Most of us love holiday parties! We  get to dress up, go to nice places, and spend time with friends, family and coworkers. We get to enjoy our favorite holiday music and engage in the traditions that are meaningful to us. Despite the excitement, these parties can also be minefields when it comes to staying on track with our healthy lifestyle. Here are a few tips that will help you enjoy the holiday parties without sabotaging your health and weight-loss goals. 

• Avoid wearing baggy clothing that expands as you eat! Most of us wouldn't wear sweatpants to a party anyways.
• After you've eaten, stay away from the food tables.
• Keep your hands busy. Find a way to help distract yourself from the food.
• Avoid drinking too much alcohol. When we drink, we're more likely to make poor food choices.
• If you're attending a pot luck, contribute a healthy dish that you can eat.
• Focus on relationships, not on the food - learn to focus on enjoying the people and the special holiday experiences, and on building special memories for yourself and your family.
• Meeting new people is a good way of distracting yourself from food. If you're shy, simply be a good listener.
• Plan ahead. The best kind of plan is about what you're going to eat, NOT about what you're not going to eat. Focusing on what we can't eat (or what we think we shouldn't eat) can set us up for failure because it leaves us feeling deprived.
• Always start by filling your plate with protein, veggies and fat - leaving little room for sugar and carbs.
• Don't arrive to the party completely famished - you'll be more likely to eat in a way you'll later regret. Think about your meal plan for the day.

Lerner, D. Your Weight Matters Magazine. Fall 2015; pg 32-33.