What I'm Reading...

So, it's Monday, and for the first MONDAY in quite a while, I'm feeling super motivated to get this week going! Why? (Besides the fact that I need to post SOMETHING new so that the real me isn't the face you see smiling when you enter FitMePink!) I spent all weekend reading (from start to end) this:

I loved how Dave Ramsey, in The Total Money Makeover compared being "financially fat" to being physically out-of-shape. It's time to take a serious look in the mirror to evaluate all areas of our lives. That's right...look in the mirror, stop sucking in your belly, and see what's really there. Of course, the point of the book is to teach you how to financially "live like no one else so you can later live like no one else," but the principles can carry over to many more aspects of life as well. Read it. Very inspiring!

The other reason I'm excited is that today I'm going to start reading this: Can't wait to learn about the fact that we, the human race, were actually literally designed to run. The author argues that running is at the heart of what it means to be human. Running, in essence, should be sheer joy! Born To Run, here I come! (Thanks, Michael, for the suggestion!)

What has you excited on this wintery Monday morning? What are you reading?

FIT ME PINK BOOK CLUB...let the conversation begin!

OK...I started the book, YOU Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty. I've only made it through the introduction and first chapter so far, but I'm really enjoying it. There were a few tidbits that I found fascinating!

Outer Beauty Has a Purpose!
First, Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen made me seriously consider my own beliefs about the importance of outward beauty. We've all heard these beauty-based cliches, right?

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• Don't judge a book by its cover.
• Beauty is only skin deep.

Inner beauty is completely different than outer beauty. But we tend to link them together. Both are important. But outer beauty really does matter, as much as we sometimes like to pretend it doesn't (as evidenced by the wide use of these popular sayings.)

OUTER beauty, throughout history, has served a very important purpose. It sends a message to the world about how healthy you are! Long before doctors could diagnose one's health, outer beauty sent a very specific message to potential mates. Looks were the health assessment. Interesting.

A fun fact: the definition of beauty hasn't always been the same. In the Middle Ages, pockmarks were hot! It meant you'd survived smallpox, and wouldn't die from it later. And during times of famine, you wanted to be fat! It meant you had enough money to feed your kids.

ANYWAY, I don't think the book is meant to discourage those who don't see themselves as outwardly "beautiful," but is designed to give tips on becoming as such. I still hold firm to my belief that we really are all beautiful. But I do think that our outward beauty often correlates with how we feel about ourselves...whether we admit it or not. I know it affects me. I'd like to say that I exercise to be healthy. That's partly true, but honestly, I do it because I want to look healthy. And looking healthy means looking beautiful.

The Formula for Beauty...who knew?

While reading chapter 1, I learned one (unfortunate) thing that I can never change (without plastic surgery). My nose is too big (in proportion to my mouth)!

THIS was absolutely fascinating to me. Did you know that we are all built with inborn "beauty detectors"? We look at a person, and can instantly assess his or her beauty. It's a built-in reflex! This is because of the Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...), or the "golden ratio." There's a lot of reasoning behind the sequence (read the book!), but it occurs over and over in nature...from tree branching to the arrangement of a pine cone to the reproductive pattern of rats! There's a predictable pattern. And the golden ratio is 1.6. (Which, by the way, strengthens my belief that there really is a God who created this amazing world in which we live...EVERYTHING is organized!)

ANYWAY, this ratio is how we make quick judgments of those we meet. A symmetrical face following this ratio is truly "beautiful." Interesting. Supposedly the ratio of the width of the mouth to the width of the nose should be 1.618 to 1.

I was curious, so I got in front of the mirror with a ruler. My lips are exactly 2 inches wide. And at the widest part of my nostrils, my nose is about 1.375 inches wide. If I did the math right, my ratio is 1.4545 to 1 (divide mouth width by nose width). So my nose either needs to shrink, or my mouth needs to be wider. Oh well.

I also took the test (which determines how close the current ME is to the potential ME). It assesses all three types of beauty: looking, feeling, and being beautiful. I have a ways to go. My total, combined score was 111 out of a possible 160.

Chapter 1

As for the rest of the first chapter, it was all about skin care. I found it sort of boring, because for me, it wasn't all new. (I physically cannot go to bed at night without washing my face. I literally can't sleep. If I fall asleep while watching a movie and wake up to go to bed at 3 am, I still wash my face!) But it did give some interesting information on ingredients to watch for, proper skincare, etc. So it's definitely a worthwhile read.

I definitely agree that proper skincare is VITAL to looking (and feeling) beautiful. The times in my life where I felt the worst about myself weren't the times I gained weight...even after having a baby. The times I felt the worst were when my skin looked horrible! I have several vivid memories of complete strangers offering me advice on how to treat my acne. Not fun memories. I piled makeup onto my poor face trying to cover up the ugly blemishes. It made them worse. I (knock on wood) haven't had a flare up since my first pregnancy, which is why I try so hard to take care of my skin! Acne is extremely emotionally scarring. As are other skin conditions. So take care of your skin!

Comment-versation

Phew...sorry for the long-windedness. Have any of you started reading yet? What are your thoughts on skincare, or beauty in general? What are your reasons for exercising? Do you workout to BE healthy, or to LOOK healthy/beautiful? Is beauty only skin deep? Or does it really matter? Does your face hold the "perfect ratio" (unlike mine)? Give your thoughts!

Let the wild sugar fast start!

Well, I loaded up yesterday on cookies, cake, and frosting. As I was preparing for my daughter's 1st birthday party, I'm pretty sure that's ALL I ate. So right now I'm feeling pretty motivated for the big fast. We'll see how I feel by the end of the week!

Here's my goal. I'm going to make it through the month of February with NO dessert (even on Valentine's Day...eeeeeek!) If, by the end of the month I decide it was too hard, I'll switch to allowing dessert once a week. Or I may decide to allow it once a month. We'll see. This sugar fast is great, because...you make your own rules! As you join in (in your own way), let us know what's working for you!

Don't forget to go out and find a readable copy of You! Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty. I'll start reading today, so get ready to discuss in the coming weeks/days!

And stay tuned...I have a killer LEG move to post...either later today, or later this week.

Also, if you're interested in guest posting, let me know!

Embarrassment galore!

Book Club...

OK...after posting that video, I decided that I need to HURRY to get SOMETHING! ANYTHING! up on my blog so that my too-close-tired-blah-blah face isn't the first thing you see. In case you haven't watched the dorky video yet (and if you haven't, please don't!), I announced the first book for the FitMePink book club! It is....You! Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty by Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. I'm super excited to read it. If you want to read along, get one at your local library, or buy one in the next week...we'll start reading and discussing in February!

And now, since I'm already blushing with embarrassment, why not share a few embarrassing moments with y'all....

The Dating Game...

It was fall semester at BYU in the year 1999. I'd spent the previous summer at home in California where I'd started dating a guy I'd known for quite a long time. Little did I know, he was more interested in a summer fling than any sort of relationship. We returned to BYU, me with my plans of continuing the relationship, and he with his unspoken plan of never talking to me again!

Principle of Least Interest...

So I did what any girl who doesn't know how to play the dating game would do. I called. I left messages. I probably drove him crazy! If I could go back, I would've stopped talking to him first...you know, the principle of least interest? The person with the least interest in a relationship has the most power. It's true. Test it out if you're still in the oh-so-lovely dating scene (that I couldn't be more happy to be out of!) Example (and then back to my story): If a guy says, "I think we should stop seeing each other for a while." Instead of bawling your eyes out, begging him to change his mind, etc. Say, "I agree. I've been thinking we should break up." It'll catch him off guard and want to win you over again. Trust me. Don't grovel! I had WAAAAAY too many experiences with being the "chaser" instead of the "chased." Until my husband. I let him chase ME, and we're married! Woo hoo!

Anywho, there was this lame-o boy who'd totally left me hanging. He never called. He never even e-mailed. He just disappeared. I didn't see him, talk to him, know if he was alive, whatever, until the night of the incident. Two of my former roommates and I decided to go to the movies. I think we actually had cars at this point (whereas years previous, we'd walked EVERYWHERE!). So we were walking from the parking lot when I saw him. I thought in my mind of how cool I was going to be. I was going to say "hi," and strut my stuff as I walked past him. It was going to be perfect. I'd act like I didn't care, he'd think, "Wow! She looks great," (as I walked in slow motion past him with my hair billowing in the wind), he'd call me the next day, we'd start dating again, you know...yadda yadda yadda.

THE Incident...

As I stepped onto the sidewalk, getting ready to gracefully glide past him, I somehow forgot how to walk. I tripped. I fell flat on my face. I actually sprained my ankle! I got up and hobbled along, fighting back tears, as my roommates held me up (and as he chuckled and said, "you OK?") until we got to our theater where I iced my ankle and bawled the entire time. He was there with a date. Lovely. Funny thing is, I replayed that moment OVER and OVER, but he probably didn't think twice about it. He'd moved on.

The Result...

That was the first of MANY experiences teaching me about what kind of guy I really wanted. He wasn't that guy, thank goodness. It was also an experience that re-affirmed what I've always known...I am a clutz! (I broke my leg on my first date, dropped my food tray in the cafeteria my Freshman year, etc.) Maybe that's why I love working out so much...I haven't fallen in years...maybe my balance has improved! (Knock on wood).

Do you have any embarrassing moments in your past that make you cringe even years later thinking about?! Please share!

Fit Me Facetime...Book Club Announcement!

Please enjoy the (way-too-up-close-and-personal) video! Let me know in the comments what you think of my pick for the book club...I personally can't wait! And for those of you interested in a sugar fast, more on that topic soon....