Pop quiz: On a scale of one to 10, how attractive would you rate yourself? Got a number in your head? Ok, now take that number and add 2. That's how attractive you are to others.

No, seriously! Research out of the UK has shown that on average, others see you as 20% more attractive than you see yourself. Why? Well, it's no secret that many of us are our own worst enemies. But there's another reason: When you look in the mirror, all you see is your looks. When others look at you, they see your personality shine through. Think about it this way: When you look at a photo, you only see a person's physical features. But when you meet them in real life, they're much more dynamic and that ultimately affects how you view them.

How attractive you appear is largely based on your confidence. Take this as a mini ego-boost and hold your head a little bit higher today.

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Ever overwhelmed in the drugstore aisles when faced with all the lotions and potions that line the shelves? I am. I'm never quite sure what product to pick up and toss in my cart -- the easy-to-use face cleanser or the easy-on-the skin all-over body wash, the lipstick that won't wash away or the gloss that shines from here to Timbuktu. An advisor is what I need.

I'm in luck.

Prevention magazine asked a few dermatologists about their favorite drugstore finds and what they got were a bunch of great recommendations. Here they are -- 10 tried-and-true beauty bargains under $20.

• Dove Daily Hydrating Cleansing Cloths
• Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser
• RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Daily Moisturizer
• Almay Kinetin Rejuvenating Eye Treatment
• Olay Regenerist Enhancing Lotion with UV Protection
• Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash
• Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion
• Aquaphor Healing Ointment
• Lac-Hydrin Five
• Sea & Ski All Day Sport UVA/UVB Sunscreen Foam, SPF 30

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Food labels are confusing. I know this. Even though I understand how to understand them, it's hard to balance the good and bad I find listed on food products. I might find a certain something to be low in sugar and then learn the same item is high in fat. How do I know if something is a good bet with so much competing information?

Here's some direction, thanks to the American Dietetic Association. Call it the rule of 5 and 20.

An item is considered a poor source of a nutrient if it contains five percent daily value or less of that nutrient -- based on a 2,000-calorie diet. It's an excellent source if it contains 20 percent daily value or more. Depending on whether these figures refer to sugar or say, fiber, you'll want to adjust your intake accordingly.

That helps. Doesn't it?

For more on food labels and how to interpret them, stop by this site. Click on Get Smart -- Get the Facts on Food Labels and you'll land at an enlightening PDF nutrition fact sheet.

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Ever considered placing yourself in a time-out? I have. When my kids are driving me crazy, or my responsibilities are mounting, or I just need a bit of silence, a time-out seems quite heavenly. And if I follow the proper time-out protocol of sitting quietly for one minute per each year of age, I'd get a whole 37 minutes all to myself. Not bad.

OK, so maybe a mommy time-out is not likely to happen. A food time-out might be in my future, though, especially now with holiday eating in full force.

Nutrition experts recommend we all take food time-outs during our meals. They suggest taking 20 minutes between courses -- the amount of time it takes for fullness signals to travel from your stomach to your brain. Stop, think, and listen to your body's natural hunger cues, and you'll take control of your appetite and avoid overeating too.

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I don't think that anyone would be particularly happy to notice that their hair is thinning. It's got to be upsetting for men, but since it's a more common occurrence among that sex, I think that it would be even harder for a women who is losing her hair.

If you've found that your mane isn't as thick as it used to be, is patchy or even starting to show bald spots, you might want to check out this gallery, which offers 20 tips on how to deal with thinning hair. The first, and probably most important tip is to head to your doctor. There may be a reason why you're losing hair and a physician can help you find a remedy.

Additional advice includes improving your diet and taking vitamins to improve hair quality, experimenting with a new hair style that will disguise patches and trying out volumizing or other specialty products to improve the look of your hair. To see the rest of the tips, take a look here.

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Dealing with the symptoms of diabetes, along with treating the disease itself, can be an exhausting challenge. Those of you out there currently dealing with diabetes might be interested in this piece, which says that as little as 20 minutes a day of exercise can help raise energy levels, as well as deal with a number of the side-effects that come with the condition.

According to the information in the piece, daily physical activity can also increase whole-body insulin levels, lower A1C (blood glucose test) levels, and decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Not bad for a short, brisk walk arond the block! And of course, any kind of regular activity is good for your body and mind as a whole, so if you're dealing with diabetes, finding time for a bit of exercise has numerous benefits.

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I found volumes of solid, reliable information on the Internet when I was newly diagnosed with breast cancer and navigating my way through a maze of uncertainty. I also found loads of questionable material and ended up feeling quite overwhelmed at times about all that I'd uncovered.

The Internet can be a scary place. Anyone with an opinion can post anything on a Web site, appearing an expert to those searching desperately for direction about health matters. Therefore, it's important to locate sites that are reputable and worthy of your attention.

Take note, because here are some reviewed, ranked, and rated Web sites, part of a more comprehensive listing of the Top 20 health Web sites. Thanks to Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Health Improvement Institute for compiling these valuable resources.

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Some days it feels almost impossible to get motivated to work out. Maybe you want to sleep in a little later or are too tired after work, perhaps you've got plans with friends and want to spend time getting ready rather than going for a run or maybe your favorite reality show is running its big finale. There are a tonne of excuses to run through that make it easier to allow yourself to skip a workout.

If you're finding that excuses are winning out over exercise on a regular basis, maybe you need some tips on how to stay motivated. Some of the 20 listed in this piece include getting the tough part of the workout over first so that you look forward to the end, book an actual time to workout (maybe with a friend or a trainer) so that you have to show up, pick an exercise routine that you enjoy so that you're more likely to do it and set a goal for yourself and once you reach it, treat yourself to a beauty treatment or a pair of shoes you've been eying.

How do you keep yourself motivated when it comes to working out?

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Are you in your mid-to-late 20s and still living with your parents? Did you spend four or five years at university and wind up thousands of dollars in debt, working at a job that you can't imagine going back to tomorrow let alone for the rest of you life? Are all of your friends starting to settle down, get married, buy homes and have kids? And finally, does all of the above really freak you out?

If you answered yes to these questions, you could be suffering from a quarterlife crisis. This relatively new phenomena is similar to the better known midlife crisis, but while the midlife crisis is known to affect men (and women to a lesser extent) in their 40s who want to reclaim their youth, the quarterlife crisis attacks the psyche of twentysomethings trying to negotiate the ever-expanding gap between adolescence and adulthood.

I once participated in a class discussion about the affliction at university and nearly every other student admitted that they suffered from mild to extreme anxiety over the direction that their lives were (or weren't) taking. Perhaps the worst thing is that there's no solution or cure, we all just have to make the best choices we can with the information that we've learned so far and ride it out until we hit our 30s.

If you are suffering from a quarterlife crisis, you can at least take comfort in the fact that there's an entire Web site devoted to the affliction where you can chat with thousands of others going through the same things you are. You may be feeling lost and misguided, but at least you're not alone.

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People are either going to love the author interviewed in this article or they're going to hate her. Corinne Maier, a French mother of two, has written a book called No Kid: 40 Reasons Not to Have Children. From what the interviewer says about the book, it sounds as though Maier is pretty fierce and truly feels her life was better before kids. In the actual interview though, she seems slightly more humorous (albeit in a dark way).

Maier believes the French Government promotes the idea of family in that country in order to keep the economy running -- more kids equals more consumers to sell goods to after all, and also ups the amount of future earners contributing to the country's pension programs.

But Maier also has plenty of personal reasons not to have kids, 20 of which are listed in the piece. They include:

• You will lose touch with your friends.
• Your child will kill your desire.
• Children sound the death knell of the couple.
• You will be duped into thinking there is such a thing as a perfect child.
• You will be expected to be a mother before you are a professional or a woman.
• Children are dangerous. They will take you to court without a second thought.

Some of the reasons are harsh and some humorous, but I also think that some ring true. Possibly the most shocking thing about the book is that this woman, who lives in a society where having kids is often thought to be the only way a woman can really ever be fulfilled -- and in which those of us who haven't had or don't want children are viewed with pity or scorn -- is willing to admit that she regrets having children.

What do you think, is Maier selfish and crazy or courageous and honest?

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It's lovely out where I live today and to celebrate I've taken the afternoon off to enjoy the heat, but stay cool on a float with friends. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is putting on my bathing suit. I know that there is flab in places where I don't want flab, and it's only going to look more pronounced in a bikini top. Despite all the talk, I am guilty of waiting too long to tone up.

Since there's still loads of hot weather to come (at least I hope), I know that it's not too late to improve on the paunch at least a little before the last float of the season. I was pretty excited to come across this piece with exercises to tone your abs, arms and legs in a mere 20 minutes a day. I'm working two jobs right now, so it's tough to find time to fit in a really long work-out.

If you've found yourself in the same situation and are still determined to get into better shape sooner rather than later, give the work out a try. The exercises are fairly easy to do and require very little equipment, so it's not going to cost a fortune. Most importantly, the article reminds us all that the best way to get the most out of the work-out is to remember the basics like stretching beforehand, breathing throughout, having good posture and cooling down afterward.

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