Watching the waistline while enjoying holiday eats?

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Navigating the plethora of parties and avoiding packing on the pounds can be one of the hardest things to do over the holidays.

You know the feeling: January rolls around and suddenly, that New Year’s resolution revolves around losing all that extra weight.

The holidays can be one of the most difficult times of the year to avoid temptation when there’s food around every corner.

“It’s very challenging. There are lots of social events, lots of holiday parties, let alone the Christmas dinner,” says nutrition expert Dr. Rachel Murphy with UBC’s School of Population and Public Health.

She says over-eating can often be unintentional.

“Be cognizant of what you’re eating. Sometimes, we get caught up in the socialization aspect and you aren’t realizing how much you’re eating.”

Taking a small plate and looking at all the options before you chow down helps.

But Murphy points out it’s not just food. “People don’t tend to think about the calories that are in alcoholic beverages and that can really add up over the course of a day or the course of the holidays.”

And those holiday cocktails can really do some caloric damage.

“If you consider several hundred extra calories in a given drink, that can really push you over the limit,” she says.

And what about the infamous dietary cheat day? Murphy says eating big once in a while and then toning it down isn’t always as effective as you’d think.

“Most people don’t actually compensate. You might say that ‘tomorrow, I’m going to be better,’ but that doesn’t usually happen. It’s hard to recover from these big calorie overloads.”

If you’re hosting a holiday get-together, Murphy suggests trying to put out a healthy spread.