Hilary Duff Talks About Eating And Exercise

Hilary Duff is balancing a marriage, career, and healthy lifestyle. How does she do it? Obviously she’s a superhero!
She recently sat down and answered some questions about her eating an exercise habits.
Q: What’s your definition of living healthy?

A: Moderation is key. Eating healthily all the time can be boring├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥you know, when you take apart the menu and ask for everything on the side? Balance makes me feel good: I feel most healthy when I enjoy small bites of the things I love. I used to feel bad about eating French fries├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥I’d think that I had blown my diet. But you have to think, That’s OK, I’ll eat healthier tomorrow.
Q: What are your favorite good-for-you snacks?
A: Recently, I have been eating a lot of vegetables and hummus and fruit├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥stuff I never really liked before. If I am hungry before bed, I will grab a handful of blueberries. Greek yogurt is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Sometimes I’ll chop up a bunch of veggies and put them in a food processor with Greek yogurt and make a dip. It’s better if I snack throughout the day, because if I get hungry, Mike says I get “hangry,” which is hungry-angry. It’s not good.
Q: Do you have any health regrets?
A: I got pretty skinny when I was between 17 and 19. I don’t know what exactly made me get on that kick, but at the time I was starting to become aware of what people said about me and how I looked in pictures. I literally ate nothing but steamed vegetables and broiled or grilled chicken, with nothing else. I was touring at the time, traveling everywhere, and I felt so run down. Not giving your body enough of what it needs is really dangerous. I regret it because I don’t think I was happy then.
Q: You endured scrutiny about your weight when you were still a teenager. How did you handle that?
A: It sucked. I was 16 and my body was still changing and people would say I was too heavy. And then I would lose weight and my face would get skinny and people would say I had done something to my face and that I was too skinny. It must have been really hard because I’ve blocked it out a little. At the time, I felt almost proud of being skinny, but one day the mother of a fan came up to me and said, “Are you OK? Are they not feeding you?” After that, all of a sudden, I stopped being as concerned about everything. It wasn’t a big intervention or anything. I got off tour and changed. I started hanging out with my friends and cooking and had a more normal life.
Q: You seem comfortable in your own skin now. What’s the key to body confidence?
A: I have issues and insecurities just like everybody else. It really helps to have a partner that loves everything about you and makes you feel really beautiful. Not that you should look for other people to make you feel good about yourself, but it does help. Other than that, I really do feel like working out has helped because you’re working hard for something. You feel stronger and a little more powerful. There’s no trick, though. I hate my arms. Nobody is ever perfect, but it helps to look for things to feel good about, rather than things to feel bad about.