The no-weight-gain holiday guide - Diet Do's and Don'ts

Shape, Dec, 2003 by Jenna Schnuer

8. Sit down--and enjoy. Give everything you eat your complete attention. "Practice mindful eating," Cummings says. "If you eat something distractedly, it doesn't register." Even if you just want a single mini pumpkin pie, put it on a plate and sit down to eat it, Abramson says. Or if you're cooking for a holiday brunch, don't stand over the stove for taste tests. Again, use a plate and take a couple of minutes to savor what you're eating.

9. Avoid temptation traps. Toss leftovers and quickly re-gift food presents or pass them along to co-workers, a local shelter or a food bank. Your mother or Miss Manners might not approve, but we're making it official this year: It's OK to get rid of all holiday-food temptations.

10. Remember that exercise is not a license to eat. Feeling virtuous because you worked out before the party? Good for you. But if you think that gives you leeway to snarf down one of everything, you're fooling yourself. A 145-pound woman has to run a mile at 6 mph to burn 116 calories, but she can eat 116 calories in under a second, Brownell says.

Jenna Schnuer is a freelance writer based in New York City.

Lifestyle Photography by Nick Horne