Fill up before your feast, dietitian says

Here’s a weight-watching tip you don’t often hear when gorging on turkey and mashed potatoes this holiday season: Find your favorite food and have at it.

But that’s partly what UCI dietitian and health educator Penny Anderson advises.

“Don’t waste your calories on foods that you don’t like to eat just because they’re offered on the holidays,” Anderson said. “Take a small amount of something that you really like. Fill up on things like vegetables that are cooked fresh with maybe some herbs on them.”

The key is to eat something filling before facing a full spread of turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie on an empty stomach.

“Don’t skip meals earlier in the day,” Anderson said. “Skipping meals actually leads to overeating later on. It’s not a good thing in terms of weight management.”

Some fatty-food offenders include the stuffing flavored with juices from the turkey, mashed potatoes packed with butter, cream or milk and, of course, the pie.

“The pies can be very high caloric,” she said. “Having a pumpkin pie versus a pecan pie is a good choice because a pumpkin is a squash, or a vegetable. It has about half the calories of a pecan pie.”

Substituting nonfat ingredients in the recipes is always a safe bet, Anderson said.

Director of UCI’s weight management program, Linda Gigliotti, offered her own tips.

You should fill up on high-fiber and high-volume foods like vegetables or fruits earlier in the day, or bring your own healthy selection to the feast, she said. Food is a part of a social event, but not the event, she said. You won’t regret moving the party away from the food later, she said.

Anderson takes it a step further.

“If you’re the person who cooked the meal, send the leftovers to everyone else’s house. Because if they’re around the house, you’re going to eat it. Save yourself enough for a turkey sandwich,” she said.

Other ways to stay healthier is to eat earlier in the evening, take a walk with family and friends after the meal, or to eat less over the next few days.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.