As always, these FOUR S's of Weighing Yourself are key:

►Same TIME of day, on the

►Same DAY each week, wearing the

►Same CLOTHING, and using the

►Same SCALE Measure yourself - Sometimes your scale wont budge but your waistline will.

When it comes to holiday shopping, it’s easy to get carried away.

So many great things are available, often at prices that seem irresistible. You start loading up on them, including many you weren’t even planning to buy. It all seems like so much fun — until the bills arrive. If you’re not careful, it can take months to recover.

Now let’s twist that script just a bit using another common holiday overindulgence: eating.

The parallels are quite obvious. Luckily, so is the solution.

“It helps to have a budget, a limit,” said Linda Van Horn, a registered dietitian and professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a member of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee.

I asked Van Horn for advice on how to navigate the upcoming stretch when food is plentiful and resolve often isn’t. Her suggestions are rooted in the same technique that can keep you under control on a trip to the mall: Having a game plan.

For instance ...

You’re most likely to be surrounded by goodies on Dec. 24-25, then again Dec. 31-Jan. 1. So we’re actually going to set two plans, one for those days and another for the in-between stretch.

We’ll start with the party days since those are more fun. And we’ll offer up the best news of all: Definitely look forward to digging into your most decadent favorites.

“Enjoy,” Van Horn said. “Don’t feel guilty. It’s a special treat. Just be selective.”

Maybe you pick chocolate cake one night, cheesecake the next. No problem. Of course, be smart about it. Have a satisfying yet sensible portion.

The other wrinkle to making this work is being smart about the rest of your meal.

“You can sort of bank some calories by choosing to skip something that’s not as important to you, like maybe stuffing or mashed potatoes,” she said. “Have more salad and veggies so you can save calories for the food that’s special and wonderful.”

Now, about those other, non-party days, generally Dec. 26-30.

This is where you can really make a difference. Eating smart and sticking with your usual exercise plan gives you the leeway to be more carefree on the special occasions.

“If you can at least maintain habitual physical activity, that’s very, very valuable,” she said.

There’s one more technique Van Horn recommends before, during and after this stretch, something she describes as “documented in scientific literature as the single greatest way to maintain weight.”

“Weigh yourself,” she said.

While pulling out a scale at this time of year may seem Scrooge-like, think of it more along the lines of balancing your checkbook.

“If you come out the other side having gained minimally — 2 to 3 or even 5 pounds — that’s OK,” she said. “You will lose that by going back to our usual routine. When things begin to go awry is when people indulge nutritionally and also forego physical activity. That is the formula for major disappointment. You pay a huge price, which can easily be 10 to 20 pounds of weight gain by the time the holidays are over.”

It’s also important to be realistic.

Say you end up eating too much at a party or exercising too little during the in-between days. Hey, it happens. Just recalibrate.

“Where things start to break down is when people say, `Gee, now that I’ve blown it, I guess I’ll just give up,’” Van Horn said.

Another layer of all this is the New Year’s resolution for a healthier lifestyle.

Far too many people chow through this time of year insisting that when the calendar flips they’ll suddenly find the resolve and discipline to eat better and exercise more. Some will. Yet the reality is that many won’t.

But they could. Van Horn even suggests that launching this holiday game plan can be a springboard for a new you in the new year.

“I’ve seen a lot of people do that,” she said. “They handle two days this week (Dec. 24-25) and two days next week (Dec. 31 and Jan. 1), and watch themselves on the other days. They eat right and exercise so they can come out on the other end feeling successful. Then they look back at that two-week period and realize they did it! They realize they can handle it, day by day. What defeats people is falling into the trap of thinking they have to change for the rest of their lives. Try it for a bite-sized window of time and see how it goes. It is so positive and so doable!”

Positive and doable. Just like my wish to you for a happy, healthy holiday and a wonderful 2016.    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-brown/set-your-game-plan-for-a_b_8860436.html