With the holiday season upon us and endless goodies to sample at family gatherings and office parties, most people become faced with the fact that they will gain 5 pounds during all of the fun.However, if your goal is to battle the belly bulge this year, put down the fruitcake and pick up a few tips offered by North Shore Medical Center Registered Dietician Jean Bianchetto on how to handle holiday over eating.?It?s all about portion control,” she said. “Also, people should focus on celebrating the event itself and enjoying the company they have during the holidays instead of eating too much and feeling overstuffed and uncomfortable.”One way to avoid that bloated feeling is to steer away from the buffet table and its mountains of calories by offering to bring a lower fat dish to offset some of the other goodies.?Cheesecake, fruitcake, chips, cheesy dips, avocado – these things can be found at parties and are high fat foods where just a little goes a long way,” she said. “And those pre-cut slices of cake are huge! Try to take a quarter of the size or half of it and have some fresh fruit on the side instead.”Bianchetto said planning ahead by eating a small dish at home before the party can prevent you from noshing on a little bit of everything, especially if the party starts a little later in the evening.?It?s certainly okay to enjoy the food, but don?t feel the need to go back and get seconds,” she said. “Also, make sure to opt for healthier salads with dressing on the side as opposed to big sub sandwiches.Bianchetto said another solution to avoid over eating is to solicit support from friends who are also trying to watch their waistlines.?This time of the year makes us just that much more accessible to food and entertainment, so take time to get out there and exercise by walking uptown to buy a gift or walking to the post office to get stamps,” she said.Another diet roadblock at holiday parties is alcohol, which Bianchetto said is often times hard to pass up. In that case, she advised drinking a smaller amount, say five ounces of red or white wine or a light beer to cut back on calories.?It?s much better to drink that instead of mixed alcohol drinks where juices are added because there goes the caloric intake,” she warned. “Eggnog is also high in calories, but you can have a small portion?as long as you don?t go overboard.”