It starts early .... like when you skin your knee and someone kisses it "all better," color a picture that is hung on the front of the refrigerator, or get to choose a special meal on a birthday. Perhaps it's a little note inside the lunchbox or a card in the mail for no reason at all other than "just because..." Acts like these can help us feel as though we matter - that we are important and significant enough for someone to take notice and do something that makes us feel special. Identify the people in your life who make you feel as though you are important and spend time with them. After all, you do matter.

It's important to be cautious yet realistic about what we expect from others. Evaluate what you think a person can provide, and tailor your expectations to those observations. Just because a person isn't able to provide one thing doesn't mean that they aren't highly valuable for another need. You don't go to a dry well for water, but you may go there to sit and rest, partake in the shade. When we correctly determine which valuable people can meet our expectations for one need versus another, we are more likely to be satisfied with our relationships.

In the movie Titanic, Jack directs Rose to "Make it count." Whether your life ahead of you is long or short, try to live each day to its fullest. Extend your reach for the shiny brass ring on the carousel of life. Your life is your own. Live it passionately. Savor authentic relationships. Relish in intellectual curiosity. Celebrate the miracles of the moments. Find joy and contentment.

With the new year comes resolutions for many people, and one of the most common is related to weight. When we combine our knowledge bases for prevention of eating disorders (e.g., anorexia and bulimia nervosa) and prevention of obesity and overweight, we generally come up with the same list of strategies for long-term, methodical weight management. Combining regular treatment strategies for individuals suffering against eating disorders with the results from the National Weight Control Registry, a longitudinal study of over 4000 overweight adults who have successfully maintained a healthier weight for multiple years, we know that successful weight management at a healthy weight incorporates the following strategies:

• eating breakfast every day, and eating regularly (4-5 times) throughout the day
• limiting the frequency of eating out at fast food establishments
• eating a lower-fat, higher-carbohydrate diet
• watching less than 10 hours of television per week
• exercising, on average, about 1 hour per day at a moderate level (e.g., walking, aerobics class, biking, swimming)
• self-monitoring weight, portion sizes, and meal practices

These practices may be appropriate for individuals who are overweight by medical standards or who seek to maintain a current healthy weight. Note that extreme measures, such as overexercising, skipping meals, or using harmful measures such as laxatives or diet pills were not listed as successful strategies. In fact, the use of extreme measures may affect basal metabolic rate in such a manner that weight is gained over time! So, treat your body well with a daily, methodical, and moderate weight management plan.