It's hard to believe that the girl who claimed nothing came between her and her Calvins has anything to worry about body-wise, isn't it? But 20+ years and two kids later, Brooke Shields admits that she has insecurities... just like most of us do. The Lipstick Jungle actress dishes about fitness, confidence, and happiness in the October issue of Shape Magazine.

Body image can affect your health both physically and emotionally. When you strive for an unrealistic goal -- a size your body isn't meant to be or to imitate some picture in a magazine -- you can set yourself up for disappointment. Letting your body image come from any external source is looking at yourself from the wrong perspective. Instead of focusing on any perceived flaws and aiming for unnatural goals, look to fitness and nutrition for one purpose and one purpose only. Health.

When you keep your body fit and strong and nourished with healthful foods, you'll feel the difference in your mood and your energy. Learn to love your body for all the amazing things it does.

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Jennifer Love Hewitt has dropped 18 pounds and she looks great. She says she feels great and that her energy level has increased, so that's obviously a good thing. And I'm certainly not against anyone shedding a few pounds if it improves their health and makes them feel good. But, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed.

Late last year, Hewitt was totally lambasted by the media for some less-than-flattering photos of her in a bikini. Whether you, I, or the paparazzi think she needed to lose any weight then is immaterial. Her response to all the bikini-related press was, in my opinion, nothing short of beautiful. Hewitt said "I've sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women's bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I'm not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image." She appeared confident and happy with her appearance. I thought she really set a great example for being healthy and confident with your body -- even if you have some flaws.

Hewitt said "If I do work out more it will be for my health." I sincerely hope that her health was the only motivation for her current weight loss and that media pressure or any insecurities that developed as a result of it had nothing to do with it.

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One of my all-time favorite goals in life is to feel good about myself. I want to feel good about my state of mind and the state of my health, about my family and my job. I want to feel at peace about the decisions I make and the manner in which I relate to others. I want to feel upbeat and positive about the curve balls life throws at me. And toward the top of my feel-good list is this: I want to feel good in my skin.

I don't have the magic recipe for achieving all this goodness. But SHAPE magazine offers 25 tips that I might just borrow. Here are 12 of them.

• Find balance
• Show off
• Achieve exercise
• Get sleep
• Find support
• Seek mentors
• Take a break
• Write it down
• Do tell
• Forget envy
• Go positive
• Celebrate success

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There are all sorts of definitions of what's sexy (and when I say sexy, I mean sexy -- not sleazy). Whether you're down-to-earth, funny and easy to talk to, nice but with a naughty side or super confident and flirty, your personality will likely appeal to a range or guys.

Ever wonder if you're the 'Girl Next Door', the 'Seductress' or the "Vixen on the Prowl"? I found this fun quiz from Elle that lets you know where you fit on the sexy scale. Answers to questions about an idea first date, your favored bra and undie combo, your typical bedtime wear, the TV character who is most like you and favorite celeb style, help determine which of the aforementioned categories you fit into.

I ended up with the 'Girl Next Door' label, which I think is pretty accurate considering it's a fun and simple quiz. Why not give it a try and let us know what kind of sexy you are?

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I want to tell you something in the hopes that it might inspire you to kickstart a fitness routine or go to the gym today: I've never, ever regretted working out. I've never felt worse after than I did before. Not once in probably thousands of trips to the gym. Even when I was feeling sick, when I was deadly tired, when I was swamped with work. Not even when I sprained my ankle and was worried about making it worse. Even then I felt better coming home from the gym than I did going to it.

I've regretted things I've ate, movies I watched, books I read, things I said. But working out is one thing that has never let me down. After my best workout, I come away feeling strong, confident, energized. After my worst workout, I come away feeling satisfied that I did something good for myself instead of bingeing on a tray of brownies. It's made me feel at least slightly better 100% of the time, and I like those odds.

So quit surfing the 'net and go to the gym! You won't regret it either.

Tweezing, extracting, waxing -- all of these procedures hurt, a lot. Yet a fairly large majority of women are willing to pay a stranger to wax their bikini lines (and more), pull out hair from their faces and squeeze blackheads out of their skin.

As this article from an Australian newspaper discusses, we ladies are willing to suffer to look good. The author mentions that a number of women have even been sent to hospital in beauty-related disasters including waxing incidents gone terribly wrong. I've accidentally ripped on bits of skin after missing a tiny hair while trying to tweeze my eyebrows and it hurt so much it brought tears to my eyes -- and yet I kept on plucking.

I suppose you can't put a price on beauty but who exactly do we do all of this for? I've gotten facials and body scrubs and waxings before dates with boyfriends and they've never noticed. I bet most men don't. I think the real reason we do all of this stuff is because it makes us feel prettier and prompts us act sexier and more confident and that is what the guys notice.

Do you go through painful beauty treatments and if so, who do you think you do it for?

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