Maria Menounos - The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life

The EveryGirl Foundation

EveryGirl Gets Organized

The EveryGirl Office

EveryGirl Dcor

EveryGirl Maintains

EveryGirl Has Style

EveryGirl Skin Care

EveryGirl Makeup

EveryGirl Fashion

EveryGirl Hair and Nails

EveryGirl Emotional Foundation

EveryGirl Friends and Family

EveryGirl in Love

Health and the EveryGirl

EveryGirl Loses Weight

EveryGirl Stays Fit

EveryGirl Recipes

EveryGirl Health and Well-Being

EveryGirl Business

EveryGirl Rules to Live By

EveryGirl at Work

EveryGirl Travels

EveryGirl Gives Back

Most of you know me from my work as a TV host, actress, spokesperson, and journalist. Whether youve caught me hosting Entertainment Tonight , Access Hollywood , or the Today show, or have seen me in one of your favorite flicks like Fantastic Four , Kickin It Old Skool , or Tropic Thunder , or even in one of my Pantene commercials, youll see Ive been a busy girl. I realize it might be difficult to consider me an EveryGirlespecially when you see me on the red carpet with other celebrities, all done up for the cameras. But if you look at the core of my lifeand that of my upbringingyoull find that I am indeed very much like every girl, and every woman, for that matter.

Growing up, I worked as a janitor cleaning nightclubs alongside my parents, and my last job before working in Hollywood was selling sausages on the streets of Boston. These days, I eat at places like Chilis, shop at Target, work out at home (when I can), watch bad reality TV, go to bargain matinee movies, and even know my way around Home Depot. Im not opposed to treating myself to an occasional Quarter Pounder, either. Where all other hosts have a hairstylist and a makeup artist, you may be surprised to know that, at NBC, I do my own hair and makeup. I come from a working-class background. I work long hours and am forced to wear many hats. I have a family to care for, a partner to please, and a household to manage. I have career goals. I want to be a good person, and I want to look and feel my best, too. Like most of you, I must somehow manage to do it all when there are only so many hours in the day. And believe it or not, like most of you, I must do it all on a budget that continues to shrink with the worsening economy.

I didnt just move directly from my parents house into a mansion in Hollywood, either. I went from my bedroom at my parents to a dorm room to an unfinished basement I shared with multiple people to an apartment to a small fixer-upper of a house to the home I live in today, which I fixed up as well. And when it came to the fixing, I didnt have the money to hire people. I had to figure out how to do much of it myself, painting rooms in sneakers by day and interviewing celebs on the red carpet in heels by night.

In The EveryGirls Guide to Life , I share experiences and practical tips that every girl, famous or not famous, wealthy or not wealthy, can apply daily toward achieving a more successful, prosperous, and healthy appearance and, most important, a more successful, prosperous, and healthy life.

I wrote this book partly because Im constantly stopped by people at malls, at airports, and on the streets, and even by fellow celebrities. They all ask me the following questions: How did you lose forty pounds? How do you find the time to do all your various jobs? How do you stay in shape? Who dresses you? How do you always look camera ready? How do you deal with having to travel so much? How do you afford to live in such a nice house? These, and more, are all questions I will answer in this book.

Mainly, I wrote this book because I am continually frustrated by the sight of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who struggle in their daily lives. They struggle to look their best, they struggle to get ahead, they struggle to manage their finances, and they struggle to manage their lives. Some turn to unhealthy habits to make themselves feel better (shopping sprees, lavish vacations, substance abuse, and bad boyfriends or partners).

I know these people so well because in many ways I was one of them. When I first moved to LA, my life was such an overwhelmed, disorganized mess that I literally ran myself into a hospitaland several times to boot. Life is hard from the get-go, and it doesnt need any help from us to make it harder, yet many of us do.

I was blessed to have immigrant parents who were hardworking, adaptive, positive, practical, frugal, and self-taught. My father began working in this country as an unskilled, non-English-speaking janitor. He maintained the firm belief that anything in life was possible, and by the time he retired, he had learned how to build an entire house, from foundation to roof. My mother, also non-English-speaking, worked alongside him on weekends and was an elementary school cafeteria worker who felt the same. By the time she retired, her school had one of the top food programs in the state thanks in part to her. Together, we micromanaged Dads type 1 diabeteslearning about proper nutrition and developing a healthy diet rich in vegetables, which we grew in our backyard. Where most diabetics lose sight, circulation, and even limbs, Dad, in his mid-sixties, has the body of a twenty-five-year-oldsix pack and all.

Ive drawn heavily upon what they taught me in my journey, including their mistakes. I have wonderful mentors and friends who have positively influenced me. Im also blessed to have a great partner in Keven Undergaro. Keven is a filmmaker whom Ive been producing films and other projects with for the past twelve years. Next to my parents, hes my biggest champion. He has always believed in me, pushing and guiding me throughout my career. Many of the philosophies I go over in the book are ones I learned through him.

By landing jobs on shows like Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood , and Today , I have been exposed to Hollywoods leading experts in grooming and self-improvement, as well as some of the most successful women in the world. Ive also come across bad friends and unsupportive family members who have taught me a great deal, too. From all of these people Ive learned what it takes to have a more successful life and how to do it all, accomplishing a lot on a little when time and money are in short supply.

In this book, Ill share my personal experiences, techniques, and philosophiesmy own and some that have been borrowed. Since my teenage years, Ive been a firm believer in learning from other peoples mistakes and heeding good advice. I hope I can help the EveryGirl to be more practical, to work smarter not harder, to sacrifice now in order to succeed later, and to look better, feel better, and do better. Whether you are a successful businesswoman, a college or high school student, a housewife, someone just starting out, a retiree, or some combination of the above; whether you want to run a marathon, start a company, host a TV show, advance in your job, be a great wife or mother or both, or just feel good overall, I feel there is something in this book for you.

I firmly believe that these applied philosophies were the ones that got me here and they are the ones that will keep me here

The book describes how Ive conducted my ever-evolving life, and I sincerely hope reading it helps you conduct yours.