Besides the seasonal greetings of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year,” the most common phrase you'll hear at the end of the year is: “I’ll start in January.”
After feasting on the huge meals traditionally associated with Christmas time and enjoying the delicious dishes of our home countries (perhaps along with a few drinks), many of us try to ease our 'nutritional guilt' by saying we'll get back into our regular eating habits after the new year. 
It's a good idea and often quite practical to choose a day that’s easy to find on the calendar as the date for starting something important. What is not such a good idea is repeating this exercise because we don’t stick to our goal.
Food Is Not to Blame
More and more people have learned from last year that it's not the cakes, tamales, turkey, hallacas, roast pork or the panettone; it's having too much of these foods. Christmas meals, like the rest of the food we eat throughout the year, can be enjoyed as long as we eat moderate servings.
People who eat in moderation at Christmas time will almost certainly continue to do so during the rest of the year.
Make a Healthy Resolution
If your conscience urges you to solve the problems caused by excessive eating in December, then when January comes, instead of going on a diet, you can adopt a balanced, moderate eating regime and complement it with a regular exercise program to pave the way towards a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to wishing everyone the best of health in the forthcoming year, I hope that your New Year’s resolutions become reality, and that 'good eating' and 'eating right' become part of the happiness that we all yearn for.
*Dr. Lara-Pantin, a nutrition specialist, is Vice President of Product Development for DrTango, Inc.
