Tips for maintaining your weight during the holidays

In reality, the average American gains just under a pound of weight from Thanksgiving Day through New Year's, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Jessica Corwin, a registered dietician, says even that extra pound shouldn't be ignored.

"Just think about how difficult it can be to lose those final few pounds and how easy it is to pack them on throughout the rest of the year?" she wrote in her blog for the Smart Living Network.

Corwin's blog lays out the "10 tips to maintain your weight during the holidays." The tips include drink water, shrink your plate and "eat before the feast."

"I certainly don't want to prevent you from splurging on your favorite holiday treats, but I do want to suggest that you are actually savoring those that you choose," she wrote. "So, rather than trying to lose weight over the holidays — a goal that may create more strife than it is worth — simply aim to maintain the weight you have without gaining any more."

To get the full tip list and details on Corwin's plan, click here.