In April, I'm headed to Canyon Ranch, the world's most renowned health and wellness destination. In addition to day spas and residential communities in various U.S. cities, there are two resort locations -- one in Tucson, Arizona and one in Lenox, Massachusetts. This is the one I will visit.

My several-day stay at Canyon Ranch comes with a bit of a breast cancer twist, and I'll tell you all about it in a future post.

But right now, I want to offer up a few healthy living tips offered by the professionals at these luxurious getaways. Featured on the company's website, these tips might just get you motivated in a healthful direction.

Breathe

Proper, natural breathing can improve relaxation. When breathing deeply, imagine the new supply of oxygen flowing through your body. Remember to exhale slowly. This can help relax your body further. Breathing should never feel forced or unnatural.

Just Ducky

If you're looking for a quick lunchtime workout that leaves you office-ready or a convenient exercise routine that allows you to be good to go at a moment's notice, jump into the nearest swimming pool. Carolyn Collman, M.S., exercise physiologist and aquatic therapist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, says you can get in the swim without getting soaked. "Water exercises are the perfect solution for a high-efficiency, no-hassle workout for almost everyone. An older adult new to exercise or a sedentary person can benefit from it as much as an Olympic athlete and everyone in between," she says.

Fat-Free Isn't Sugar-Free

Many foods marketed as fat-free and low-fat are loaded with sugar. Learn to read food labels to determine whether the fat-free choice is really a healthy choice. Many products are replacing partially hydrogenated oils with sugar to compensate for lost flavor. The average person consumes twenty teaspoons of added sugar a day – that's 156 pounds a year!

You Are How Much You Eat

A recent study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has confirmed what Canyon Ranch has espoused for years: portion size directly impacts your weight. Using scales, measuring cups and spoons is a useful way of learning what a proper portion looks like. You can also use these common objects to help you visualize healthy portion sizes:

• Palm of your hand or deck of cards for a portion of lean meat, chicken, or fish
• One-inch cube (dice) for the portion of cheese
• D-cell battery for a portion of dried fruit or salad dressing
• Tennis ball for rice or potatoes
• Large marshmallow for salad dressing
• Ping-pong ball for the serving of nuts or nut butter

There's more where these came from. Go see for yourself. Or stop back here -- I promise to share more.

Vincent Rennich, veteran casino worker and non-smoker, is suing the Atlantic City Tropicana Casino and Resort because he claims a quarter-century of inhaling secondhand smoke gave him lung cancer. And if that's not enough to make this man upset, getting fired seals the deal.

"They threw me under the bus," Rennich said yesterday, the day after a supervisor told him he was terminated from his job. "How can you fire a guy with lung cancer who's suing you? Maybe they don't realize the ramifications. Or maybe they're heartless. Or maybe all of the above."

Tropicana officials say that Rennich was not singled out in any way, that he was just one of many let go due to a restructuring of the company. Since last January, more than 200 people have been laid off.

Rennich, 49 and a table games supervisor, has been a vocal advocate of a total smoking ban in Altantic City's 11 casinos. He has been speaking out on behalf of everyone working on the casino floors, and for himself personally.

Rennich had a third of his right lung removed in September 2005 and sees a doctor every three months to ensure his cancer does not reappear. Now that he's been fired, his health insurance will lapse in 30 days, leaving him with a monthly payment of $800 in medical bills.

Atlantic City was slated to ban all casino smoking this past January. But fierce opposition from the casino industry, predicting an estimated revenue loss of 20 percent and job losses of more than 3,400, led to a compromise. And now, effective April 15, smoking will be restricted to no more than 25 percent of the gambling floor.

Rennich is not happy about this -- or his cancer or his termination. And while he is not sure what his next step will be, he says he is definitely not backing down from his anti-smoking platform.