Abandoning your usual day-to-day eating and drinking habits to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas may have all sorts of untoward effects, which hospital dietitians say can be avoided with a more sophisticated approach to the euphoric period.

Southeast HealthPoint Fitness Group Nutrition Services Coordinator Raina Childers and Saint Francis Medical Center dietitian Janet Anders say celebrants should have a light snack before attending a holiday feast and then select the less highly caloric alternatives when they arrive there, among other advice.

"During the holidays, we encourage people to focus on weight maintenance and not try to lose weight because that can set them up to feel like they are doing worse than they really are," Childers said.

"They may have some exercise equipment in the basement that they can dust off, and it would be great if they could get out and walk. Keeping active during this time of the year is very important."

Childers said the average Southeast Missourian may only gain a couple of pounds but still feel sluggish because they're eating heavier foods.

Selecting from less highly caloric offerings may help curb weight gain.

She said crunching a couple of cheese sticks or dipping into the yogurt or nuts in the morning will make people less likely to gorge later on holiday temptations like sweet potato casserole with marshmallows or green bean casseroles and butter, egg nog, hot chocolate and wine.

"After two glasses of wine, the food choices are much less controlled," Childers said. "It's good if the hosts consider that some guests may have high blood pressure or diabetes or be wanting to lose weight. That's the way it is now, and it's nice to be sensitive to that."

Anders said Thanksgiving and Christmas should be dealt with "like they are just one day each out of the year, not Oct. 31 through Feb. 14.

"There are healthier options a lot of times, and it's a matter of taking those options rather than the higher caloric casseroles," Anders said.

"After a heavy lunch, consider taking a walk around the block or playing touch football with the family to help torch some of those extra calories off."

Anders suggested that hosts should include fruits, vegetables and protein-rich foods such as skinless turkey with the rest of their traditional fare.

"Every year is a new year, and you can approach it with the mindset that it's going to be a little different this time around," she said. "A bit of planning saves a lot of pounds."

Anders said it can be misleading to weigh every morning, but it is a good practice to weigh once per week on a good scale and a flat surface to avoid letting your weight get out of control.

"Make sure you eat a good breakfast," she said. "Don't save up for the big meal that can be 1,800 calories."