We are approaching Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season and we all know that that means some parties, some invitations…in short, some great food. And, experience tells us that we normally exit that season up a few pounds and that that January is therefore devoted to recriminations, fasting and the like. It doesn’t have to be. Rather you can start now and build up some of what I call “equity.” Stick to your diet now and get ten pounds below your target weight. Then, when the season hits, you can live it up a little.