Healthify Your Holiday Eating Habits. Guest Post From Heidi Diller.

I am honored to share with you this wonderful guest post from Heidi Diller, Registered Dietician with Cub Foods. The holidays tend to be a time of indulging in many treats we otherwise wouldn't. Heidi has some tips to help us get through the holidays without busting the scale!

Season Eatings!

From Heidi Diller, Registered Dietitian with Cub Foods

The average person will gain 3-to-5 pounds during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. If you think this weight gain is caused by that delicious turkey dinner or mouthwatering Christmas ham, you’re wrong.

The truth is, your holiday meal probably won’t be much higher in calories and fat than the burger and fries you had at the drive-thru last week! In reality, our expanding holiday waistline is most likely due to the constant nibbling we do before and after the holiday meal … a sip of eggnog, a handful of nuts, a piece of fudge.

To illustrate, if you munched on a small handful of mixed nuts, one small piece of mom’s fudge, 2/3 cup of Aunt Betty’s Chex mix, 3 small mints, 1 frosted sugar cookie, 4 crackers dipped in the infamous cheese ball and one glass of alcoholic eggnog, you will have consumed 1,222 calories … and you won’t even have sat down at the dinner table yet!

So how can you survive the holidays without adding inches to your waistline? Start with these 5 tips:

Be prepared. A calendar can help you keep track of all of your holiday meals and parties. Make an effort to eat lighter on the days before and after these events so that you can balance the calories and fat in your party food. Cub Foods offers “nutrition iQ^®,” a unique nutrition information program designed to help consumers make better-informed, better-for-you food choices right at the grocery store shelf. This makes it easy to select products that can help balance your holiday diet. Also, be sure to eat something before you leave the house so that you are not overly hungry at the party.

Don't hang out near the food. Putting some distance between you and the chow creates a much-needed obstacle between you and the calories.

Beware of “liquid calories.” A 6 ounce glass of wine has 120 calories. The average can of beer or soda, 150 calories. Hard liquor contains about 175 calories for just 2 ounces. Eggnog can have up to 400 calories per glass. Alcohol also increases your appetite and makes you eat more. Reach for low-cal beverages when possible and save your calories for a special holiday treat.

Choose only the foods you really want and keep the portions small. Make it a balancing act. Perhaps skip the salad with dressing—you can have one any day of the year—and go for that homemade stuffing.

5. Get moving. Wouldn’t you rather burn it up than give it up? Make sure that moderate exercise is a regular part of your holiday routine. Physical activity can help burn off extra calories, tone your muscles and work off some of the holiday stresses and strains.

Most importantly, remember that the holidays only come once a year, so focus on having a good time with friends and family, not just on the food. Depriving yourself of special holiday foods isn't part of a healthy eating strategy, and it's certainly not part of the holiday spirit! As always, aim for variety, balance and moderation. The holiday season is only six weeks long … how are you doing the other 46?

A special thanks to Heidi and Cub Foods for sharing these great holiday eating tips with us!