Things to do when confronted with delicious cookies, cheese, and eggnog. Every night. For four-to-six weeks.

Once in a while I get a story assignment that winds up really speaking to me—I’d love to say it’s always something seismic and life-changing. (Yes, that happens!) But there’s also a whole other kind. Namely, those everyday issues or ticks that you always hope to solve. Case-in-point: How to slip through the holidays with more or less the same dimensions you walked in with. Without mincing all the fun. It’s a tricky balance. When it comes to food, it’s natural to want to try a little of everything. It’s also normal to want to show your hosts that you’re enjoying what you’re getting. None of those things scream moderation. So I feel like my winter season turned noticibly more functional after I spent some time interviewing a group of impressive experts—among them Mireille Guiliano (author of French Women Don’t Get Fat) and Brian Wansink (Mindless Eating), alongside SG regulars like nutritionist-extraordinaire Stephanie Middleberg—for a ForbesWoman story about what, exactly, to do when faced with all the very best temptations of the entire year. 

The sources spilled a whole bunch of fantastic tips for the Forbes sidebar, but I’ll go ahead and warm you up with a few that I’ve been using again and again:

Get one plate and fill it exactly once: Harder said than done; it’s so easy to put it down, turn around and have it swept away so you have to, gosh…start all over like the last one never happened. <

Don’t skimp on hand-held accessories like clutches and cameras: They make it tougher to grab food. Year-round I tend to avoid them because I think of them as inconvenient. How wrong I was!

Re-purpose the really fatty stuff, like cheese, as a garnish: Rather than totally denying yourself–or caving and eating a whole wheel of brie–look for ways to get the full flavor impact in small amounts. Like crumbling just a tiny amount of cheese on a big serving of raw vegetables (also: try to reserve half your plate salad, fruit, and veggies).

Eat a little before any party: Camille and I have both written about how beneficial it can be to grab an apple before digging in to a meal—they fill you up with good vitamins, fiber, and few calories.

Run with your passions: If you truly, deeply love, say, cookies, don’t waste your time at the sushi station (no matter how healthful or expensive the fish). Cut out the incidentals, and savor the truly important bits. Come to think of it, the life metaphor there works well too…