We’ve dispatched Thanksgiving and all its stuffing-and-gravy excesses, but there’s still a month or more of family feasts, office parties and general holiday snacking.

Here are a few guidelines for healthier holiday eating, according to Roberta Damren, a dietitian with the Waldo County General Hospital.

1. Include some low-fat items during each eating session. Starting with carrot sticks or other raw veggies will curb your lust for food and fill stomach space that would otherwise be available for sweets and meats.

2. Whether it’s sugar, salt, alcohol or dressings, use everything in moderation — whatever amount is your impulse to use, use just a bit less.

3. Focus on foods you really like and that are special to the occasion. “If you’re having stuffing, why also eat bread when you can have it any other day?” Damren said. “Save your calories for something you really want.”

4. Make a point of planning additional exercise — brisk walking is ideal — if you anticipate having a big holiday meal. That doesn’t mean trying to waddle down the lane after you get up from the table, Damren said. It’s more effective, not to mention much easier, to exercise well before the meal, or even the day before or after.

5. Commit eating strategies to paper, a kind of road map through Calorieville. Write down exactly what you plan to eat and when and how you will exercise to compensate for a larger-than-average meal. For example, of which things will you have seconds? What dessert will you choose? Will you forego dessert for something else? People get overwhelmed by the piles and pots of food, Damren said, and a written plan is a good reality check.

6. Remember to focus on the social aspects of the holidays. “We tend to think of holidays as being about food,” Damren said. Make eating secondary to conversation, games and music.

7. Take at least 30 minutes to eat. It takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to get a clue as to how much food you’ve put in your stomach. Conversation delays consumption, so do you and your table neighbors a favor by chatting.

8. Don’t give food as gifts, particularly if someone is struggling with weight control. And ask others to do the same.

9. Take one day at a time. “It’s easy to blow off the holidays after you overindulge once,” Damren said. In fact, people get stressed about overeating and then eat more. “Don’t dwell on it,” she said.