'The Rule of 4' can help get you through holiday feasts

FOX 2 - It's time for the seasonal celebrations to begin - if you're worried about how you're going to get through the next six weeks - enjoying all the festivities, tasting all your favorites, look no further.

Deena Centofanti has the Rule of Four.  

• First, focus on just four bites of your favorites. It's portion control it's mindful eating and you might find it's enough to satisfy you.  
• Try chewing 40 times per bite.  This forces us to slow down. You'll feel full and maybe eat less
• Forget about the food - tell yourself, you can eat this food anytime of the year. Don't make the food the main event.
• Finally, forgive yourself - don't let one over-indulgence ruin your day. Do better the next meal.

Here's one more to add to the list, focus on feeling grateful. That's the goal of the holiday season.

"It makes us feel a sense of peace, it gives us a sense of calm in our spirit and it elevates our mood," said Dr. Sabrina Jackson. "It helps us get into the mind space and energy that we're drawing good things to us."

Dr. Sabrina says make sure you're practicing gratitude everyday - not just on the holidays.

"The first thing you have to wake up with asking yourself, what good things am I grateful for?" she said. "So you have to ask yourself and what I say is, start a practice of when you wake up, three things that you're grateful for.

"The fact that you woke up is a good start, but then at the end of the day, what things are you grateful for that happened today?"

The rule of four - whether that be four bites, 40 chews, forget and forgive - and focus on gratitude.

This gratitude even has an impact on our physical health. Better sleep, a healthier diet, and it can impact our immune system even - making us less likely to get sick.

Shifting the way you view the world can be difficult, but you have to make time to practice gratitude - not just on Thanksgiving but every day.