Tis the season for overeating! The holidays are quickly approaching and there are tempting treats at every turn. Chocolates, baked goods, candy and sugary choices galore.

During the holidays, it's perfectly fine to savor one of your favorite desserts or to have an extra glass of egg nog or two, but you shouldn't use the whole month of December as an excuse to overindulge.

On the last day of this month, tens of thousands of Americans will resolve to lose weight and to get healthier in 2013. But my question is, why wait until January 1?

You may be hesitant to adopt a healthier lifestyle for fear that you'll have to change too much all at once, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming! Why not start now and be well on your way by the time the clock strikes 2013?

Here are five tips that you can use to help ease into a cleaner diet:

*    Cut back on take out. By shopping for fresh ingredients and making your own meals, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor! Fast food is chock full of unhealthy fats, sodium, sugar and calories. There are also preservatives and other chemicals that our bodies could do without.
*    Learn to read labels. Very little good comes out of boxes where food is concerned, but if you know how to read labels, you can start making better choices. If you have to spend more than a few seconds to decipher a food's label, then your body won't know what to do with those unpronounceable additives either! Skip anything with flavor enhancers, flavorings or fake colors.
*    Stop drinking calories. Sugary coffee drinks, sodas, juices . . . they're not good for us. They serve no nutritional purpose and they are nothing but empty calories. Reach for water to quench your thirst and you'll be doing yourself a big favor.
*    Eat more vegetables. Bulk up on veggies. Eat them with every meal and don't be stingy. I'm not talking about iceberg lettuce, either! Reach for dark leafy greens (organic, please!) like spinach and kale. Snack on carrot sticks and broccoli. Eat a rainbow each day and you'll be amazed with the results.
*    Stop buying crappy food. You know which foods are not serving your health, so stop buying them. You don't need those cookies and cakes. Those tubs of ice cream and bags of chips look good at the time, but if you bring them home, you'll only eat them- so leave them on the store shelves!