By Jamie Cholette M.S., C.S.N. — Photographed by Bobby DiMarzo

It’s the time of year when you can’t decide if you should be more excited about festive gatherings embellished by endless mouthwatering treats or distraught about the damage you’ll do to your physique after a couple months of “being festive”. The average adult gains about 6.6lbs from Thanksgiving to New Year’s each year. This works out at eating around 600 extra calories per day over the 30-day period. But believe it or not, there are people who celebrate the holidays without putting on an ounce. All it takes is a little nutrition know-how and a touch of willpower to make healthy choices in even the most tempting situations.

Situation #1: The Holiday Work Party

The majority of these parties tend to involve lots of finger foods and alcohol to help combat the awkwardness of mingling with bosses and coworkers in a non-work environment. The up side is that you are standing and moving around a good portion of the time with a beverage in one hand so it’s not as easy to stuff yourself as at a sit down meal. The down side is that you’ll probably be tacking on hundreds of calories in liquid form and drinking loosens your inhibitions, which can cause you to keep nibbling without thinking.

Know your lightest options: Choose a combination of simple one or two ingredient items amongst the hors devours being passed and the platters spread around the room. Chicken or beef skewers, prosciutto wrapped melon, seafood tartares, meatballs, grilled shrimp, shrimp cocktail, anything on the half shell and fruit or crudités platters are all on the lighter side. Once you’ve eaten enough, have a mint or a piece of gum to avoid continuous snacking and move away from the buffet table (out of sight out of mind).

Know which foods to give the cold shoulder: Pass on fried goodies such as spring rolls, dumplings, mini crab cakes, potato pancakes and items containing puff pastry. Be weary of sliders loaded with cheese and sauce or maki oozing with spicy mayo and tempura flakes. Creamy pasta and heavy quiches (no matter how mini) are just as calorie and fat dense as most desserts. From a diet standpoint, alcohol should be avoided all together, but since that’s not realistic just keep the lowest calorie options in mind. Wine is your best bet at about 100 calories per glass with light beer and champagne not too far behind. Mixed drinks are closer to 150 calories per drink but only when mixed with soda water or diet sodas. Tonic water, juices, sour mix and cordials all bump up calorie content of cocktails to well above 250 calories a pop! Choose wisely.

Situation #2: Christmas Dinner

Don’t head towards the table with an all or nothing attitude. The folks with the all attitude tend to consume around 7,000 calories on this joyous occasion. On any other day of the year, a turkey or ham dinner is a fairly well-rounded meal (depending on your sides). Look at it the same way this Christmas. Yes, the excessive number of appetizers, side dishes and desserts make it a bit challenging but going in prepared can save you a popped button or two. Decide beforehand if you’d rather indulge in the appetizers, have a second helping of the main meal or if you’d rather skip the second helping to have a piece of pie. You don’t have to forgo all your holiday favorites, just be choosy.

Know your lightest options: Skinless white meat is always best at only about half the calories and fat of skinless dark meat. Ham is a lean choice as long as you can refrain from eating the fat trimmings. Go green when choosing sides, as long as they are not frolicking in butter or cream. Save yourself hundreds of calories by choosing squash over mashed potatoes and stuffing. If you need spuds on your plate to feel jolly, baked or mashed sweet potatoes (avoid candied or casserole form) are an antioxidant and fiber rich alternative to white potatoes.

Know which foods to give the cold shoulder: Stuffing: the name says it all. Gravy is basically saturated fat thickened with flour so use super sparingly. Since green bean casserole, corn pudding, scalloped potatoes and meat pies should always be on your do not eat list, apply the same rules during the holidays. For all you eggnog lovers, at 350 calories and 20 grams of fat per cup, I would recommend having a sip of a family member’s glass to satisfy your cold weather coming.

Situation #3: New Year’s Eve & Day

Pre-set dinner menus and bottles of champagne, followed by a day of takeout on the couch, can certainly set you back. Many pre-set dinner menus offered on New Year’s Eve contain four or five decadent courses that can contribute as many as 5,000 calories to your daily intake. If you don’t have the option to order from an a la carte menu, the worst thing to do would be to not eat all day and go to dinner starving. It will make it much more difficult to resist eating everything served to you. Have a banana or an apple with a little peanut butter while you are getting ready to head out. A New Year’s Eve without champagne would be like a movie without popcorn. Just remember that each glass will add about 120 calories to your already hefty meal. The day following all those glasses of bubbly might mean a day of rest with delivery from one of your favorite Chinese restaurants. Keep it light while satisfying your salt cravings and avoid adding fuel to the fire. Check out the calorie/fat load of your favorite takeout dishes on any of the calorie counting websites online before ordering. Know what you are getting yourself into or making a resolution to avoid.

Know your lightest options: Steamed chicken and vegetables are usually still seasoned and salty enough to satisfy without all the added oil from a sauce. Save yourself about 15 grams of fat per ¾ cup by eating steamed white rice instead of pork fried rice. When ordering, make sure to specify steamed dumplings instead of fried.

Know which foods to give the cold shoulder: Skip the Chow Foon, Chow Mein and other heavily sauced noodle dishes and you’ll also skip a ridiculous amount of calories and fat grams. Beef and broccoli and lemon chicken may sound like a healthy option, but can pack more than 50 grams of fat per dish! While soups are often low in calories and fat, they contain an awful lot of salt. A large bowl of wonton or egg drop soup is loaded with about 6,700 mgs of sodium! That’s more than three times the recommended daily limit! Choose a small cup of soup or share a large bowl if you can’t go without.

John J. Passemato is a personal trainer at Bodyscapes in Coolidge Corner. He holds a BS in Physical Education and is a Certified Personal Trainer through the International Sports Science Association (ISSA). John developed and managed the FlexRx personal training program, and prior to Bodyscapes he worked as a strength and condition coach at Mike Boyle’s gym for 3 years. His enthusiastic methods have been effective for clients of all ages and ability.

What are common causes of weight gain during the cooler months? Visiting family during the holidays often involves those favorite family foods that you only get to indulge in once a year so people tend to overindulge. Other temptations such as harvest beers and football gatherings can be enticing and throw you off routine. Try to set limits for yourself. Just because you aren’t going to have your aunt’s pie again until next December doesn’t mean you have to have three slices this year.

What is a good way to compensate for an overindulgence or two?
Incorporate interval circuit training into your routine twice a week. Hit the treadmill for two minutes then hop off and do one abdominal, one upper body and one lower body exercise. Repeat 3-5 times for a quick but intense workout that will not seem as daunting as an hour of cardio.

Do you believe in cheat days?
Yes, if you stay within your diet all week, allow yourself to indulge one day per week without going overboard. Have one cheat food on that day but don’t turn it into a whole day of eating anything you want.

How about comfort food?
I accept the term, but avoiding the foods that you turn to for emotional reasons allow you to learn something about yourself.

With so many misconceptions about protein and numerous mammoth steaks on menus around town, can you reiterate the proper protein portion for all the protein-a-holics out there?
Eating a piece of meat the size of your palm will give you ample protein for muscle recovery (even after a tough workout) while not bumping up your calorie and fat intake too much. The quality of the protein is important too so choosing lean meats such as chicken or fish is best.

Is it best to workout on an empty stomach?
No! If you can workout on an empty stomach without getting lightheaded, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough! Opt for a banana pre-workout that won’t weigh you down while providing the carbs you need to really push yourself.

Do you recommend weights before or after cardio?
Switch it up. Never do the same workout twice.

Are ten minutes better than zero minutes of weight training?
Absolutely! Even if you have to cut out 10 minutes of cardio, you will see and feel results sooner. There are plenty of exercises you can do at home using your own body weight too. You don’t need fancy equipment to tone up. All you need is willpower and the exercises (Google: basic body exercises for instruction).