Obviously one-plate maximum is a good plan, but here are four other tricks.

This is a time of year that is pretty tough on your waistline. There are mounds of food just waiting to be eaten. The idea of family coming together to spend time with one another is muddied by who is bringing what side dish or dessert.

It's definitely a time in which I avoid My Fitness Pal, which I log my food into every single day. However, this year My Fitness Pal is giving us some tricks to help us cut the calories.

1. White meat. Dark meat has more calories than white meat. Also, eliminate the skin. Sticking to just the breasts will also save you about 50 calories per serving.

2. Homemade stuffing. You can make stuffing without the whole milk. Use fat-free buttermilk and only add half the butter you normally would. This shouldn't change the taste but you'll save 90 calories per serving.

3. Green beans. Instead of a green bean casserole, make green beans. Eliminating the cream of mushroom soup is key. Even if you still put butter and fried onions on top, you'll save a whopping 150 calories per serving.

4. Pumpkin Pie. Ditch the pecan pie and stick with pumpkin. One slice of pecan pie is about 800 calories. Pumpkin is just 270. So if you don't want to eliminate pie completely, at least pick the one that will save you over 500 calories.

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