Tips to avoid packing on the Thanksgiving pounds

Let's be blunt. For many, if not most, of us, the holidays are largely about enjoying food as much as family and friends, and in just about a week, the celebrating will officially begin. But is weight gain and overindulgence inevitable, or are there ways to maintain your dining disciple and still have a good time?

A marketing professor, Brian Wansink, director of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab and author of "Slim By Design: Mindless Eating Solutions For Everyday Life" (William Morrow, 2014), has studied consumer behavior and eating habits for years.

He says this time of year poses a dietary challenge primarily because we don't see Thanksgiving, for example, as a one-and-done event. Rather, it's part of a season long series of lunches, dinners, parties, and drinks that extend through the New Year. It's not what happens on the holidays themselves, but the indulgences that occur the rest of the time, he says.

Check out Consumer Reports' expert tips on how to enjoy happier and healther holidays.

"We tell ourselves that Thanksgiving and Christmas happen only once a year, and that gives us license to make up any excuse for what we do," Wansink said. "To compound the damage, we throw up our hands and fall prey to what I call it the 'what-the-heck' effect. You have a scoop of ice cream, then rationalize it's all right to eat the whole carton because you already fell off the wagon."

Wansink say that people are more prone this time of year to rationalize any negative behavior for any reason. "We treat ourselves to ice cream because we've had a good day, a rough day, or a fun day," he said. "That's when behaviors become dangerous."

As for the holiday meals, Wansink has a few tricks that can keep you and your guests from stuffing yourselves silly.

• Eat off of smaller plates. "There's a correlation between plate size and how much you eat," Wansink said. "We did a study that showed people ate 22 percent less, on average, when food was served on a 10-inch plate instead of a 12-inch one. That's because a serving looks a lot more modest on a bigger plate, so you think you're eating an appetizer rather than a main course."
• Stick with homemade dishes. "A really good rule of thumb: Don't eat it unless its homemade," Wansink said. "Thanksgiving isn't the day to go on a diet, but if you don't eat Aunt Grace's dressing, peach pie, or signature casserole, it'll hurt her feelings. But she won't care if you eat Chex mix, peanuts, or nachos out of a bag. She didn't make them. A typical person can cut calorie consumption by 9 percent if he simply avoids packaged or processed foods."
• Beware of bowl and spoon size. When food is served from jumbo platters, trays, or bowls, we tend to grab more than if it was served from a smaller container or plate, Wansink said. "It distorts the notion of what's a normal portion size," he said. Similarly, people instinctively scoop larger portions when the serving utensils are bigger. In one study Wansink conducted, people took 15 percent more food when they used a 3-ounce spoon instead of a 2-ounce one.
• Outsmart your host or hostess. "A lot of us are pressured by our host to eat a little more," Wansink said There's an easy solution, and it's based on the idea that people don't remember quantities; they remember numbers. "No one will know if you took a little stuffing, only that you asked for seconds," Wansink said. "If you want to make Auntie Grace happy, have a small helping and make a big deal of it. 'Wow, Aunt Grace, I really liked those beets. Can I have seconds?' " Wansink said. "She's never going to realize that you took only a tablespoon, only that you asked for another helping."

—Tod Marks