| It happens at every party: You swear that | | | | and help 24/7, also can be part of your |
| you'll stick to your diet and you're really | | | | weight-loss network. "I recommend having |
| sticking to your guns, popping crunchy baby | | | | someone to talk to before, during and after |
| carrots into your mouth like chocolate bon | | | | you go to these events," Harrison says. |
| bons while everyone else is loading up on | | | | "Buddying up during the holidays is crucial |
| nachos and guacamole dip. | | | | for people who are alone because you get |
| | | | companionship. You get someone on your team. |
| Then someone - your mother who has been | | | | is one way to do this. It is ideal for a lot |
| slaving over the hot stove all day, your | | | | of people because it's like one-stop |
| Uncle Mike who has polished off three | | | | shopping." |
| martinis, your best friend Mary who has been | | | | |
| trying to lose 25 pounds for the last 25 | | | | Once you have a buddy, you can work together |
| years - steps up to your plate and fills it | | | | to change the menu for future parties. "Make |
| with an extra-large helping of guilt. | | | | the holidays less about food," Cipullo says. |
| | | | "Meet for appetizers and drinks, not for |
| "Come on, live a little. Just eat one piece," | | | | formal sit-down dinners. Go ice skating or go |
| your sister says as she tries to stuff the | | | | for coffee or go out to a restaurant and |
| stuffing in your face. "It's your favorite, | | | | choose your own food. Go out and look at |
| and I made it just for you. I'll be hurt if | | | | holiday lights. Go for a manicure or a |
| you don't at least try it." | | | | pedicure with your friends so you can sit |
| | | | around and chat and catch up." |
| And before you know it, you're having your | | | | |
| and everyone else's cake and eating it, too. | | | | And if your willpower does buckle under the |
| | | | mistletoe, remind yourself that it doesn't |
| Family and friends, the people you expect to | | | | have to be feast or famine. "When you learn |
| support you, are the very ones who are most | | | | to ride a bike, you sometimes fall off," |
| likely to sabotage your diet, either | | | | Harrison says. "And when you learn, you don't |
| consciously or subconsciously, and that's why | | | | learn to ride in a straight line; you weave |
| you need a neutral buddy to get you through | | | | back and forth and that's how diets should |
| not every wedding, birthday, bar mitzvah and | | | | be." |
| holiday party, experts say. | | | | |
| | | | WeightLossBuddy.com's Top 10 Tips for the |
| "When we sit down at the table, we're all | | | | Holidays |
| sort of comparing how we shape up with the | | | | |
| other people there," says Henrietta Harrison, | | | | 1.Find a buddy to help you get through the |
| a psychotherapist and life coach in Westport, | | | | event and call or e-mail the buddy before, |
| Conn. "We're all looking around the table to | | | | during and after the party. For more |
| see who looks older than last year, who looks | | | | information on the buddy system, go to |
| thinner, who looks heavier." | | | | |
| | | | 2.If you are a guest, eat a small low-calorie |
| And when people indulge, adds Laura Cipullo, | | | | snack before you go to the party at the time |
| a registered dietitian and certified diabetes | | | | you usually eat dinner. If you are the cook, |
| educator with offices in Manhattan, New | | | | eat a small low-calorie snack before you |
| Jersey and upstate New York, "typically they | | | | prepare the meal. |
| want others to be 'bad' with them and | | | | |
| indulge, too." | | | | 3.Eat smaller portions of everything on the |
| | | | table. |
| But as Cipullo and Harrison point out, just | | | | |
| because you are offered the piece of homemade | | | | 4.Nibble your way through the party. |
| pumpkin pie doesn't mean that you have to eat | | | | |
| the whole thing. But it does mean that you | | | | 5.Use the three-bite rule: If someone insists |
| can understand why you are being asked to eat | | | | you eat a food that's not on your diet, only |
| it and then enlist your family and friends to | | | | eat three bites of it. That way, you can tell |
| help everyone beat their bad eating habits. | | | | the cook how much you have enjoyed it, and |
| | | | everyone is satisfied. |
| "It can be threatening to a partner when the | | | | |
| other loses weight because the thinner person | | | | 6.Ask whether you can take a piece of pie or |
| will become more attractive to other people," | | | | cake home to eat later. Savor every bite by |
| Harrison says. "When you lose weight, | | | | pacing yourself, only eating a little bit |
| particularly if you are a woman, your | | | | every day. |
| confidence increases and it's empowering. | | | | |
| This can upset the balance of power because | | | | 7.When you turn down a fattening food, |
| as she gets more assertive, she becomes | | | | substitute a lower-cal food in its place. For |
| confident enough to change jobs, run for the | | | | instance, instead of the pumpkin pie with |
| PTA or even go back to work." | | | | whipped cream, eat an apple. |
| | | | |
| By making your family and friends your | | | | 8.Just say no to that extra helping of |
| buddies, everybody wins the weight-loss game, | | | | stuffing. But do it politely. |
| Harrison and Cipullo say. "The buddy system | | | | |
| is a good idea," Cipullo says, "because the | | | | 9.Change your holiday traditions so that |
| entire family can be on the same page. If mom | | | | activities, not food are the center of |
| and dad are eating a certain way or one child | | | | attention. |
| is eating a certain way, the whole family | | | | |
| should be eating that way - healthy." | | | | 10.If you do blow your diet, don't punish |
| | | | yourself and don't end your diet. Every day |
| Outside buddies, who provide encouragement | | | | is a new day. |