Chances are, like many others, you've over-indulged in food and drink this festive season. Now - with 2017 here - it's time to make a resolution to change the diet. Right? Well.....it depends.
Leading Auckland-based dietitian Dave Shaw, who works with elite athletes and professional rugby players, says there is no need for most people to make drastic change.
He believes many will not stick to it anyway and his best advice is for people to improve the diet they already have.
For those determined to press ahead with a full-blown resolution, he also has advice: it works best when there is a specific purpose behind it.
"It's got to be something bigger than just a new year's resolution," he says. "People have got to think about what they want out of life, find a real purpose and motivation for improving the food they eat otherwise often they can't sustain it."
Shaw says his own case is a good example. He first became interested in how food can affect what you do while playing football for the Otago United premier team in Dunedin.
"I wanted to see how nutrition could improve my playing performance. There was probably a bit of vanity in there too because I also wondered how it would improve my body composition."
But Shaw, who holds a Masters degree in Dietetics and is undertaking research in exercise physiology for his PhD, is not saying diet isn't crucial for good health. "The truth is," he believes, "no single food or set of rigid principles can be crowned best. Eating well is something everyone should focus on and is simpler than it seems.
"Everything in moderation can often be good enough," he says, "as long as most of what you eat is real, minimally processed food.
"People can get confused by diet myths and fallacies. Milk is one example where there has been some controversy around its health effects.
"I don't think there is any reason for people not to drink it unless they have dietary restrictions like an allergy to milk protein. It is, with other dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, a power-packed food," he says. "It's full of nutrients such as protein and calcium, B vitamins, phosphorus and potassium.
"It is the most convenient, nutritious and easily consumed food I can give my rugby players after exercise. After a game, water is my number one for hydration, but milk is second - it hydrates and provides good nutrition all in one which is important in helping muscles recover from intense exercise.
"Most people can't sustain completely changing their eating habits because that would mean changing every other part of their life as well. So, when you're trying to find the best diet, I think one of moderation makes a lot of sense and, if you stick to whole foods, you can't go wrong," he says.
He describes whole foods as those which have had minimal processing and include fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes and healthy fats.
"If you can grow it, pull it out of the ground, fish it, shoot it, or know it has come from nature, then it is a whole food. What you are looking for is taking in a level of calories your body requires and balancing those calories across carbohydrates, proteins and fats."
Shaw says he recommends a holistic approach in which nutrition, exercise, work-life balance and quality sleep work together to improve lifestyle. If people lose out on sleep, they can become sluggish the following day and are more prone to seek a pick-me-up hit with sugary foods or those high in calories.
He has good news too for 'treat' lovers - it's okay to indulge now and then.
"All foods, including treats, can be part of a healthy diet. If your diet is good for six days out of seven, you're doing well; if you're eating well during the day you can probably get away with dessert at night. But don't allow unhealthier options to hold power - eat them, enjoy them and move on.
"There is only one Christmas and one new year so you might as well enjoy them."