That unwanted gift of holiday calories

Holiday revelers can gain an average of 5 pounds each holiday season, according to studies and surveys. Trouble is, those who are overweight tend to gain more, and few of us ditch the extra poundage when the new year begins. (So much for all those resolutions.) It all adds up over time, leading to midsection sprawl.

If you take a tip from Santa Monica food blogger Andrew Wilder to pause to consider what you are about to eat, you could save yourself plenty of excess calories. And that makes room to enjoy a treat that really counts, like a slice of mom’s pumpkin pie.

Here’s a look at how overindulging in traditional holiday offerings can easily translate into 3,600 calories, or the equivalent of 1 pound:

Four Candy Corn Oreos: 300 calories

Three miniature Three Musketeer bars: 190

A second heaping of turkey, gravy and stuffing: 500

A second slice of pecan pie: 450

A second cup of eggnog: 350

A second slice of Christmas prime rib: 350

A second slice of Christmas fruitcake: 325

One extra Hanukkah jelly doughnut: 350

One extra potato latke: 250

Four extra glasses of Champagne punch on New Year’s Eve: 500

—Rene Lynch