I caught a minute of ABC's The View on Tuesday and learned that co-host Whoopi Goldberg is trying to quit smoking. Good for her.

"I want to be done by December 15," Whoopi told her audience. A wise plan, considering smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body, is linked to 10 different cancers, and accounts for 30 percent of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Yet one in four Americans still light up.

Smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer. And it is far more dangerous for women than men. Now wrap your head around this fact: The nicotine found in cigarettes is as addictive as heroin. If that's not reason enough to stop smoking, I don't know what is.

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Nutrition experts say reducing the size of our plates can help us eat less. Makes sense. Less food, less to eat. But plate size is not everything. What we put on that smaller plate has a lot to do with eating less -- and protecting our health more.

Did you know there's a whole portion control system that can help guide our eating efforts? One system, the New American Plate, is built on the foundation of eating on a plate eight or nine inches in diameter. Two-thirds of that plate should be filled with plant foods -- like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans -- and one-third should contain animal protein. Seafood, poultry, and red meat satisfy this category. If you want to lose weight, cut portion sizes but keep proportions the same.

A second system, the Idaho Plate Method, has been used for more than 10 years for those trying to manage type 2 diabetes. It works like this: Divide your plate into quarters. Fill half with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter with grains or starchy veggies, and one quarter with animal protein. Then add one dairy item and a fruit serving. Keep the height of your food to about one-half inch.

Both plate methods are equally effective at moving people away from the huge piece of meat in the middle of plate, with tiny portions of peas on the side.

Take your pick. Which do you like better?

I just got hold of a cool new tool called the Bender Ball and a few of the videos that go with it. Cool tool! My clients and I have been working with it for the past week, and every last one of them, has been challenged. They all came back in the next day or so griping about abdominal soreness (in a good way!) I've experienced the same thing too.

Not only great for abs, the Bender Ball can be used for a total body workout.. The Bender videos are not the "woo-hoo fun" type, but they are the clear, concise instructional type and that's good enough for this sort of training. The videos are great for those who like to religiously work out at home, but they're also great for those who don't. Use the videos to learn how to use the ball and fill your head up with training ideas. Then, take the ball in your gym bag and use it at the health club. That's what I plan to do. The ball is small and light, and it will be easy to toss in the bag with my mp3 player, so I'll always have it with me.

Best news about the product is that it's DIRT CHEAP! The Bender Method Kit comes with a Bender Ball, the Bender manual, and the Bender Method of Core Training DVD. Only $12.98. Crazy inexpensive. Quite a few other videos are available on the website BenderBall.com as well. Oh! And what does Bender mean? Bender is the last name of the woman who invented the product and designed a training method for use of it. Leslee Bender has done a great job, and if you're in search of something new and challenging......give that Bender Ball a try.

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Sometimes it is all those little distractions during the day that we curse under our breaths. But distraction is a good method to relieve pain. People use this method without even realizing it when they watch TV or listen to the radio to take their minds off of worry or their pain. Distraction may be used to manage mild pain or used with medicine to help manage episodes of severe pain.

Any activity that occupies your attention can be used for distraction. I personally play the guitar to "take my mind off of pain". Distractions could be doing needlework, model building, painting or diving into a good book. Use your hobbies as a way to focus and distract your attention off of pain. Listening to fast music through a headset or earphones keeps your attention on the music and tapping out a rhythm will help hold your attention away from the pain. Playing video games can be a way to keep your focus off of pain. Distraction can also be internal such as singing mentally to yourself, praying, counting or repeating yourself with statements such as "I can cope" or demand the pain away with statements over and over like "pain leave my body."

Of course the best distraction of all to me is to pop in a favorite movie in the DVD player and get focused on the screen.

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Sometimes people get so good at separating their work life from their home life they lose track of the fact that whether we like it or not the two are connected. Although it's necessary to be able to "turn off" and leave your work on your desk when you leave to go home, it's still a fact of life that who you are at work and who you are at home intersect a great deal. The author of an article on eDiets, John McKee, says that many times the strategies people use to succeed in their jobs and careers can also be used to help them succeed in others areas in life, like with goals for weight loss and healthy living.

He calls it "The Four Windows Method," and it breaks down something like this:

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