health | fitness
Skinny Confidential
e h t
Fitness and beauty guru, Lauryn Evarts’ book, “The Skinny Confidential” aims to help you not only get in shape but also boost your confidence and bring out your best self.
With chapters that give advice on the perfect recipes, workouts, and hair and makeup tips to lead the perfect healthy, balanced lifestyle, this book may just be your new bible. With a subtitle like “A Babe’s Sexy, Sassy Fitness and Lifestyle Guide,” we knew that this one would be something to check out. After reading through everything Evarts had to say about becoming the best “you” possible, we caught up with her to find out more about what inspired her to become a fitness, fashion, and lifestyle role model. According to Evarts, it all started while she was attending San Diego State University. “There was a void in the market, because there weren’t many healthy options,” Evarts says. “I decided I wanted to start a platform to connect with women everywhere that encompassed healthy tips, food substations, and easy workouts.” From that idea, her book, “The Skinny Confidential,” blossomed and turned into a “full lifestyle,” in which she can discuss relationships, travel, skinny cocktails, beauty, recipes, and fitness tips. Throughout the book, Evarts gets up close and personal, opting out of using a structured format, and instead using the same kind of language you’d use with your best friend. Rather than spilling the straight facts, she lets you in on her weaknesses and guilty pleasures, creating the ideal balance between your weekly conversation with your nutritionist and trainer, and your gossip-filled lunch date with your girlfriends.
bya l i s s a ro g ows k i
to make my own healthy jam.” While reading, it’s easy to see and feel how much passion Evarts has for helping other people reach their goals. In fact, before she decided to write her lifestyle guide, she earned her nutrition certification at the International Sports Science Association in hopes of become a nutritionist. However, she decided that wasn’t the right fit for her. “I ultimately decided that I wanted to create a lifestyle brand,” she says about her choice to pursue helping people in all aspects of health. “So, ‘The Skinny Confidential’ was born.”
Along with the workout tips and nutrition tricks that Evarts swears by, she offers up a plethora of products to fall in love with to keep your hair, skin, and appearance as beautiful as the rest of your body. A firm believer in all-natural products, Evarts frequently opts out of using chemical products, and instead chooses to use products such as all-natural soap and grape seed oil. With makeup, though, she says it is best never to skip eyelash primer. Though her book may be targeted more toward women between the age of 15 and 45, Evarts truly seeks to inspire as many people as she can in all stages of life. She hopes that through her book and her blog of the same name to help others create balanced lives.
body | health
Use the Best of Fall to
Bring Out the Best in You! by r en ee wi g g i n s
As summer fades away, the new season allows for the chance for you to restore your energy and spend time finding the best in yourself. I love the fall: the air is crisp and cleaner, and the temperature is cooler. The leaves begin to turn yellow, orange, and red. My mood changes to placid and quiet, and I seem to slow down. As a matter of fact, I study how the weather and the environment change. I like the fall weather, because I can sit on my patio without the mosquitoes or flies brothering me. It is a form of mediation for me to sit quietly and still my mind. Fall is a reminder of the end of the hot summer days and the beginning of cool, relaxing weather. It is the time of the year to renew, refresh, and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. Even my diet changes, and I eat more comfort foods: soups, winter salads, and sandwiches. The smell of hot tea brewing in the morning re-energizes my body and soul. Spending the weekends sipping hot apple cider or cocoa with friends is about renewing friendships and maintaining old ones. During the fall, I take online classes to improve my skills—this season is great time to take cooking classes, especially around the holidays. Think of fall as a season of change and renewal. Sit back and reflect on the prior seasons, and think about how the last few months in the year
will be different. View the best of fall as a reason to bring out the best in you.
Here are some ways to become your best self as autumn settles in: 1. Take classes online or offline 2. Rekindle friendships 3. Register for a charity walk to meet new people and get exercise 4. Get to know your town or city by signing up for a walking or cycling tour 5. Take a bus tour to a nearby city (day or night) with some friends, and have a meal afterward 6. Create and develop a health and wellness plan you can follow into the next year 7. Indulge a hobby or resurrect an interest that you have neglected, or explore a new one One last important task: As you slow down your pace, rev up your commitment to you. After all, you are the best person you will ever know.
If you’re interested in learning more about Evarts and her goals to create a mini “Skinny Confidential” empire, pick up a copy of her book, “The Skinny Confidential,” and start looking out for the other projects that she has up her sleeves, set to be out later this year.
When it comes to giving advice, Evarts provides both sides, sympathizing with your weaknesses but also offering alternatives so that women won’t be inhibited in terms of exercise and eating healthy. “Running is definitely not the love of my life,” she says about incorporating cardio into your workout routine. “Like, I hate it. I prefer anything that gets my heart rate up. Recently I’ve been loving the Cardio Zone workouts, where you shock your heart rate and take it up and down for 30 minutes.” While Evarts praises juicing and all of its benefits, she know a juicer can be quite an investment. Throughout her book, she provides other options to those living on tight budgets. “Eggs are always great,” she says about cheap, healthy eats. “Also, a quick, little tip: I mash berries together with chia seeds 44 @hopemag | q3 2014
winter | hope 45 q2 2014 |2014 @hopemag