Book review: Reshaping it all

My new Year's resolution was to read 100 books this year....and because that isn't challenge enough, I decided that I should incorporate as many new(as in, I haven't read before) books as possible, specifically non-fiction, which has never been of much interest to me. The book I'm going to be reviewing today, "Reshaping it all" by Candace Cameron Bure, is a non-fiction book, and my first, actually, since starting my resolution.

alright, let's do this thang!

This book was not recommended to me, I didn't read anything about it, nor had it been something I'd been wanting to read for any amount of time. I literally was in my library, wandering around, saw this on a shelf, grabbed it, and checked it out. For those who may not know, Candace Cameron Bure(Bure is her married name) is an actress, wife, mother, and Christian. She played DJ Tanner on the show "Full House" in the 80s, and her brother, Kirk Cameron, is also an actor, first on "Growing pains" in the 80s, and more recently the "Left Behind" series, among like a hundred other things. Candace is also currently a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars", which is why I think her book was even on display. I already knew these things about her, and I really like her a lot, so I figured her book would be a good place to start in my journey through the realm of non-fiction, so, I checked it out.

Before I get into the details of the book, I should let you know that "Reshaping it all" is a book geared toward helping people obtain physical and spiritual fitness(remember, Candace is a Christian, so of course it's going to be about God!) In general, it's about her story of weight struggle and eventual weight loss, and how, through hard work and strength in God, she managed to keep off the weight and beat her addiction.

Sound interesting? Yeah, I did to. And guess what! It was really interesting. I wouldn't say I'm on some health kick or anything, but I feel like I have been finding myself gravitating toward more health related talk shows, cooking shows, etc lately, and I'm always open to learning new things that I can apply to myself, and then pass on to you guys, my wonderful readers!

Now down to business. I think the most important thing about a book is how it's written. The content is important, but no one's going to get to the content if the format is bad. Not so with Candace's book. It's written in the typical non-fiction first person, and it's easy to read, without being dumbed down or condescending to those like myself that are used to a little higher level of literature.(I had just finished reading Lord of the Ring, so you can imagine the shock my brain went through reading "Reshaping it all" lol) Also the chapters are short, which makes getting through them much more enjoyable...because nothing is more overwhelming than thumbing through a book and realizing each chapter is like 47 pages long.

While we're on the topic of chapters and writing format, I'll let you know that at the end of each chapter, Candace has a summary of what she talked about, a fan letter with a health or spiritual question, her answer to that letter, all the Bible verses she used in that chapter, simple tips on how to apply that chapter to your life, an inspirational quote, and then a healthy recipe that she makes for her own family. WHEW! That's a lot packed into a few pages, huh?!

Because Candace is a Christian(and not afraid to proclaim it to the world, thank you very much) she does scatter bible verses throughout her book as they apply to what she's talking about, and many of her tips on motivation and staying strong revolve around prayer and staying strong in God, which is something a lot of people don't think about when it comes to their physical health. But think about it. God calls us to take care of our bodies, because they are a temple for Him, so it makes sense that we would need Him to help make us new. Genius.

She also talks a lot about how a healthy lifestyle is necessary, rather than optional. Basically she's saying that, once you've committed to living a healthier lifestyle, you have to stick with it, and not just live healthy when it's convenient for you. She also discourages diets. She doesn't discredit them, but going "on" a diet implies you will one day go "off" the diet, and the only way to stay healthy is to....get this....stay healthy. Candace encourages a lifestyle change, which is what she did, and what I did, and it, frankly, works.

Candace has MANY tips and tricks on how to make that lifestyle change, and how to make it so habitual that you eventually don't even have to work at it. One of the things she suggested was to write down your reasons for losing weight, whatever they may be, and read them whenever you get discouraged. Keep the list somewhere you can see it, like by your bed or on your mirror or fridge, so you never forget WHY you're doing this.

I don't want to give away too much information, because I want you to read this book, but I'll leave you with a quote that really impacted me, and will hopefully speak to you and give you the push you need to get yourself healthy....for the right reasons!

"You are beautiful, interesting, accepted, and loved by the most high God. Be content with both the woman you are today and the woman you'll be tomorrow."
-Candace Cameron Bure