The holidays are here. The tree is up, the lights are lit, the cookies are made and the elastic pants are pulled from the back of the closet.

Holiday seasons usually always involve throwing the diet handbook out the window and feasting on cookies, pies and your aunt’s 10-pound fruitcake that she insists on making each year.

It’s hard to keep track of our diet intake as we make our favorite holiday foods. I love a good peanut butter cookie just as much as the next person, maybe even more. Some may say I’m a peanut butter addict so I know it can be difficult not reach for that second or third.

Holiday eating is very tempting, but not all holiday parties have to add to the “holiday weight” notion. Here are a few tips to healthy holiday eating with some recipes to go along.

1. Lets try to be real about this. It’s hard to lose weight during the holidays, I mean really lose weight. It’s okay if you are about the same weight when the holidays are over. In fact, props for you if you are. Try to maintain your current weight while watching what you eat and still exercising during the holidays.  Try eating fewer-calorie meals so in the evening you can savor that peanut butter cookie, or that fruitcake your aunt keeps shoving your way.

2. To help with portion sizes, avoid building mounds of food on your plate. Everyone knows someone who is a “food stacker” and piles his or her food on top of each other. Don’t layer your food on top of each to squeeze in as much as you can, this simple trick will help maintain portion sizes.

3. Believe it or not, what you wear can play a roll in how you eat. By wearing lose clothing, you are more likely to eat more than you would wearing something that is a bit more form fitted, yet still flattering to your body type. By wearing something a bit more fitted, you are reminded to not over eat while at the holiday party.

4. When either cooking or baking for the family or friends holiday party, there are cut backs or substitutions that can be made and no one will ever know. Some simple suggestions would be to use fat-free or reduced fat products such as peanut butter, whipped cream, sour cream, mayo or even dressings. Unless you know someone who has super-sonic taste buds, when these ingredients are mixed in with the rest, no one will be able to taste a difference.  For other helpful substitutions, visit Helpful Tips for Healthy Holiday Parties on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website.

5. Try to stay active. By doing a simple morning routine can help maintain your body. An example of a morning routine can consist of 20 jumping jacks, 10 squats and 25 Russian twists. By taking a half hour in the morning to do a simple routine can boost your energy for the day and help maintain your body. As time goes on you can build up on your routine and add different types of exercise that work different pars of the body.

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Contact Staff Writer Stephanie Preweda via email at [email protected] or Twitter @Stephsocool