My roomate came home the other night with several bags of mixed candy. You know, the individually wrapped miniature Snickers, Kit Kats, Crunch bars, etc. Oh, and Reese Cups of course too. As the bags of candy were unloaded into dishes found in nearly every room of the house I thought to myself “And so it begins…”. By this I mean the holiday season (which I consider mid-October through January 1).

A huge part of what I do is to help people lose weight and keep it off. Dietitians dread this time of year. The weather is turning cooler and fresh salads and fruits from the garden and farmer’s markets that taste soooo good on that hot and humid summer day, mysteriously evolve into creamy soups and casseroles. Not that soups and casseroles cant be healthy, but I’m a realist. You know you dont make them that way.

And then comes Thanksgiving. And if for one meal you want to go hog wild then by all means, go for it. But the problem is that the odds are good that you won’t be attending just ONE Thanksgiving feast. And of course there are NEVER any leftovers.

Now starts the Holiday parties. Maybe its the office party where everyone brings in their “signature” dish. By signature I mean loaded with butter, sugar, refined grains, and cheese…. maybe all of the above. Pile this on top of the never-ending birthday celebrations, anniversaries, etc and it adds up faster than you can imagine. Never mind now that it’s cold outside, we are much less active. It’s no wonder the airline industry actually calculates the average weight of a person to increase by 10 POUNDS over the holiday season. True story. Weights and balances are extrememly important to airlines and they really do this.

So Take Home Message: Set your goals for this time of year to be moderate at best. If you are trying to lose weight over these next couple of months, dont expect great results. AND THAT’S OK! This is the time of year to focus of WEIGHT MANINTENCE. If you are able to maintain weight until January 1st (when you will surely kill it), you have absolutely succeeded.