By Shobha Rao

With the holidays just around the corner, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better watch your waistline, and Jodie Bjurman, a registered dietitian at El Camino Hospital, is telling you why.

According to Bjurman, “the average person gains between six to eight pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.” Given that it takes an extra 500 calories per day to gain a pound a week, that means that the average person eats an extra 680 calories per day during the holiday season.

But with a little effort, Bjurman said, “you can learn to enjoy the holidays without gaining the body weight.” The key is to “think ahead and have a plan of attack,” she said.

Before going to a party, Bjurman said, “have a light snack. This will curb your appetite so that you don’t overeat and you won’t go for the dish with the highest fat content.”

Also, “watch out for the three main food traps during the holiday season,” Bjurman said. These are drinks, appetizers and sweets.

With regard to drinks, Bjurman said one idea partygoers can try is to alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This will reduce the calorie content of the drinks. Also, Bjurman said that you can choose lower-calorie drinks, such as light eggnog or a spritzer instead of wine.

As for the second trap, Bjurman said that “appetizers are the good stuff that comes out at holiday parties.” Her main suggestion was not to avoid them, but to keep them as they were meant to be, “tasters, and not an entire meal.” She said many times, people will fill up with appetizers, before they ever sit down to the meal.

Bjurman also suggested that people include a variety of appetizers, including “low-fat dips, baked chips and veggies.”

The final trap is what the holidays are famous for, sweets. Keeping that in mind, Bjurman said that people shouldn’t “waste calories on the everyday stuff, like chips or oatmeal cookies.” She suggested that when indulging, do so with the sweets that are unique to the holidays. And given the spirit of the holidays, Bjurman also encouraged people to share holiday cookies and cakes.

Lighter cooking habits can also maintain a healthier holiday season. Bjurman suggested that foods be prepared “a little plain, allowing the guests to season their own food with butter or margarine.” She also said that hosts should try “different kinds of dressings, ones which have a higher nutritional value and less fat, such as a wild rice dressing.”

Ultimately, Bjurman said, “we shouldn’t feel guilty about offering traditional, high-calorie foods, but we should offer choices to our guests, as well.”

If you are attending a holiday gathering, Bjurman has some tips to ensure against overeating. She said some tricks are to “slow down your eating and pace yourself, because it takes about 15 minutes for your brain to tell your stomach that it’s full.” Bjurman also suggested “maintaining conversation, trying to leave food on your plate and passing along that bowl of snacks that’s placed next to you.”

With these tips in mind, and maybe a long walk with family and friends after a heavy meal, you may not need to loosen that belt, after all.