How to survive the office holiday party.

Over the next few weeks you will more than likely have your share of Christmas parties to attend. Some you may be looking forward to and catching up with old friends, while others may be more out of obligation.

So how do you keep your nutrition in check and your belt buckle at the same notch?

Simple really. You just need a plan.

#1. Which parties do you want to really indulge at, let your hair down, and just kick back and have a good time? At those let yourself have a few drinks with your friends. If there are appetizers “to die for”. Treat your self and enjoy them. As for the other obligatory parties sip a scotch or nurse a beer or two through out the night. And then make an early exit.

#2. Never show up hungry. Sure it’s easier to just eat when you get there. But will that be the best and healthiest option? Probably not, and you will end up eating stuff you normally wouldn’t. Eating a healthy meal before will ensure that you don’t gorge yourself on fried and sugary foods along with preventing your from mindlessly munching throughout the night.

#3. Use the smallest plates available. Research has shown that eating a full plate results in a feeling of satisfied hunger, regardless of the size of the plate. So filling a smaller plate will result in eating less, but still experiencing the same satisfaction.

#4. Don’t make it a late night. To prevent weight gain you need to get your sleep, more on this in Part 4, but for now set a time that you plan to leave and stick to it. This way you won’t wake up the next morning regretting the “just one more beer” that you had three times and only four hours of sleep.

This is a fun, festive time of the year. Stick to the rules above and you will make it through to January still wearing the same size pants.