Dining with others really is not about the food. It's about the people - and the relationships - around the table. That's true whether the table is bearing celery sticks or a 7-course dinner. Sharing sustenance is a gesture of companionship and generosity.
Holidays push this concept to the max, when rich, calorific avalanches seem to accompany good wishes everywhere you turn. Your co-worker is begging you to try her special cookies. Your buddy is pushing a seasonal splurge of Chocolate Thunder. Your hostess unfurls a buffet that has kept her in the kitchen for a month. The good news: You can honor these gestures, enjoy the season, and hang on to your healthy ways. How? Like so many things, it starts with your attitude.
The Power of the Positive: So much holiday "dining advice" is negative: what we can't do, shouldn't eat, mustn't drink at all costs. The net result is that we spend our energy and attention on these Don't Wants and - of course - end up thinking of little else.
This year, try something else. Focus on what you want, not on what you want to avoid. You want to: Feel good about yourself - today and after January first. Be kind to your body and general health. Achieve your goals. Celebrate with friends and have fun.
And yet, if you take a woe-is-dieting-me attitude into the season, you will - believe me - fall short on every count. You will have no fun, be no fun and - worse - may even seem judgmental about your non-dieting friends and hosts.