By Michelle Durham

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It’s the number one New Year’s resolution and as we enter our second month of 2013, if you vowed to diet and lose weight how are you doing? If your diet attempt is failing miserably, one local expert offers some sage advice!

Registered dietician Lori Clements works with students and faculty at Temple University and she says dieting can be tricky.

“One of the problems is there so many different messages out there and a lot of them are not backed up with a lot of reliable evidence. And I think that people just don’t know where to go,” says Clements.

Her advice is portion control and everything in moderation, but how do you know when to say when? The good news is a local dietician can help you.

“A lot of them, including myself, are credentialed through a lot of insurance companies and you can get up to six free sessions a year, so check with you insurance company,” Clements explains.

She says a few sessions are all that is needed to come up with appropriate meal plans, gauge portion sizes as well as instruction on what to order when you drive up to the fast food window.