Editor's note: Aloha, readers. The weekends between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can be crucial in holding the line on your weight and waistline. With your needs in mind, we’re providing tips
on nutrition and fitness to help keep you motivated and on track. Look for them each Sunday through Jan. 1.

"Clean your plate!" your parents hollered. And maybe you even passed that curse along to your children as they ate their own meals, chiding them about villagers starving in Africa, or how hard you worked to put that food on the table.

Unfortunately, few people realize how powerfully this command has afflicted our society, and perhaps there's no better time than the holiday season to become aware of it.

Yep, it's party time now. And whatever holiday you celebrate, there are buffets out there with your name on it, featuring self-serve feasts on dinner plates bigger than manhole covers. And that's the problem.

Maybe it's time to start a small-plate movement.

Seriously, behavioral scientists have actually confirmed that people eat more at meals when served with bigger plates. That might seem obvious, but why continue to inflict that upon yourself and your guests?

Using smaller dishware allows everyone to still enjoy the food, but without gorging themselves on platter-sized portions.

Your brain will also have enough time now to recognize when you're full, especially at parties, where people enjoy talking story between bites. That means you'll still enjoy the holidays, but without later feeling like you've been "tricked."

David Chong is a faculty member in exercise and sport science at Kapi'olani Community College.