33 MD for December 31, 2008

From Christmas celebrations to New Year's parties, the holidays can de-rail your diet. But there are ways to get through the season without putting on extra pounds.

Registered Dietician Amy Goodson says, "You go to all these parties and people have all these good foods, so it's kind of hard to force yourself to eat your good stuff."

When it comes to eating healthy, the holidays can be the toughest time of the year.

"The average person gains seven pounds over the holidays from Halloween to New Years."

Goodson says there's still time to avoid the post holiday hangover. "People always go to the holiday party starving because their thought is if I skip meals all day, I can eat whatever I want at the party."

She says eat something with protein before you go to a party and you'll be less likely to overdo it. And when it comes to the Holiday cocktails, stick with red wine and skip the eggnog. There can be 400 calories in a cup of eggnog or a Margarita, but just 110 calories in five ounces of red wine.

If you're out shopping those post-Christmas sales, look for healthier options when you're eating on the run. "You end up grabbing something and you're like, uggh, I shouldn't have eaten that later."

Skip the burgers and stick with the salads and wraps. With a few changes, your New Year's resolution can become a reality.

In other medical news, Gastric Bypass Surgery may reverse Type 2 Diabetes in teens. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital studied 78 teenagers with Type 2 Diabetes, 11 of which underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery.

A year after the surgery, 10 out of the 11 no longer needed their diabetes medication. They also saw improvements in their blood sugar and cholesterol. Teens that did not have the surgery saw little health improvement.