This month usually brings parties, and parties, and an increased number of restaurant meals. If you are trying to manage your waist line or stick to your prescribed food plan, it can be a daunting task this month. Here are some tips to help you stay on task with your dietary goals as you socialize through the holiday season:

• Try to get enough rest. Research shows that people who do not get enough rest often make poorer food choices.
• Eat on a regular schedule. If you go long periods without food, you might become so ravenous that you set yourself up for a binge. Take a snack to the shopping mall!
• Get your blood sugar level up before the party or restaurant meal. Don't skip meals to "bank" calories in the hope of coming out ahead. You are better off having a light snack prior to these social events so that you are less frantic to eat and are better able to make intelligent decisions about your food selection.
• If you know the restaurant menu, consider making a menu selection prior to dining out. If you preplan your meal, you will be less likely to stray from the foods most appropriate for your dietary objectives.
• Although you most likely do not need another detail in your life this month, paying attention to your food intake by recording what you eat can go a long way in helping to manage your munching!
• Try to get the calorie laden foods out of your house! Willpower is a band aid measure at best, and most of the time it is too difficult to keep saying "no" if the food is "calling you" from the kitchen.
• If you cannot keep up your exercise schedule (assuming you have one), take care of yourself with a daily walk. Use a CD player to listen to audio books, look at the holiday lights, or use a pedometer to make a walk more interesting and challenging.
• Remember that calories do count, and parties and restaurant meals have plenty. Watch what you drink and snack on. Dry wines, champagne, and light beer are your best calorie value in the alcoholic beverage category. Shrimp cocktail is a winner over nuts as an appetizer!

1 glass dry white or red wine or champagne has about 80 calories
1 light beer has about 100 calories
1 whiskey sour has about 170 calories
1 daiquiri has about 200 calories
1 martini has about 250 calories

3 oz. of shrimp cocktail plus one tablespoon cocktail sauce has about 85 
calories
2oz. of chex mix has 240 calories
2 oz. of any nuts have 300-350 calories (that can be the calories in a meal)