Recommit to Your New Year's Resolution

The GoalsGuy presents a brief history of New Year’s and resolutions, along with a list of the 10 most common resolutions.

WebMD features articles with “secrets” on how to accomplish eight of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Topics include sleeping better, reducing stress, and getting organized.

The University of Maryland Medical Center has advice on how to follow through with your resolutions, with articles specifically for weight loss and smoking cessation.

USA.gov is the official Web site of the U.S. government. Its New Year’s resolutions page features links to helpful government resources on more than a dozen popular resolutions.

myDr has an article on how to set and achieve your resolutions. It says that in order to succeed, your goals must be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a list of resolutions specifically for children, divided into three age groups: preschoolers, ages 5–12, and teenagers.

43 Things offers inspiration for achieving your goals. Register an account and post the 43 things you most want to accomplish. Other users will post encouraging comments and cheer you on as you post entries about how you’re progressing. Take a look at the 43 things of other users for ideas and inspiration.

SuperViva works the same way as 43 Things. There aren’t as many users but the layout and organization of this site is a little clearer, and it is fairly easy to find the resolution you are looking for. Using the “Explore Ideas” tab, search by “Most Popular Ideas,” by “Most Recent Ideas,” or by specific category in the “Idea Directory".

MyPyramid.gov lists current nutrition recommendations from the U.S. government. Take a look at the "MyPyramid Tracker", where you can enter foods eaten and physical activity performed. The Tracker then generates a report on the nutritional adequacy of your diet and fitness.

Diet Television helps you choose a diet to fit your tastes and lifestyle. Use the "DietFinder" by adjusting the importance of certain parts of your diet (like eating red meat or the ease of eating out). It will return results based on your answers along with user reviews of the diets. Knowing what other people say are their most and least favorite aspects of certain diets can help you decide whether it’s right for you.

eDiets is a gateway to a number of different diets, some more nutritionally sound than others. Each diet is described with its basic philosophy or approach, prohibited foods, risks, and a sample meal plan. Visit the “News” tab for interesting articles on topics such as metabolism, dieting as a couple, and the health benefits of olive oil.

Helpguide contains straight talk about the USDA Food Pyramid and other nutrition recommendations, and offers special information for groups such as women and seniors. Read about the importance of water intake, recommended calories per day, and some general guidelines for healthy eating.

NutritionData provides an incredibly detailed nutritional breakdown of food. Find healthier substitutes for the food you eat at restaurants, or see how balanced a specific food is. This site also has a daily calorie counter, a tool to find foods that meet your specific nutrient needs, a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator, and a nutrition glossary.

Lime has a food section complete with informative videos, recipes, articles, and a news feed that gathers news items from other sources. Lime’s staff reviews the products they like and offers additional resources on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

FoodFit.com has a collection of healthful food recipes and guides. Find information about seasonal fruits and vegetables, a "Cook It Safe” calculator to make sure you are cooking your meats for the correct amount of time, and healthier twists on favorite recipes.

The American Dietetic Association ’s official Web site offers access to a national nutrition network that allows you to locate an RD near you by entering your city and state.

Runner's World is one of the world's leading running magazines. The Web site is a comprehensive source for all things running related, with content geared toward a novice/non-elite readership. The inspiring, insightful, authoritative articles cover all aspects of training and fitness, including beginner’s training programs, gear reviews, nutrition ideas, and elite news and race results. Visit the “Tools” section for a training calculator and a pace converter.

Mayo Clinic has a variety of articles on strength training, offering advice on form and technique, and introductions to fundamental concepts like sets and reps. Mayo Clinic also provides quality multimedia elements, like videos demonstrating different exercises, and a slideshow on how to work the major muscle groups. This is a good resource for someone with little or no weight training experience.

YogaJournal.com is the online arm of Yoga Journal magazine. This site is a great central resource for beginners and experienced Yoga practitioners alike. For beginners, the "Basics" section has yoga basics, advice from experts, introductory poses, and more. The “Poses” directory has an extensive listing of well-annotated poses that include photos and step-by-step walkthroughs. There are plenty of articles on practice, yoga wisdom, and meditation to keep even the experienced yogi interested.

SparkPeople is a community diet site that customizes diet and exercise plans to help users get fit. In the “Resource Center" there are tips and strategies to help you eat right, exercise right, stay motivated, and cultivate a healthy mind. The “Community” area has message boards, success stories, and the option of joining or creating a fitness team for added encouragement and motivation.

Global Health & Fitness (GHF) has a long list of resources, including a fat calculator, calorie calculator, and a fiber calculator. The first few links in the "Free Tools" section may seem suspect because of the offers for free eBooks, but GHF is a legitimate site.

The American Cancer Society has a “Guide to Quitting Smoking” that explains why it’s so hard. This lengthy guide covers the effects of smoking on the body and lists social and economic reasons to quit. It describes what happens to your body when you stop smoking (for example, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal after only 12 hours), and the immediate rewards of quitting. This guide also tells you what to look for in smoking cessation programs and tells you the best way to quit by assessing your smoking habits in a six-question quiz.

WhyQuit.com is a site run by a tobacco-cessation educator. If you have the stomach for it, check out the gallery of people who have died from or are currently fighting tobacco-related illnesses, including those caused by smokeless tobacco. Then scroll down to view pictures of diseased lungs and people in the hospital. It’s not the most pleasant site you’ll visit today, but it is effective.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has a number of smoking cessation resources, including this “Why Do I Smoke?” quiz that helps you figure out your reasons and offers alternatives. For people who smoke because of stress, for example, the site recommends other ways to manage tension.

The American Lung Association has a free online cessation program called “Freedom From Smoking.” Completing the program requires free registration at the site. Read the Freedom From Smoking program overview to learn more.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has an interactive tool that you can download to your desktop or PDA that gives you a five-day countdown to quit smoking, with tips and resources.

The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health. Its Web site has a brief overview of the methods used to quit smoking, such as the types of counseling available and nicotine replacement products.

American Family Physician is a peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians. It has an article that outlines the different quitting methods in more detail and rates their effectiveness. Another table includes the types of nicotine replacement therapy, their advantages and disadvantages, who shouldn’t take which medication, and their average daily cost. The article is a little more technical but still readable.

The American Lung Association describes the various nicotine replacement and prescription drugs available to help you quit smoking. The site describes how the products are used or taken, and the most common side effects.

Healthwise is a nonprofit healthcare information site with a section that also outlines the different types of nicotine replacement available. This site describes who should and shouldn’t use the different products, how they work, how well they work, and their side effects.

Nicotine Anonymous has a database of meetings throughout the United States and 30 other countries around the world. When we checked, some states only had one or two meetings listed and a few states (Alabama, Arkansas, and Rhode Island) had none. If there are no meetings in your area, use the “Starter Kit” link on the left to learn how to start one. NA also offers meetings via the Internet and telephone.

The National Cancer Institute has a page of fact sheets that cover many aspects of managing life without smoking. Topics covered include handling irritability and frustration, getting through the morning without a cigarette, and many more.

WhyQuit.com has a “Relapse Prevention Library” to discourage relapses. The main message through these articles is “Never take another puff.”

BetterBudgeting.com is the Web site of Living a Better Life, an e-zine devoted to helping families save money. It’s free and there are plenty of featured articles on a variety of pertinent money-saving topics. Search the categories on the left sidebar to find specific advice, or subscribe for free to the e-zine. Either way, the site offers plenty of helpful tips.

BudgetingOnline.com is the Web site for Mvelopes, an online budget-management software program that was rated one of the best products in 2006 by PC World. Based on the premise that most people spend 10 percent more than they earn, Mvelopes seeks to determine where your 10 percent comes from and then help you eliminate it. There’s a monthly fee for the service (charges start at $7.90 per month) but the program is comprehensive. For example, you can set it up so that you can have information automatically entered from your bank or credit card.

SimpleD Budget is an open-source Windows application that helps you make a budget by allotting money in a variety of spending categories. Simply enter the sum that you have available in each category. Every time you spend money, enter the amount into the program, which will automatically deduct the purchase and then tell you how much money you have left in that category.

CNNMoney.com has a “Money101” section with a chapter called “Controlling Debt.” It provides a thorough primer on debt that explains what it is and provides tips to help you manage it.

Bankrate.com ’s “Debt Management” section includes a “Debt Management Basics” feature that walks you through the fundamental aspects of debt and debt management. You’ll also find a “Debt pay-down advisor” calculator to help you determine the best ways to pay for your debt. Look for regular columns with advice about debt, some quick tips about debt management on the landing page of the section, and links to additional news and resources.

The Federal Trade Commission has a site about credit that covers credit cards and consumer loans. Browse the articles here to find one that can answer your specific credit or debt question. The FTC provides lots of tips to protect you from fraud and help you fully understand how debts and credit cards can affect your credit score, and what rights you have as a borrower.

HowStuffWorks has a “Credit & Debt Management” section containing a series of articles about credit and debt. Try the article on “How Credit Scores Work” to get a better idea of how debt and credit interact.

TrueCredit teaches you a number of ways to improve your credit. Select from the articles listed on the homepage or use one of the “Credit Worksheets” links in the right-hand bar to get started. Also be sure to check out the site’s "How to read your credit report" tutorial (also in the right sidebar).

Credit.com has articles about improving your credit score and about debt reduction and refinancing. Use the credit score compass to get an estimate of your credit score by answering a few generic questions about your finances and debt. The "Credit Cards" tab near the top of the page contains information about how credit card companies stay in business, credit card catches, and the dangers of applying for store credit cards.

Nicenet offers a free online classroom environment for live chat with teachers and students. Whether you need an online classroom for conferencing, instant messaging, document sharing, scheduling, or all of the above, Nicenet is the place to go. This nonprofit service is completely free and open to the public.

Podcast Alley is a user-friendly directory of podcasts organized by genre. The “Education” section contains more than 1,300 podcasts that can be used as educational resources. You'll find a wide variety of fun podcasts to choose from.

LearnOutLoud.com lists free audio and video learning materials, articles, and podcasts available for download. There are many classic books read aloud, which can be browsed by genre or searched using the search box.

BYKI (Before You Know It) lets you download free language-learning software right off its Web site. The program works by teaching daily conversational words and phrases and is available in 41 different languages. With options for putting the course on your iPod and even your BlackBerry, you'll be speaking a new language … Before You Know It.

BBC Languages offers a variety of methods and programs for learning quite a few foreign languages. It provides evaluative quizzes so you can gauge your level, online courses, and audio/visual materials to help with speaking and listening. There are games to improve your skills, tips for teachers, and even a page where you can post the funny linguistic blunders you've made while traveling.

Expert Village features instructional videos from experienced musicians. There’s a list of videos on the front page but it isn’t well organized. The best way to find the instrument you’re looking for is to use the search box in the upper right-hand corner.

The American Council on Education has a page devoted to information about the GED (General Educational Development) test. The site offers information on getting in touch with your local testing programs, finding a test center and understanding your scores. It's the place to go for all you need to know about the GED.

Kaplan 's Career Advancement section provides links to education and training programs to help you meet your career goals. Look for test preparation help for certifications in a variety of specializations such as accounting, real estate, architecture, law enforcement, and computing. If you're thinking of a career change, visit the site and see what options are available.

Newsweek Showcase features an excellent introduction to distance education. Use the glossary to look up terms you might not know and visit the "Ask the experts" section, where online college professors and faculty members answer frequently asked questions.

The Online Education Database has an impressive list of the top accredited online colleges with descriptions of each college, which agency has given accreditation, and the specific degree programs offered.

U.S. News & World Report features a distance-learning guide that includes an exhaustive list of online schools offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The guide also offers advice to potential and current students, as well as related articles.