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The holidays are by far the hardest time for most people to keep up with their weight loss goals. It’s not easy to adhere to a diet when you’re attending parties, visiting with friends and family and seeing all kinds of foods, treats and snacks wherever you go. Trays of cookies, treats and other snacks are everywhere, tempting you away from the healthier options you’ve been using to fortify your body. It’s easy to just throw up your hands and put your whole diet on hold for this season. They just put their diets on hold until after the new year. But you don’t have to do things this way. If you take the advice that follows, you’ll find it’s not as hard as you thought to get through the holidays without adding any extra pounds or inches to your waistline.

One of the most practical things you can do when you know you are about to go to a holiday party with lots of tempting foods is to eat something before you leave the house. Fix a tasty but healthy snack for yourself using ingredients you can control. There’s no need to eat a whole meal, as you want to eat something at the party. Just feed yourself enough to take the edge off so that you won’t be tempted to overindulge on foods and unhealthy treats when you get to the party. This way you can have a little bit, but you won’t be tempted to eat too much.

People don’t only eat a lot during the holiday season, they also consume lots of alcohol. Overindulging in alcohol is something many people do at holiday parties, and keep in mind that nowadays the results of this might be posted on Facebook! If you’re trying to lose weight, you should either give up alcohol or stick to one or two drinks at most. The calories you get from alcohol are really sugar and don’t do your body any good.

When people drink, they’re also more likely to eat more and forget about their diet, a rational thinking goes out the window.

At holiday events, focus on socializing rather than eating as much as possible. Put all of your attention on the discussion, and this will distract you. The more attention you pay to your fellow guests, co-workers, friends, family members, etc., the less time you’ll have to fill up your plate at these events. Besides, isn’t that why you went to the party in the first place -to see your friends and family? You can nibble on some food, but don’t let that be the main point!

As we’ve seen, there are many strategies that can help you avoid gaining weight over the holidays. From doing more exercise, to practicing proper portion control to avoiding alcohol -all helps you maintain your diet and lose weight. A few extra holiday calories here and there won’t hurt you, as long as you work them off -but remember that they can add up if you don’t watch yourself.