Now that Christmas is over and you have fully recovered from your New Years Eve, the time has come to stand upon your scales and assess the damage. My worst trait is feeling unhappy with my body shape, I know that if I need to lose a few inches round my waist I will still lick that last bit of chocolate sauce from the bottom of my pudding bowl(that came perfectly wrapped with my matching dinner sets). With a momentary satisfaction of how delicious, that dessert was, I then find myself bogged down with guilt.

Christmas is a time to indulge and relax. Forget about healthy eating during this period, regardless of whether you are at work, in town shopping or at home with family, someone is bound to open a new box of chocolates. For my Christmas present this year, I was pleasantly surprised to have received more dinner sets, beautifully designed with two extra dessert bowls large enough to fit a pint and half of ice cream - just what I needed for the coming New Year.

Therefore, for my New Year's resolution I had decided upon, is to stay strict with my diet, eat wholesome organic foods (steering clear from packaged microwave foods) and keep my new dinner sets for a more special occasion. However, each time I looked at my new dining set it did entice me to organise and plan a nice evening indoors with friends eating proper home cooked meals. My father was a restaurateur in his younger days, so food and cooking is a passion in my family.

Therefore keeping a healthy waistline has been an issue since I can remember! Growing up in a family where dinner parties were common practically every week, with the main course being rice and curry, I became more accustomed to just eating however much I wanted to without a care or worry in the world. Then came the annoying period of my teenage years - when I started to develop hips, hormones and bad skin! Where one person appreciates the delicacies of fine food served on fine china, I had to become more conscious of how much I would spoon onto my plate.

I have, over the years, learnt that dieting and weight management need not be an obsession, before you know it, you will be finding yourself feeling guilty about every spoonful of food you put into your mouth. It is a well-known fact that long-term weight loss is far more beneficial and longer lasting than fast crash dieting. Fast weight loss does work for a short period of time, but what would be the point of enjoying your efforts for a short period when you can learn to maintain a healthy weight without sacrificing too much of your favourite foods.

The trick is to learn how to control how much you eat; fatty foods are not necessarily the enemy. In fact eating the right balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat is the answer to a smoother weight loss. Eating more protein food for lunch and dinner keep you sustained and less likely to crave. Eating complex carbohydrate such as rice, fruit and vegetables will ensure good slow-release energy and keep you filled for longer. Fats, in moderation can also provide good energy as well be beneficial for your skin, hair and nails; if you are training at the gym, it is essential you replenish the Omega nutrition in your body, by consuming more oily fish, milk, cheese and eggs.

Therefore, if you are someone who likes to whip out your favourite dining china set and holds many dinner parties keep in mind that you do not have to scare your friends by preparing something that will taste, quite frankly, terrible because of your dieting restrictions. Balance the portions out and put a sensible amount of your main nutritional needs - as long as you have a good protein, fat and carbohydrate ratio it is possible to lose weight and still enjoy parties with friends.