Holidays are a time for feasting and festivities, but don’t add those unwanted pounds to your body by the end of the season. Nobody wants to look plump and overweight when the merriment ends, right? Here are some tips to keep off those excess pounds:

1. Cut down your intake of high-calorie foods and fats. Don’t eat from a big platter unless it is veggies or salad.

2. Don’t eat mindlessly, see before putting those pies and cookies in your mouth and calculate the extra calories you are eating. Instead of stuffing yourself during dinner, go with your normal appetite. If you are going to eat a lot at the dinner party, then eat less during the day.

3. Keep the evidence of what you had on the table. Don’t clear turkey bones and muffin papers as soon as you finish them. It has been observed that people eat more when the bones are periodically cleared away than those whose bones stayed in front of them.

4. Skip the appetizers if you are going to eat desserts.

5. Exercise and be physically active. Holidays are not just a time for feasting, but for fun too. So play some outdoor games that can burn off your excess calories. And exercise for atleast half an hour everyday. Take a walk.

6. Don’t sit next to people who eat too much. Sit next to the slowest eater on the table and pace yourself accordingly.

7. Embrace comfort food. Don’t avoid the food you really want, but have it in a smaller portion.

8. Don’t surround yourself with too many foods on the table. The more the variety, the more you will eat. Use smaller bowls and plates. Also use tall, narrow glasses for drinks.

9. Don’t multitask while eating. It has been observed that people tend to unconsciously eat more while watching TV, or talking to someone. So stop eating while you talk and then resume eating again.

10. Go easy on the booze. Alcohol adds empty calories to your body, so keep a tab of how much you are drinking. Cut down your intake of alcohol, wine and colas as much as you can.

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