by Amanda Piper

Created on: March 10, 2007   Last Updated: March 29, 2007

Holidays are a wondrous time of year. One of the most wonderful things about the holidays is the abundance of food. Many families enjoy the traditions of baking. You may receive gifts of food or chocolate. You may be invited to parties where there is an assortment of delicious trays to choose from. Whatever the reason, there are many temptations threatening to devour our waist line. Ensuring you don't overindulge may be tricky and take a lot of willpower, not to mention self discipline, however I have come across a few ways of eliminating or reducing some of the desire to gorge yourself.

For instance, you're heading to a party where you know there will be dozens of mouth watering trays calling your name. Eating a sensible meal before you go will allow you to sample the foods you wish to try without feeling guilty the next day. Carrying breath mints will help when you've decided enough is enough. After having a minty taste in your mouth, you won't want to eat sweets anymore. It's much like brushing your teeth, you lose all desire to eat for awhile. You'll also not have to worry about having bad breath.

Now more than ever it is important to eat often and eat healthy. Keeping yourself full, or at least satisfied, will curb temptations while out shopping or participating in other activities. Carry fresh fruit or trail mix in your purse or in a backpack so you can snack whenever you feel the urge.

Hosting your own party usually results in having an abundance of leftovers. We tend to over plan so as not to run out, and now we are stuck with thousands of calories worth of temptations. To avoid this, send your guests home with doggy bags. You can actually buy holiday decorated containers from the dollar store and start loading them up as the party wears down. While your guest leaves hand them a container. They will not be able to refuse since it will appear to be a gift of sorts.

Receiving gifts in the form of food creates another problem. To avoid enjoying the entire gift yourself, you could consider giving it away. My son once received a grocery bag full of chocolates and candies from our mail carrier after one Christmas. However the thought of re-gifting seems tacky and rude for some people. Instead of giving the unopened box away, share it with others. Bring it to work and leave it on your desk, inviting coworkers to sample the treats. This way you can sample a small portion as well, while the majority of it will disappear before your eyes, never landing on your hips.

However, my motto is "Who needs a waist line anyways?" It's Christmas, enjoy yourself! Grandma doesn't make her world famous yule log any ole day of the year, gingerbread isn't popular at Easter, and you sure won't find peppermint bark in June. Allow yourself to indulge just a bit, Christmas only comes around once a year. Besides, the new year is right around the corner. That's when all the real work begins.

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