Those Cute Christmas Cookies Can Become Not-so-cute Weight Gain by New Year's Eve!

You can have the best intentions to stay on your diet when it comes to the holidays. Half a grapefruit for breakfast, cottage cheese and salad for lunch, chicken without the skin and broccoli for dinner: after such a virtuous day, just one Christmas cookie seems so innocent, right? Wrong!

Take that prettily frosted gingerbread cookie, for example. It looks so cute and tasty - why not have "just one"? The answer: one gingerbread cookie, depending on the amount of frosting and the size of the cookie, can contain as many as 400 calories! Top that cookie with a piece of shortbread (300 calories) and/or a frosted sugar cookie (250 calories), and ouch! By "enjoying" a few of those each day of the holiday season along with your normal daily diet, you can easily gain ten pounds between Halloween and New Year's Day. The result: your belly might resemble Santa Claus by the time Christmas Day and pecan pie time arrives!

What to substitute for Christmas cookies:

Replace that 400-calorie gingerbread cookie with: one large apple, cut up and sprinkled with apple pie spice and a packet of Splenda, PLUS one ounce of low-fat string cheese. You have enjoy that filling and tasty combination for half the calories of your cookie!

Replace your 300-calorie shortbread cookie with: a tablespoon of peanut butter spread on half a banana. That delicious treat has only 200 calories and is MUCH more satisfying.

Set aside the 250-calorie frosted sugar cookie and enjoy: one cup of sugar-free hot chocolate (about 50 calories) PLUS a low-fat ginger snap (about 30 calories).

And a tip: if you still want a Christmas cookie, enjoy a healthy dinner first. Lean protein, lots of fresh veggies, perhaps some fresh fruit. You'll be satisfied without feeling stuffed...and you may decide to resist that cookie by that point in the day!

And don't forget to exercise. A quick walk around the block after each meal will help you manage your weight and stress more successfully. PLUS you'll sleep better.

Remember: the holidays come but once a year. Your health and well-being are important EVERY day of the year. And by eating right, you can help yourself stay healthier. Now that's reason to celebrate!