Lemondrop

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It's week four, and Rowdy reminded us that next week, we have another exciting weigh in.

This is usually around the time that most diets start going off the rails, and so we're giving ourselves a quick refresher course on the basics of de-cankling ourselves.

The Five Components of Fitness:

During our first date, Rowdy told us that there are fitness comes down to five basic components:

1) Nutrition -- Eating well is 90 percent of the battle.

2) Supplementation -- Whatever you're not getting in your diet, make sure you're getting elsewhere.

3) Resistance Training -- You want to look toned and lean, right? Then get to it. Also, resistance training raises your basal metabolism, which helps you burn calories when you're sitting on your ass.

4) Cardio -- Duh.

5) A Personal Training -- At first, we thought this was self-promotion. But the more we've worked with Rowdy, the more we're started to learn that a trainer is really important. Not only do they make you do stuff you don't want to do (MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS), but they teach you the right way to do everything. And believe us, learning how to tilt your hips or hold your shoulder blades during an exercise necessitates a patient third party.

While America loves to debate what makes a great cover model (size 4 too big? size 14 too small?), the cover of Time this week reminds us that sometimes there are weightier issues involved in choosing who will grace the face of your magazine.

Meet Aisha, 18, whom Time editor-in-chief Richard Stengel describes as "shy." We can't imagine why. As you can see in the photo at left, she's missing a few key features: That's because a Taliban commander decreed that she have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws.

The magazine debated long and hard about whether Aisha should be on the cover. First they ensured she was in a safe, secret location, Stengel says, sponsored by the NGO Women for Afghan Women. And soon she will be heading to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery -- the kind we can really get behind.

Aisha posed for the photo, reports Time, "because she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan." If blue burqas seem so 10 years ago to you, read our interview with Megan K. Stack, a foreign correspondent who just wrote the memoir "Every Man in This Village Is a Liar" about her time reporting in Afghanistan -- and who fears nothing more than another Taliban takeover, because of what it would mean for women there.

And when you're done doing that, Lemondrop has a bold idea: Let's make today one whole day in which we, the women of America, agree not to complain about our hair, our butts, or any physical feature that usually makes us nuts. Agreed?

Why do we so love xoki, the color playlist? Well... um... it's pretty? You just pick out colors you like, stop moving your mouse, and sit back and watch the colors slowly fade into the next.

We find it best used when you're at your desk, stressed at work and just need a few minutes to decompress. Just turn on xoki, watch a round or two and you're set to return to the job!

As if being a social pariah doesn't already suck, we have some more bad news: Apparently, you're also likely to die faster than your popular counterpart.

A new study from the Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University found that a healthy social life (that includes spending time with relatives, friends, work buddies and neighbors) can improve your chances of survival by 50 percent.

Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, co-author of the study, told The Telegraph, "The idea that a lack of social relationships is a risk factor for death is still not widely recognized by health organizations and the public. When someone is connected to a group and feels responsibility for other people, that sense of purpose and meaning translates to taking better care of themselves and taking fewer risks."

The research found that being antisocial is as bad for us as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, being an alcoholic and doing zero exercise. It's also twice as dangerous as being obese. Wait, we're confused; surely -- other than the obese part -- chain smoking, drinking and avoiding the gym are all part of what having an active social schedule entails?

Who will be a shoe-in at the Fashion Week finale? An exclusive sneak peek at season eight of "Project Runway." (PopSugar)

Feeling ambitious? Have a glass of wine and make a great pizza tonight. (TheKitchn)

If you wake up with black and blue marks, find out where all that unexplained bruising comes from. (Glamour)
The plus-size wars in magazines: What is too big? What is not big enough? (NYTimes)
Look cute while working out? It's possible, with this roundup of fashionable gym gear. (Refinery29)
What the juice heads and guidettes are wearing this summer: Check out real street style from the New Jersey boardwalk. (StyleList)
All images from linked blogs.

Do men confuse you? Are relationships perplexing you these days? Then Guyspeak/Girlspeak is for you! Over at Guyspeak, girls write in and ask real guys real questions. Together, a Guyspeak guy and I pick one of the questions and each answer it the only way we know how ... correctly. Sometimes we agree, usually we don't, but either way you get two sets of advice for the price of one. This week's question:

Alert the Relationship Police: One in four American couples sleep in separate bedrooms or separate beds. In fact, the the National Association of Home Builders expects that around 60 percent of custom homes will have dual master bedrooms by 2015. And EVEN ONE OF THE JONAS BROTHERS (Kevin, sigh) and his wife sleep in separate beds because he's a loud snorer.

Therapists say separate beds can be good for couples on different sleep schedules or problems. (Oh, hi, obstructive sleep apnea!) And couples who sleep separately say it helps each of them get a better night's rest, which in the end, improves the relationship. But others fear that this separate beds trend spells the end of modern marriage.

Personally, we've known lots of couples who prefer not to sleep in the same bed -- and not out of any kind of animosity. Sometimes, the circumstances in which you sleep are actually about, you know, rest, and not a testament to whether there's still magic between you and the person drooling on the sham next to you.

What do you think -- is it weird to live together and sleep apart? Would you be with a guy who wanted his own room?