Remember when you were young and your great-aunt used to hide the cookies and chocolate at all of the family gatherings? "They'll rot your teeth," she'd say. One thing was for sure, between the kids' table and being denied a dessert, family parties were no fun.

You thought when you got older, all of your problems would be solved. You'd sit at the adult table ‑- and you could finally eat anything you wanted.

Too bad not much has changed. Thanks to your perpetual wish to lose 10-plus pounds, you still can't have dessert, and you wish you could go back to the kids' table.

Well, if you can't enjoy family quality time, then no one else should either ‑- you're going to see to that. You're going to make sure everyone knows just how little you're eating, and you're going to remind your relatives exactly how much fat and how many calories are in each slice of grandma's chocolate cake.

If this sounds like you, it's time to face the facts: You've become no fun. You are a dieting downer. Just because you're on a diet, there's no reason to make everyone else miserable too.

Don't go down in family history as the cake spoiler. Stay on your diet, and stay happy with our do's and don'ts for survival at family gatherings, dinner parties and any other social functions.

• Dieting Don'ts
• Dieting Do's