by Dr. Patrick M. O'Neil, Weight Management Center

FLASH! Christmas is only seven days away.

No doubt the last place you care to be reminded of this fact is in an article on weight management, especially if you're the rare person who's been known to gain a pound or two around this time of year.

Believe it or not, you can stay in control of your weight during this time without turning into Scrooge or the Grinch. Here are some ideas, time-tested, that may help you to stay on speaking terms with the scale during the holiday season.

• Remember that Christmas comes once a year, every year. The holiday season, with its multitude of eating opportunities, fast pace and stresses is not an unpredictable occurrence. The time from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day counts for about 10 percent of every year. In other words, 10 percent of your life. Face up to this, and you can manage it.
• Set reasonable goals for eating. Do not expect to spend two or three hours at a party with sumptuous spread and not touch any of it. This all-or-nothing notion will lead only to unbridled, “What the heck” eating when the temptation gets too great. Be reasonable and selective.
• These can be emotionally taxing times. There's stress from trying to do everything you need and want to do, annual rebirths of family tensions, maybe the blues or worse if you're separated from loved ones or you're in an unhappy phase of life. Take some time to cool off. Even a 15-minute break to kick back and catch your breath might be more rewarding than a handful of Christmas goodies. Do an expectation check to be sure you aren't looking for a Norman Rockwell Christmas when life's dealt you something from Salvador Dali.
• Make a contribution to an organization that feeds the hungry. Then, when passing up a treat, you can be secure that somebody else is getting a little something extra to eat on your behalf.
• Set reasonable goals for your weight. The weeks of Christmas and New Year's are not good times to try to lose weight. It is better to set a more modest goal (maintaining your present weight or limiting weight gain to a pound or two) that you can achieve. Success breeds success. And don't stop weighing and graphing.
• Spread the word. Let people know you're trying to manage your weight, and ask them to help.
• What about gifts of food that you receive? Portion off a small serving for yourself. Then get the rest of it out of reach and sight. Freeze it in small servings or give it away.
• You may note that many of your co-workers are recycling their food gifts (or bringing their own creations to work). Try to get the goodies put somewhere avoidable (i.e., not next to the coffee pot or on top of the copier). Set a good example, and arm yourself, by bringing in a healthy, lower-calorie snack.
• Start new Christmas exercise traditions. Head downtown for a walking tour of decorations on historic homes. Stroll along King Street to ogle the decorations and storefront window displays. On Christmas Day, take a postprandial walk to enjoy close-up, relaxed views of children destroying their new toys. When feasible, walk to deliver gifts or attend socials.
• It may sound silly, but plan to eat. With the holiday rush, or guilt over a recent “forbidden” snack, people may actually go too long on too little food. They find themselves physically hungry and tired right when the worst kind of food is handy. Then they overeat and the whole cycle begins again, with added guilt and calories.
• It's hardly ever now-or-never. A frequent excuse for holiday overeating is, “If I don't eat it now I'll never have another chance to try it.” If your 98-year-old great-aunt has prepared her traditional fruitcake and has promised to take the recipe to her grave, have some! In nearly all other instances, though, you'll have another chance.
• You are not alone. Fact is, a probable majority of adults are also harried and trying to control their weight in the midst of the seasonal rushing.
• Spend a few minutes reflecting on what the season means to you. You may find that holiday food really isn't at the top of the list. So if weight control isn't your top priority either, it could balance out, without a horrendous weight gain.

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Weight Management Center.

For more information on weight management, call 792-2273.