New Years' Resolutions

It is January, 1999, have you already abandoned your New Year's Resolutions? What about your determination to eat healthier foods? Quit smoking? Exercise? Gain a better balance between work and family? Reduce spending or debt? Save more? Feeling overwhelmed? Wondering about how much to worry in the 360+ days until Y2K is a reality? Don't know where to start? To the internet for some tools to help get you started on the road to a happier and healthier 1999!

It seems nothing has been in the news more these days than foods that promote health and should be included more often in our diet and the diseases these foods are thought to combat. To find out what constitutes a good diet and how to fit healthier food for your body's requirements into your lifestyle, check out the American Dietetic Associations' web site: http://www.eatright.org. They have the Food Guide Pyramid at: http://www.eatright.org/fgp.html and special nutrition fact sheets for children, women and older Americans. Find healthy recipes for your healthier lifestyle at the Cooking Light web site: http://CookingLight.com or try the excellent resources at the Mining Company site: http://home.miningco.com/ click on living and then low fat cooking for some great recipes and menu planning ideas. Eating Well magazine also has a web site: http://www.eatingwell.com/ with plenty of recipes for the New Year. Promise yourself and your family that you'll try at least 3 new recipes this year, what an adventure!

Habit changing is difficult at any age but we seem to enter each New Year with renewed hope that this will be the year we kick our old bad habits and add healthy new ones. Not quite as easy as it sounds but there are ways to give ourselves a boost toward eliminating old habits. Alan Marlatt and Elizabeth Miller offer us some tips on dealing with our addictive behavior at: http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/news/1997archive/12-97archive/k122397.html . The HabitSmart web site believes that "Information Drives Change" and offers general information on addictions as well as specific information for people with a drinking problem: http://www.cts.com/crash/habtsmrt/. Experts recommend spending 3 weeks to several months actively adding one new positive behavior to our lifestyle before it can be considered a habit. To quit an old long-standing habit, give yourself plenty of patience and keep trying!

I hope quitting smoking is on your list of things to do this New Year. Smoking contributes to the top three causes of death: heart disease, cancer, and stroke. If you are waking up with a hacking cough, can't taste your food, or exert yourself physically without feeling winded, consider that smoking may be keeping you from enjoying life and vow to quit. For tips and pointers on how to be successful visit American Lung Association's Web site: http://www.lungusa.org where you'll find fact sheets and other information to assist you in your quest to be smoke free. They also have an online clinic called "Freedom from Smoking Online" in partnership with Nicotrol. Check it out and breathe fresh air! Search on "Great American Smokeout" at Your American Cancer Society Web site: http://www.cancer.org for tips and statistics on smoking and learn the history of this annual event.

Is more exercise on your list of New Year's Resolutions? Being active is always a good idea, studies have shown that people with a moderately active lifestyle are less prone to diabetes, heart disease and cope more effectively with stress and depression. What's not to like about it? Some good internet resources to get you started include The Fitness Jumpsite http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/, chock full of resources for all aspects of an active lifestyle. In wandering through their site I came across the Self Transformation Series (a part of mind body fitness) http://www.sequel.net/peace/tr_main.htm and their archive of newsletters. It looks very interesting. If you read Strong Women Stay Young or Strong Women Stay Slim by Miriam Nelson, PhD, then you'll love the Strong Women web site: http://www.strongwomen.com with a newsletter you can subscribe to and forms you can print to keep track of your weight lifting program.

The Body Mind Spirit magazine has an article on "Clearing Paths to Simplicity" that tells the story of a couple's search for a simpler life: http://www.hinman.oro.net/~bmsweb/html/simp.html also at this site are articles on Deepak Chopra and the work of Medical Intuitives. Along these same lines, and offering some ideas for those who have financial resolutions that include reducing debt and discretionary consumption, visit the Simple Living Network, Inc. Based on the concept of Voluntary Simplicity outlined in the book by Duane Elgin, this site includes "The Web of Simplicity", a step by step guide to a simpler lifestyle: http://www.slnet.com/web/default.htm. Also available at this site is a free newsletter http://www.slnet.com/free/newsletter/default.htm. The New Roadmap Foundation, creators and distributors of the values oriented lifestyle simplification program that became the book: Your Money or Your Life by Dominguez and Robin has products for sale in your quest to "live lightly on the earth" at their site: http://www.newroadmap.org. Be a part of this exciting movement that has captivated the people who read the book!

For more traditional financial information check out Quicken.com's web site http://www.quicken.com. Their site hosts all things financial with information on mutual funds, mortgages, retirement planning. Special features at this site include a savings calculator where you state your goal and the amount you can save, the calculator tells you how long it will take. If you are using a java enabled browser, you can calculate how long it will take to get out of debt using an accelerated payment plan. They also have financial fitness and financial health quizzes to help you see where your financial picture can be improved. I tried them both and they were very informative!

Although each New Year brings with it special events and challenges, this end of the millennium marks a momentous event shared by all. It is not too early to plan your next New Year's Eve Party! If your thoughts about the Year 2000 lead you to ponder the widely anticipated computer problem known as "Y2K" or the Millennium Bug even though you're not sure what it is or what it might mean for you, check out this thoughtful commentary: http://www.year2000.com/y2kcurrent1.html. For a less serious look at Y2K check out this site: http://www.angelfire.com/ar/survival1/frames2.html click on y2k on the left and Whohoo Y2K Fun Page for a few laughs. They also offer the Alphabet of the Apocalypse and Y2K for Women which boasts some pricey preparedness products and a 28 page shopping list of things to "stock up" on. It's a place to start….

For those of you who plan to party into the next century, Cruise.com http://www.cruise.com has a whole section of their site devoted to ship board vacations to usher in the millennium! It's not too soon to book passage: http://www.cruise.com/specialty/millennium/index.html! Or, point your browser to http://www.champagne.com to see Moet & Chandon's ideas for the Millennium celebration and a list of resolutions to take you to the Year 2000, they are worth a look! Whatever you decide to do to celebrate the end of the millennium this year, make it Merry!

Thanks to Jerry Weers for maintaining the archive of past Internet Beat columns at: http://lonestar.texas.net/~weersjt/club/intbeat.html.

To contribute articles to the Internet Beat column, contact Column Coordinator Gloria R. Rivera at riverag@connecti.com 303-4764, fax 372-1418, http://www.seguin.net.