On average, you and I gained six pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. That is just the “average.” Some of us gained a lot more. No wonder the past few weeks every other commercial on TV or banner-ad online is about some kind of weight loss program. We are a nation collectively cringing about our six weeks of binging  and feasting.

I bring you good tidings of great joy: don’t feel guilty about it. Here’s an “indulgence” for your indulging. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s we have more face to face meals with families, co-workers, community members, and even strangers, than we do at any other time of the year. We eat together. We join together. We share food and ourselves, together. We party together. We bake together. If that costs us a few extra calories, it is not a bad thing. …