Flat belly indulgence: eat, drink, and be slender this holiday season.

• Author: Wade, Erin
• Position: Life in America

ONE OF THE BEST (and worst) things about the holidays is the food--extravagant spreads, seasonal treats, and delectable finger foods. Then you spend months trying to work off the resulting extra pounds. Every year, it seems, you end up munching and sipping long after you should have stopped--and your bloated belly tells the tale. However, you can avoid the holiday food hangover--and actual hangovers--during the coming weeks.

Look, no one is claiming the holidays are a time to embark full force on a weight loss plan, but neither do you want to show up in your cute party dress with a fat tummy. There is a balance between enjoying the season and overindulging--and it begins with a working knowledge of food and drink.

When you have an event coming up where you want your midsection to look as slim as possible, such as a holiday cocktail party, it usually is best to avoid certain foods for a few days beforehand. Keep reminding yourself how great you are going to look in that little black dress--for most people, vanity combined with a short-term deadline is more powerful than textbooks full of information on how to achieve long-term health.

Many foods contain ingredients, such as saturated fats and refined carbohydrates, that can pack on the pounds and cause your body to accumulate fat, gradually expanding your waistline over time. While you probably will not gain a large amount of weight over one holiday season, for most Americans, those pounds stick around--and that is where the problems start.

When you indulge in sausage balls, fried latkes, sweet potato-and-marshmallow casserole, fudge, eggnog, or whatever your treat of choice might be, you are taking in calories, saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, and more that contribute negatively to your long-term health. The cumulative effect can be serious, so it is smart to limit these types of food--or avoid them altogether if you are the super-high-willpower type.

What follows is a crash course concerning temptations you may find among the holiday fare:

* Sugar alcohols are sugar substitutes that are only partially digested in your body. Because of this, they provide fewer calories per gram than regular sugar. They also can cause uncomfortable gastrointestinal side effects, such as gas and diarrhea; this can make your stomach look and feel distended. Sugar alcohol is found mostly in sugar-free snacks, gums, and candies. If you see ingredients such as xylitol, sorbitol, or maltitol, you have found...