New Year’s shape-up tips from ‘The Kitchen’

At the end of this week, many Americans will wake up from their New Year’s revelry, step on their scales for the first time in months and rue every last bit of pumpkin pie, egg nog and bacon-wrapped scallop they put in their mouths.

That’s where the folks at Food Network’s “The Kitchen” come in on Saturday, offering up New Year’s shape up tips in an episode appropriately enough titled “Healthy Fresh Start.”

“We’re kind of here to guide you through the next phase, which is paying the piper, if you will,” said Jeff Mauro, who co-hosts the Saturday morning show with Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Marcela Valladolid and Geoffrey Zakarian.

According to Mauro, there are simple ways of cutting calories from your diet, some that might even seem a bit counterintuitive.

“I shy away from low-fat,” he says. “You know, they’re putting a lot of sugar in there or there’s higher calories. So I say use your butter. Just focus more on the meat and protein, have your potato or a little bit of pasta but just try to cut that by a third and then get full on the vegetables and meat.

“And make everything at home. You know, eating out — and there is a ton of eating out during the holidays, too, and people don’t realize that it’s not just all the home-cooked rich meals but it’s going to Christmas parties and it’s going out to dinner with friends and it’s constantly eating out.”

And it’s also not exercising. But Mauro cautions that if you’re not already on an exercise regimen, don’t dive in whole hog this week.

“Take it slow,” he says, “and make sure you do your research because (otherwise) you’re just going to injure yourself. And if you’re going to diet, don’t just look at it as a diet. It’s the same way. You can jump into it head first; you’re either going to crash in the diet or blow out a knee. So take it slow.”

Q: What book are you currently reading?

A: “I am reading ‘The Bone Clocks’ by David Mitchell. I’m very into it. I love to read.”

Q: What did you have for dinner last night?

A: “I actually had my CrossFit Christmas party that they throw, and so I had a carne asada and it was wonderful.”

Q: What is your next project?

A: “I am in the process of — you know, we’re shooting ‘The Kitchen’ still, so I leave Monday to do another round of that, so that keeps truckin’ on. And I’m also working on my own line of food I’ll be doing in the spring on Home Shopping Network. So I’ll have my own home Italian beef sandwich kit and sausage and pepper kit and meatball parmesan sandwich kit. So look for that. That’ll be fun.”

Q: When was the last vacation you took, where and why?

A: “The last vacation I took was last spring. We went to Costa Rica … and I fell in love with it. It was an unbelievable experience.”