Now, I have a friend who swears this entire process begins a month earlier, on Halloween night, when all the candy invades the home. She just might have a point. But even if you manage to purge your house of all that chocolate and sugar--my solution is bringing it to the office--it's near impossible to escape the onslaught of turkey, ham, mashed and sweet potatoes, gravies, stuffing, pies and other baked goods that become a stable during the last two months of the year.

Yet every November I repeat the same mantra, "I will not eat as much", especially in the baked-good department. But every year I end up making those special holiday-only cookies, those seasonal apple pies and the occasional new but calorie-laden recipe that I finally have an excuse to try. And even if I promise myself that I am going to stay clear of those weight-gaining troublemakers, how do you walk by the baked goods you make, when the rest of the family is licking their lips and saying this is the best ever, and why don't you make this stuff more often? Well, the answer to the last part is easy. If I did, we would either look like blowfish or have to start running marathons on a regular basis.

I recall reading somewhere that during the holiday season most people gain an average of five extra pounds, which sounds like a fairly conservative increase. But no matter what the figure, I would like to keep the scale from moving upward to the point that my clothes start feeling uncomfortable. So I am determined this year to eat less and exercise more.

However, there are complications with this plan. Have you looked at the cost of eating healthy lately? Thanks to four hurricanes in Florida, pricing at the market on certain items has gone through the roof. In fact, the cost of making a salad is moving up into the stratosphere, with tomatoes at $5 per pound, cucumbers at 60 cents apiece and bell peppers in the $3 per pound range. Then there are green beans reaching $4 per pound. A side dish that will be MIA this holiday season in our home.

And if you want to buy citrus, it going to taste pretty sour at a $1.79 for one grapefruit. Fortunately, apples and pears are still within reach and pomegranates and persimmons are west coast fare. But eating healthy is going to definitely cost more this holiday season.

So does that mean I should make more apple and pumpkin pies, or bake more biscotti and cookies to counter for the missing items on the table? My family wouldn't argue with that rationale. My wallet would probably be a little more full, but my pants would be a whole lot tighter come January 2005. And we would all be suffering from some major glycemic index nightmare. So even if I bake those pies, some of those apples are going to remain in a bowl. And all the almonds are not going into the biscotti. There are still going to be almonds sitting in a jar. But I know if I try and bow out from making my once a year toffee-chocolate bar cookie, my family will be in an uproar.

Once again it all comes down to compromise and controlling the potential for excess during the holidays. Whether it applies to eating, gift giving or any other form of lopsided behavior, the holidays are always the time of year that tests our willpower.

I'm hoping this year that I find that balance between over indulgence and the just-say-no to everything mindset. I know there is a middle ground in there somewhere. The trick is to discover where the heck that is and stay the course. It might just mean breaking down and buying some of those over priced vegetables, or maybe baking a little less, especially if the sugar meter starts tipping over from all the goodies that are going into our bellies.

Moryt Milo is the editor of The Willow Glen Resident. She can be contacted at 400.200.1051 or mmilo@svcn.com.