Your life is a sprint of exhaustion from sunrise to midnight thought-out the entire week and into the weekend. You’re working, taking care of the house, shopping, cooking, dealing with the kids and relatives. You need more energy during that run just to get simple tasks done and you need food on the fly. You grab for sugary drinks and too much fat laden foods. Here's how to keep those choices in check and still give you the energy you need to get the job done.

1. Limit yourself to one or two cups of coffee or tea. Caffeine is an effective stimulant when you are mall-hopping, but too much may shorten your fuse. Carry a water bottle and sip from it often.

2. Avoid junk food. Try filling sandwich bags with green and red pepper strips, carrot sticks, celery sticks, or a whole-grain bagel or crackers with humus, nonfat cream cheese or jam. They will keep your blood sugar even and your energy level consistent.

3. Suck on a hard candy. It satisfies your sweet tooth without a lot of sugar and calories. Sugarless gum also indulges your oral fixation.

When you get the blues you may think to go eat a gallon of ice cream or a whole box of cookies and you will feel better. There are better choices, such as reaching out to someone else. It helps the "I'm feel so lonely" feeling. Here are other ways to help cope.

1. Volunteer. Many organizations need help at any time of the year. Serve food at a soup kitchen. Pitch in at a homeless shelter. You will count your blessings, you won't feel alone, and you just might make some new friends in the proce3ss.

2. Avoid drinking too much alcohol. It may make you feel more depressed. Instead buy organic apple cider, and heat it on the stove with cinnamon sticks and cloves. Or have a cup of chamomile, passionflower or lemon balm tea, all stress relievers.

3. Take refuge in healthy comfort foods. Make a list of foods that soothe, and choose the healthiest ones. Maybe it's corn on the cob, minestrone soup or low-fat chocolate pudding.

What is you have party overload? You have tons of them over the course of the year and you are facing a nonstop buffet of tables that are temptations to overeat and over drink. Even at the office, coworkers never seem to stop bringing in the temptations. Here's how to deal.

1. Never arrive hungry. Have a salad, nuts, fruit or a whole-grain bagel before you go. If you are ravenous, it's even harder to control yourself at the buffet.

2. Before you eat anything, get a drink of seltzer, water or juice. Alcohol may interfere with judgment, and it has lots of calories. If you want a drink, have a glass of wine and sip it slowly. Better yet, add sparkling water to wine to make a low calorie spritzer. Hand on to your glass: With one hand full, it's not as easy to grab food.

3. Eat with your eyes frits. Survey everything. Decide which few things you will try, and have one or two bites of each. Eat them slowly and savor them. This way, a couple of mouthfuls can provide as much enjoyment as a whole plate. The first and last bites taste best, so leave out the ones in the middle.

4. If you find yourself reaching for too many treats, take a time-out. Step outside, walk around the block, breathe, stretch and then go back in.

Have relatives that bring you treats left and right or offer you sweets and calorie laden servings at get-together? Here's how to deal so your diet doesn't go out the window.

1. It's not about food; it's about love. When Aunt Martha says, "You've got to try my pecan pie," what she means is "Tell me you appreciate my efforts and love me." So have a bite and tell her how good it is and how much you appreciate the love that came with it.

2. Avoid the kitchen. When you are around food, you are more likely to overeat. Solution: Spend more time in the living room or den, away from the goodies.