How Not to Become A Big Fat-Ass This Holiday

There was a moral behind the "finish everything on your plate" redundancy that your mom fed you all through adolescence. No, it wasn't to stuff your face every night, filling your gut to the gills. Instead she was suggesting that you only serve yourself what you will eat.

Yes, sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Case in point? The 48 million tons of food tossed each year. It is estimated that as much as $31 billion worth of perfectly good food finds its way to landfills instead of your (and every other American's) stomach. And that whole "There are starving children in Africa" part that that often followed the "finish everything on your plate" line; that's true too. Sadly, all of that trashed food could have been put to good use feeding as many as 49 million hungry people.

Problem is, we tend to devour whatever is placed in front of our faces, contributing to both our waste AND out waist lines. So if you don't want to become a fat-ass this holiday season, here are a few tips to curb your food enthusiasm so that maybe you can still fit into that sexy little number come New Years Eve.

Practice Portion Control

Read, memorize, then remember the basic principles of portion sizes:

- Cornbread= a bar of soap

- Pancake= a CD

- Pasta= a rounded handful

- Baked Potato= a fist (or a tennis ball for people with very large fists)

- Cheese= a thumb (or a pair of dice for someone with a huge thumb)

- Ice Cream= a tennis ball

- Steak or Chicken= a deck of cards

- Butter= the size of a stamp with the thickness of a finger

- Chocolate= a pack of dental floss

Shrink Your Plate Size

Switching out a big plate, or a "dinner plate" for a smaller plate, or a "salad plate" is the easiest way to trick your brain into thinking that you are consuming lots of food, while really eating only a little... or at least less. You will feel satisfied without feeling stuffed. But here's the secret:

- Don't pile on the food just because you know you are eating off of a smaller plate. Slopping on a mound of food is not the way to keep your ass in check and your abs defined.

- Don't go back for seconds to make up for the decrease on size. You can still taste each dish and enjoy every bit of holiday goodness without piling on the food and the pounds.

Remember: It's Okay To Go To Bed (a little) Hungry

Now, I'm not saying go to bed starving! But if you're feeling a little hungry because your big holiday meal was served mid-afternoon and you only snacked at your normal dinner time, that's okay. If you are a tad overweight, your body is used to consuming a specific amount of calories. It is used to being filled up, fulfilling that daily calorie load to support your current state of weight. If you cut your calorie count, you will likely feel it. It takes a few days for your body to readjust to the new norm. Again, not saying not to eat, or that you should go to bed starving, or that you should be on the verge of passing-out-hungry.

Graze

A great way to avoid weight gain while still enjoying the holiday festivities and not, even for a second, feeling like you are depriving yourself, is by grazing. If you know you will be attending several parties that will be serving buffet-style food or passed apps, start your day with a healthy breakfast, then don't sit down for another full meal. The good thing about grazing on bites of food throughout the day is that you are keeping your metabolism pumping, constantly processing your food, turning it into fuel and burning off excess fat and stored calories. The trick here is to try to only eat the apps that are on the healthier side, maybe just enjoying a taste of the other stuff, including anything creamy, fried, or puffed.

Moral of this story? Practice portion control and you will lower your carbon emission, save the energy and water used to produce all that food, and maybe even feed a few hungry children in Africa.