A national survey of women conducted earlier this year revealed that women see stress and lack of energy as two of their top health issues. But here's where it gets interesting: Women were twice as likely as men to snack as a way of dealing with stress!

So how do you enjoy famous holiday party time that seems to start with coffee breaks at work or weekend brunches and last through dessert parties late in evening without overdoing on all those wonderful foods? Here's a list of ideas to consider that can help reduce holiday stress, boost energy and maximize your ability to make smart choices to support you in your efforts to feel well and stay healthy.

Keep It Simple

The absolute first "must" for enjoying your holidays is to keep it simple. Be realistic in what you want to accomplish…and what you expect others to accomplish, too. Discuss holiday plans with family and friends. Consider paring down your "to do" list, and get a commitment from others to share in extra holiday tasks that create extra fun for everyone.

Feed Yourself Well

A party later in evening doesn't mean skimping on food during day. All that will do is set you up for overeating because you get too hungry. Instead, eat regular, balanced meals and snacks that include grains/starchy vegetables, protein foods and fruits and/or vegetables every 3-5 hours when you are hungry, and stopping when you are satisfied.

Likewise, if you overdo it at one meal or party (and who doesn't on occasion?), don't try to "make up" for it at your next meals. Go back to your regular eating plan as described above.

Dance Night Away!

Physical activity may provide biggest boost to your ability to cope during holidays. Not only is it a natural outlet for tension (and consequently another way to cope), physical activity boosts our energy level and our motivation to keep going.

Be creative! Break out of your mold by adding opportunities of holiday season, such as dancing, skating, sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, caroling (all that walking)…even trimming tree (there's a lot of stretching there). Make fun physical activity primary focus of your parties, instead of depending on food to make or break it.

Realistically, many people find that physical activity early in day is best way to make it happen. A walk after breakfast is one of best strategies for boosting energy and helping you feel well rest of day. Don't forget those walks around shopping mall or long brisk walk in from parking lot count for something, too! (See FitBriefing Moving for Life).

Put on Parties that Work for You

It all starts off with that glance in mirror. What we see staring back at us is often an image we don’t like or at least we don’t rave about. The instant reaction too often can be – ‘I need to go on a diet’.

You don’t like package, so you need to alter it in some way. But truth is that often it is ‘packaging’ that is distorting picture – distorting our image of ourselves and not you (the package).

Consider this: Everything about you is perfect as it is, and has a purpose. Your shape, your height, your size, your hair colour, your eye colour, shape of your features, and size of your knees - they all combine to create you. Having a negative personal image can lead to weight gain or weight loss. Most eating disorders occur as a result of a negative body image.

Your packaging – or your style and your way of dress – has a huge impact on your personal image – how you see yourself, how much you like way you look and …how large or small you look.

Just imagine how you feel when you are presented with a gift that is packaged with fanciest ribbon, shiniest paper and with care and attention. In fact, it almost doesn’t matter what is inside package! It is same for you, your packaging has an impact on yourself – how you feel about yourself, your confidence levels, and how others treat you.

So before you go on a diet, please consider following:

Are you wearing clothes that don’t fit you? Squeezing into an item of clothing is just plain unflattering and although you think you can stay in denial of your true size, every other person that passes you in street will notice that you are squeezing in. You will only draw more attention which can make you feel more sensitive about how you look. More importantly wearing clothes that are bigger than you or too small for you will make you look bigger.