"C'mon, it's the holidays - live a little!"

Maybe you've heard it; maybe you've even said it.

I know I've said it to myself before. But it's such a flawed way of looking at life. You don't have to binge in order to enjoy Thanksgiving or any other time of the year.

But that's the kind of thinking that the statement enables - you're only living if you're doing something bad for you. The holidays really bring this mindset to the forefront. You should be enjoying the holidays, but how did enjoying the company of family and friends get mixed up with binge eating and drinking?

Do your best to make the holidays about the people you love, not food. You can enjoy their company without doing the things that cause most Americans to gain five to ten pounds over the holidays. Of course you can enjoy some turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce on Thursday - I know I will. But the point is that you don't eat until you're so stuffed you can barely move. It's not healthy. The dirty little secret that we've all conspired to deny is that we're a society of emotional eaters.

We've become, to a very unhealthy degree, attached to the annual overindulgence that is the holidays. Emotional eaters typically share one thing in common - they're usually overweight. Whether it's candy, cookies or all those drinks you're downing at a holiday get-together, they're contributing to the average of 619 extra calories Americans eat every day between Thanksgiving and the New Year. And they're all so unnecessary to your happiness.

Be willing and able to say no to alcoholic beverages in favor or water or tea. Eat something healthy before going to get-togethers to prevent cravings for fatty, sugary snacks.

Holiday weight gain isn't just an inconvenience - it's dangerous. Don't think that you're just going to take the weight off with a New Year's resolution. It's far easier to gain ten pounds than it is to lose it, and most people give up before ever losing their holiday weight, leaving them heavier, unhealthier and unhappier all year-round. Worse yet, it puts them in an increasingly challenging position every holiday season. At an average of five to ten pounds of holiday weight gain per year, it's not hard to see how quickly a person can become obese.

Eating well during the holidays takes some will power. You should treat yourself to some of the foods you want this holiday season, but exercise some determination and be reasonable in the coming weeks.