The day after a holiday it is easy to think, “I’ve blown it. I ate way too much. I’ll never get these extra pounds off.”

Don’t go there in your thinking. Instead, get back on track and have a plan for holiday eating. Here are 5 quick tips:

1) Don’t eat standing up. Make it a habit to eat when you are sitting at the table and not everywhere else you may roam. Learn to associate food with sitting down for a meal. This one tip can eliminate picking at food in the refrigerator or on the counter. Tell yourself to wait until you sit down at meal times.

2) Stay out of the kitchen except for at mealtimes. How many times have you found yourself unconsciously wandering into the kitchen and opening cupboards and the refrigerator? The sight and smell of food cues you to eat it. Out of sight, out of mind.

3) Don’t go places hungry. This is just the beginning of the holiday eating season. You will see treats everywhere. and you will tend to overeat if you are hungry. Before you go out, to a holiday party, or to the office lined with treat trays, eat a piece of fruit and drink water. The less hungry you are, the easy it will be to have a small bite or resist the goodies.

4) Don’t cook/bake things that will be difficult to resist. If you tend to eat the entire batch of hot gooey brownies, don’t bake them. If sugar cookies are your favorite, bake another type of holiday cookie. Or if you do bake goodies you love, save one or two pieces and give the rest away. The idea is not to have those goodies left over begging you to eat them.

5)  Replace food with some other relaxing or rewarding activity. For example, take a walk, listen to soothing music, etc. Whenever you have the urge to munch, do something else that will take your mind off eating. Distract yourself with activity.

For more help to deal with mindless and emotional eating, check out Dr. Linda’s book, Press Pause Before You Eat.