Happy, Healthy Holidays 31   Can you believe the holidays are here again? I know everyone wants to hear about how to not gain weight this season, and I will discuss strategies for that, but first I want to talk about a topic that I’ve been thinking about lately, which is the connection between happiness and health. I recently participated on a panel about spiritual, emotional and physical health and wellness. As you might guess, I was the food and nutrition expert. I loved that it got me really thinking about how eating and spirituality can intersect to actually promote a state of holistic, overall health and wellbeing.   I think that right now, when we’re all wishing each other happy holidays and healthy holidays, is a great time to think about how to truly have a happy, healthy holiday season. Do you know what makes us happy? Gratitude! The more thankful we are for what we’ve got, the happier we are. And what makes us healthy? Lots of factors, obviously, but two big factors that we can control are what we eat and how grateful we are. Studies show that grateful people tend to take better care of themselves, sleep better, have less physical pain, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and less inflammation. You might be wondering why I’m talking about this at all—I mean, I’m just a dietitian. Well, there are tons of opportunities for creating happiness and gratitude in connection to food and eating.   I’m sure you’ve heard me say before that how you eat is just as important as what you eat. Aspects of how we eat can contribute to wellness and happiness. For example, activities surrounding food such as grocery shopping, eating at restaurants, and eating with others add to our social health. Having a healthy relationship with foods and feeling good about what we eat contribute to our self-esteem and emotional well-being. Taking pleasure in food and eating can nourish your spirit.   Most of our listeners know how passionate I am about the Mediterranean diet, and there are many aspects of this lifestyle approach that promote health, wellness and happiness, specifically: social support, eating together, not smoking, and being physically active. Research has shown that following the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle improves quality of life, vitality and longevity. One important part of the lifestyle is eating meals with family and friends. There are many benefits of family meals for adults: stronger social connections, better mental and physical health, lower blood pressure and obesity rates. So one goal I have for you this season is to savor your food and make meals into a social occasion to connect with family and friends.   Now as I transition to discussing holiday eating, I want you to keep in mind the importance of eating with gratitude and enjoyment. Practicing these things requires you to be present and mindful and not distracted and rushed. This approach will in turn help you pay attention to what and how much you are eating.   Making it through the holidays without gaining weight is not about dieting and willpower; it’s about having a plan! You can probably realize from my discussion about happiness, dieting makes you pretty unhappy and grumpy, which is not how you want to feel during the holidays—or ever. Let’s get some perspective. A few holiday meals won’t destroy your health or your weight; truly, it’s your overall eating pattern that is important for maintaining your general health, preventing disease, and achieving a healthy weight.   My philosophy is that if you eat healthfully 80% of the time, then there is absolutely room in your diet to eat holiday foods, too. That works out to about three or four “special celebration” meals per week. The other 17 or 18 meals should be well-planned, balanced, and healthful.   It can be close to impossible to lose weight during