a smaller you.
• Stop eating when you are comfortably satisfied not stuffed. You don't have to clean your plate.
• Enjoy the company - talk more eat less.

Most important -- don't take the holidays lying down. Keep your exercise program going. After a big holiday meal, do the dishes, take a walk, or play with the kids. Lying down or napping not only slows down the calories you'll burn and but it speeds up the possibility of heartburn. If you eat it and don't burn it, you will sit on it!

© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.

Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.

Look for:

The Diabetes Counter, 5^th Ed., 2014

The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014

The Most Complete Food Counter, 3^rd ed., 2013

The Calorie Counter, 6^th Ed., 2013

The Complete Food Counter, 4^th ed., 2012

The Protein Counter, 3^rd Ed., 2011

The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3^rd Ed., 2010

The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008

Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8

For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com. 

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