It started on Halloween as you nibbled the candy you thought your kids wouldn't miss.

Thanksgiving and the pumpkin pie soon followed. You love pumpkin pie and rationalized that it only comes one a year. But before the guests went home, three-fourths of the pie was gone and everyone else ate the cheese cake.

And now it's December. It's the Christmas party, the big family dinner, the shopping, the wrapping, the cookies and Mother's special fudge.

What's the point? You blew all your healthful intentions back in October. Might as well wait until January. You know, start with a clean slate?

Hold on right there. Quit riding Rationalization Railroad just because you bought the tickets Halloween night. Free-will let's you get off at any stop.

The good news: Most of us won't pack on the estimated 5-to-8 pounds of December bulge previously touted. The New England Journal of Medicine now puts the average holiday weight gain at just about a pound per person.

The bad news: That pound usually stays with us for the entire year. Twenty years of 20 Decembers, well … you do the math.

"For most people, it's either I'm going to be perfect, or I'm going to be terrible,'" said Jeff Miller, an exercise physiologist and personal trainer at Wyoming Athletic Club.

But it doesn't have to be so all-or-nothing.

This year, try to even the eating field. If you polish off a double-serving of sugar plums at one party, fill up on carrots and broccoli before the next. The point is not to steer clear of all the holiday pleasures. The point is to moderate, plan ahead and mix in some calorie-busting moments.

The following tips will help you move more this month while eating fewer hip-packing calories. And even more good news: These tips aren't December-specific. They can be used throughout the year to build a more balanced, healthful lifestyle.

And, they come just in time for January resolutions:

Throughout the day:

1. Walk the mall: Miller has watched shoppers park at JC Penny, do their shopping, return to their cars and then drive to the other side of the mall. Why not walk those extra steps?

If you are shopping until you are dropping, you've probably burned up some really good calories.

"Every little bit helps. Do whatever you can do to be more active," Miller said. "Park further away in the parking lot. Walk the dog while the weather is nice. It's really up to your imagination."

2. Set your watch: Staring at the computer screen? Get up and walk around. You may find your inspiration, and you could add up those extra-steps to much needed calorie-burning boosters.

But it has to be conscientious, said Sona Rummel, owner and certified personal trainer of Absolute Fitness.

Two-minutes a day won't make a difference. Two-minutes every hour, plus 20-minutes on lunch, can add up to 38 minutes a day. Also, try adding a few squats on your coffee break, or a wall sit during brain-freeze.

"Your body has no idea of what it's lifting. It doesn't know whether or not you are in the fanciest gym in town. It just knows that it is working," Rummel said.

3. Keep it simple: Miller suggests the KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid). "The biggest thing you can do to limit weight gain is to not put the calories in your mouth to begin with," he said.

A Snickers Bar has 250 calories. Walking 15 minutes, for a person weighing an average of 150 pounds, will burn only about 50 calories. Rationalizing indulgences by promising to walk it off later doesn't work. Life often gets in the way of the walk, but rarely in the way of the Snickers.

4. Everything in moderation: "You don't want to feel like you are depriving yourself. I never tell people 'you can't eat chocolate,'" Miller said. Indulge now, in moderation, to prevent binges later on.

But don't give your will-power a free month-long vacation.

Limit sweets and other empty calories (those with no real nutritional value.) Grab water instead of Pepsi, realize that flour turns to sugar inside your body. Go for lean meats, vegetables and fruit to keep your mouth occupied.

At Home

5. Holiday boot camp: Balancing a bowl of chips on your stomach while watching "CSI" contributes as much to the holiday bulge as any pie or cheese cake. Kill the couch-potato calories by getting off the couch.

Rummel suggests doing 40 jumping jacks, 20 push-ups, 30 sit-ups, wall sits, squats and lunges during commercials. Anything to get the heart-rate pumping and eliminate those mindless strolls to the kitchen.

"In December, if people were just aware that they don't have to make really drastic changes. It's just that they have to include an extra hour of exercise a week. Be aware that it will be very easy to over-indulge and sit in a corner," Rummel said.

6. Go big: If you can only spare 30 minutes between guests, shopping and holiday parties, make those 30 minutes count, Rummel said.

"It's not for how long you can do it, it's the intensity. It's what you choose to do during that 30 minutes."

Don't have time for weights and cardio? Do them at the same time. Take the circuit approach to lifting and push through the reps with little rest in between. If you normally walk the treadmill while watching television, pick up the pace and jog or sprint for short intervals.

7. Eat breakfast: It revs-up the metabolism, attacks mid-morning munchies and curbs trips to the refrigerator. Judy Barbe, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the Wyoming Dietetic Association, suggests a small meal which includes whole grains, fruit, dairy and protein.

"The longer you go without eating, the more you eat when you sit down for a meal. Eat regularly throughout the day."

8. Choose sweets wisely: Take a very small serving, only about four bites, and complement with two cups of green leafy vegetables, suggests Glenda Hadley, a nutritional counselor at the Abundant Health Center in Glenrock. Also, eating vegetables and fruit gives the body nutrients, balances the body pH levels and provides fiber. The fiber will help to fill you up when the temptations arise.

The Christmas party

9. Get down, get down: You've found the right table - good company, in spitting distance of the buffet line and within good view of the cocktail bar - and you settle in for a long night of stimulating conversation. A good party plan or a recipe for holiday thunder thighs?

Let's put it this way: It's not a good party plan.

Move it or you won't lose it.

"Grab your partner and dance a couple of songs," Rummel said.

No partner, no problem. Start a trend by hitting the dance floor alone.

10. Buffet away: Choose a table as far from the food as possible. Don't forget to mingle, on your feet, with those whom you haven't seen for a while.

"Make just one trip to the party buffet and try to socialize away from the food. The nearer you are to food, the more likely you are to eat," Barbe said.

11. Preparty snack: Choose low-calorie but filling foods to help curb your appetite about an hour before hitting the buffet. Barbe suggests fruit, a bowl of whole-grain cereal or protein-rich foods such as yogurt. Fiber and protein take longer for the body to break down which help control your appetite.

"The longer you go without eating, the more you eat when you sit down for a meal … It's natural to overeat if you are overly hungry, especially with all the temptations of the holiday tables," Barbe said.

12. Prioritize: "Think about what foods you want to eat, which ones you will just sample and which ones you will skip. Small portions allow you to taste and savor," Barbe said. "Some folks tend to eat so fast, their stomach doesn't have time to tell the brain, 'Stop!'"

13. No more for the road: Not only does alcohol slow the metabolism, but it is usually charged with hidden calories and can make you eat more, Barbe said. Try alternating alcoholic beverages with glasses of water or other no-calorie beverages. If you want three glasses of wine, skip the desert.

Christmas Day

14. Family time: If the thought of waking Christmas morning and pumping out 30-minutes of high-octane aerobics sends shivers down your bath-robe covered spine, don't do it. Find more creative, family-oriented ways to kick-start your energy level.

One of Rummel's friends made unwrapping presents into a group fitness regimen. But no one thought of it that way.

Whenever someone would open a gift, the family did 10 jumping jacks, or toe touches, or whatever popped into their heads.

You can also give each a turn at aerobics instructing. Whoever is doing the unwrapping, gets to choose what exercise the others will do.

"Make kids very aware that activity is fun and you can make it a game," Rummel said.

15. Start a tradition: Coax the kids to go sledding. Take them snow-shoeing or caroling around the neighborhood. Two hours of active togetherness will not only give you energy for the larger Christmas gatherings, it makes you take the time to appreciate each other's company.

And if it allows you an extra piece of mother's fudge, all the better.

16. Build a healthy plate: Choose vegetables first, meat second and carbohydrates last. "When looking at your plate, make sure that the carbohydrates occupy only one-quarter of your plate; the meat should take up one-quarter; and the vegetables should take up the other half," Hadley said. Avoid potatoes and corn. If potatoes are a must, consider skipping desert.

17. Little of many: Not sure you have the will power? Don't worry.

Hadley suggests taking about a tablespoon of up to 12 of your favorite foods. If you are still hungry, fill up on vegetables and fruit.

18: Never sweat the small stuff: Here are your choices. You can have the cheesecake and cruise Rationalization Railroad all the way to New Years. Or, you can have the cheesecake and appreciate every bite. Then, maybe, you can have an apple.

Never beat yourself into more self-defeating choices.

"It really doesn't have to be that bad of a time of year for you, if you just moderate," Miller said.

"Enjoy a couple of meals and don't worry about it. Have a pound or two worth of fun."