Happy Earth Day!

Everywhere you go today, whether at work, school or shopping, there are signs and promotions reminding us of our earthly responsibilities. Take a moment to go online at www.nytimes.com/magazine and read the April 20th, 2008 Green Issue of the New York Times Sunday magazine. It is filled with short pieces on a myriad of ways that people are going Green, whether through architecture, biotech, urban farming or personal endeavor. It left me energized with the possibilities of real change that can, and must, occur.

I will leave you with a quote from a powerful article by Michael Pollan, “Why Bother? Looking for a few good reasons to go green."

“Once our personal connection to what is wrong becomes clear, then we have to choose: we can go on as before, recognizing our dishonesty and living with it the best we can, or we can begin the effort to change the way we think and live.” Wendell Berry, Kentucky farmer and writer wrote this in the 1970’s.

Lower your stress

Life would certainly be a lot easier if you could ease that burden of stress you're carrying. One step towards acheiving that goal is understanding what's really causing your stress. Many people are surprised to find it is not always the source they think it is. There is a new software tool that actually measures your stress level by analyzing your voice. The tool, called Stress Indicator, is available on www.stressindicator.com and costs $30.
Simply by talking into your computer using a basic microphone, the system will measure your stress levels in five key categories of your life: home, work, love, friends and future plans. You can use the software over and over again.
So the next time you think work is driving you crazy, you might be surprised to discover that not connecting with friends is really the culprit. Knowing where your stress is hiding may be the first step in easing it.
To view a recent NBC television story on this product click here: http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=222498

Simplify your diet!

Busy life interfering with your fitness goals? Here are two ideas that might help you achieve your goals:

Go to http://www.fitday.com/, an online diet and fitness journal that is completely free! I received this tip from a handsome young man, who is very fit and feels that this online journal really helps him keep on track. As he explained it, he simply logs on, keys in his meal and then FitDay analyzes it and provides a detailed graphical report on the calories, fat, carbohydrates...a complete nutritional analysis. Then he enters whatever exercise he has done that day and it adds that to the report and he can compare it to his diet and fitness goals.

He looked great and said, "It's simple."

Another tip is to select two or three nutritious breakfasts and lunches and do the shopping for them. Plan on rotating these same meals throughout the week. It simplifies calorie counting and keeps you from grabbing a greasy burger or sausage biscuit at the local fast food. Save your calories for planned splurges at your favorite restaurant.