Halloween is over but the holiday season is just getting started; my calendar is already booked with holiday parties, family trips, and a multitude of feasts! Every year I struggle with old habits; holidays should be about celebrating and enjoying time together, but I stress about overeating at holiday celebrations. I’m not going to be hard on myself, but I am going to prepare ahead of time.

First, I already have a new physical activity regimen in place, and I plan to keep it up well into the new year. Second, I am going to focus on enjoying myself rather than falling into old habits. For me, holiday overeating is a habit based on many years of overindulgence; this year, I’m focusing on practicing a new habit – enjoying the company and not overeating. To do this, I’m going to plan ahead and eat fresh: I generally like to call this the clean plate or undressed plate, or in other words, I focus on eating more fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins and steering clear of boxed and bagged foods. Sounds easy, right? The hard part is when temptation is right in front of me, particularly in the form of party tables full of food! Thus, my tricks will be to fill up on fresh fruits and veggies before events and to stick to the fresh nibbles during events. And with all of the fresh varieties of pears at the store, it’s going to be easy to grab, go, and stay on track!