appy 2006! Have you made any New Year's resolutions yet? May I suggest a new life resolution for you? It's very simple: Be healthy!

The health that I'm talking about is a state of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being, a mindset, and a proactive approach to living.

When you resolve to be healthy, the desire to earn and own your health informs every action you take and every decision you make. Furthermore, when you consistently make healthy choices, a healthy weight should naturally follow. I'm imagining you making gentle and sensible changes, not harsh temporary restrictions like you would make on a fad diet. Being healthy doesn't mean you'll force yourself to wake up before the crack of dawn to run several miles, but it might mean that you make some time in your day to take that dance class that you really love or go for a walk with your partner. You'll do it because you enjoy it and because you want to be healthy, not because it's part of a quick-fix weight loss diet that you feel forced to do.

Obtaining and maintaining your health and a healthy weight should not be painful, monotonous, shameful, guiltful, extreme, or hunger-inducing. Hey, you're going to be doing this for the rest of your life, so you'd better choose things that you enjoy doing and start doing them today. I have a few ideas that can help you change your outlook on your weight and health and help you achieve your health goals.

Party

Start out the New Year with a semi-public declaration of your resolution to be healthy. Gather your support network-family and friends-for an informal celebration to welcome the New Year. Have each person come to the gathering with a list of the things they want to leave behind in 2005 and what they want to embrace in 2006. Have everyone read their lists aloud and then exchange lists with someone else. Over the course of the year, make sure the buddies check in with each other to help support each others' progress and help them stick to their goals. Support is important for making and maintaining difficult changes. Conversely, a support network will hold everyone accountable if they don't stick with their resolutions.

Clean House

Empty your cookie jar into the garbage (not your mouth) and wash it out. It should remain on the kitchen counter, but with a new purpose. On several small scraps of paper, write out short, fun, healthful, and relaxing activities that you and anyone else in your household can do. Write one activity per paper, such as take a bath, walk around the block, do 50 crunches, practice breathing for three minutes, drink a glass of water, play with your pet for five minutes, read a chapter in a book, etc. When the urge for a cookie strikes, reach into the jar and pull out an activity instead. These are meant to be little activities that are more satisfying than mindlessly munching on a cookie or two.

Eat Breakfast

How can you have a healthy day if you don't start it off healthfully? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it sets the tone for how you feel and how you will approach healthy choices for the rest of the day. People who eat breakfast have better problem-solving abilities, improved recall, higher productivity and better concentration than those who skip breakfast. They also tend to weigh less than those who skip their morning meal. If you're trying to achieve a healthy weight this year, then a breakfast of whole-grain, high-fiber cereal with nonfat milk or plain soymilk is the perfect a.m. brain food. Try Kashi Go Lean Crunch! for excellent blood sugar control, energy, and satiety.

Choose Nutrients

The most nutritious foods also tend to be those that are lowest in calories and highest in fiber. Eating a rainbow of foods may be the easiest way to ensure that you are choosing healthy foods, since color is the natural packaging that signals an array of healthful phytonutrients. As a general rule, the deeper the color a fruit, vegetable or grain is, the more nutritious it tends to be (cauliflower is an exception to that rule). If you emphasize eating by color, then you will likely reach your daily goal of eating nine servings of produce a day and choosing mostly whole grains. Take a look at the Dietary Color Chart to learn about the foods in the color categories that you should include each day.

Step on the Scale, Again

If it's appropriate for you and you don't have a history of eating disorders, weigh yourself almost daily, since frequent check-ins seem to help you keep your weight in line more tightly than weekly weigh-ins do. Don't become obsessed with your weight, but consider charting your weight so you can follow the trend. Use the same scale each time and weigh yourself first thing in the morning right after you have used the restroom. Expect daily variations, since salty foods and hormonal cycles can affect water retention.

Move that Body

Exercise regularly, if not daily. Ideally, you want to do at least 30 minutes each day, but encouraging research shows that if your weekly physical activity totals at least 3 hours, then you are likely to be burning deep abdominal fat. Abdominal fat is one of the biggest health risks since it stimulates and contributes to chronic inflammation, which can lead to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and certain cancers.

Put More Value on Sleep

Almost all of us are sleep deprived. That's bad news considering that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain, accidents, weakened immune systems, and mood disorders. Try to increase the amount of time you spend sleeping nightly, perhaps by turning off the TV earlier. For improved sleep and health, drink no more than two caffeinated beverages a day, cut off the caffeine by noon, and limit alcohol to one serving a day for women and two for men. Make dinner a light meal that includes some lean protein, and be aware that fatty, spicy, or gas-forming nighttime meals and soda might keep you up at night. Also, make sure you're eating at least nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day and consuming enough calories to prevent nighttime hunger.

Your social and spiritual health are also important parts of your well-being. Take time to cultivate all aspects of wellness, starting with improving what you eat and your commitment to physical activity, and gradually make changes in the quality of the time you spend with yourself, your family, your friends, and your community. Guide yourself to ask "is what I'm about to eat, drink, or do healthful?" each time you are faced with a choice. If you choose the healthy option most of the time, you should be well on your way towards fulfilling your new life resolution.

Color	Action	Foods
Red and Pink (Lycopene)	Carotenoid; protects against many types of cancers, especially prostate cancer	Tomatoes, tomato products, pink grapefruit, watermelon, red bell peppers
Orange (Beta Carotene)	Antioxidant; maintains health of eyes, skin, teeth, bones; can be converted into Vitamin A in the body	Carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, cantaloupe, mango, apricots
Yellow (Flavonoids)	Antioxidant; helps protect against heart disease, cancer, aging, and helps lower cholesterol	Lemon, grapefruit, tangerines, oranges, peaches, nectarines, pears, pineapple, yellow bell peppers
Green (Lutein)	Carotenoid; acts as an antioxidant to help protect the heart, and slows macular degeneration in the eyes	Broccoli, spinach, kale, parsley, avocado, lettuce, other greens
Green (Indoles)	Antioxidant that helps protect against breast and prostate cancers	Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, Swiss chard, cauliflower
Blue and Purple (Anthocyanins)	Antioxidant; protects against heart disease, cancer and aging of the brain	Blueberries, plums, blackberries, red grapes, eggplant, cherries, strawberries
White (Allyl Sulfides)	Helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure; antibacterial	Garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, shallots
Brown (Lignans, Phytic Acid)	May protect against cancer; helps control blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides	Whole grains (rye, barley, wheat, oats), flaxseeds, nuts, seeds