hilaryduff

Now, Hilary Duff has a healthier attitude towards food and exercise - one that reveals her choices to live a strong and healthy life, rather than cave to pressures to be thin. Hilary is now involved with the "Stay fit. Eat right. Looking good, California!" campaign.

Here is some of what Hilary Duff reveals in her interview:

SELF: Are you in the best shape of your life?

Hilary Duff: My sister and I last year really started to motivate each other to eat better and work out together and lose weight. We used to be so bad. Jack in the Box was my weakness, burgers and pizza and dessert all the time. I can?t even believe I used to eat as badly as I did. French fries were an obsession also, and I completely stopped eating them a year ago. It?s funny that when you don?t let yourself have something for a while you don?t miss it as much.

How often do you do pilates?

I try to do pilates three times a week. It?s hard, though, because now I?ve told all my friends about my pilates instructor and my little secret place and now I can?t even get my own appointment! I?ll also go to the gym with my sister and friend and do cardio.

Like what?

I run on the treadmill. I start off in a power walk on a high incline to warm up so I won?t get cramps and stuff, and then I?ll lower it. I can?t jog on an incline. I?d be so tired! I also do the elliptical. I get really out of breath and get a headache on the treadmill, so the elliptical is better. Also, it works your arms.

Plus, there?s no danger of falling off!

You know what?s funny? I was at the gym yesterday with my best girlfriend and it was raining hard so our tennis shoes were wet. We were thinking what if we fall off and slip? And this really big guy did it. He fell off his treadmill. I was trying not to laugh but it was so funny. And it made this huge thud noise. We were like, thank God that wasn?t us!

You credit pilates with your weight loss.

With everything! Seriously, my body changed in three weeks. I?ve always been really muscular; that?s why pilates is good for me. I have broad shoulders and if I do weights or something I?ll bulk up and feel manly, but pilates lengthens me out. Also you feel really powerful.

Do you have an eating philosophy?

Eating should be fun. I did Atkins for three days and I was in the worst mood and so tired. I?m from Texas, so I?m a big meat eater, but I was like oh, no more! I believe in proportion. If I eat bread when they bring bread to the table, I won?t eat pasta or potatoes. Or I?ll try to not have the bread because I know I want dessert. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

How would you eat differently if you had more time?

Probably I?d be able to have a more balanced diet. Because sometimes, I?ll eat something in the morning but then I could spend all day driving around going to meetings, doing this, doing that. I don?t have time to eat so I?ll be so starving for dinner that I?ll eat anything in sight. That?s when you get in trouble, I think. If you try to eat more throughout the day, then you?re more controlled. It helps a lot if I?m around my mom. She?s a diabetic, so she has to eat five times a day or else her blood sugar goes all crazy. That?s a good way to go about things.

You?re launching a new clothing line. You don?t show a lot of skin. Why don?t you have to expose everything to be sexy or look good?

When I feel sexy, I don?t always have fewer clothes on. My clothing line is for girls who are 7 to 14, so we?d never do [overtly sexy clothes] anyway, but I have a line coming out for girls who are 15 to 20 and it?ll be stuff I?d wear. I know when I wear something that?s a little more skimpy, there have been cases where I feel insecure about myself. I don?t feel confident. I?d rather wear a pencil skirt, something I?d feel sexy in. I just think that there is so much more about not showing off everything you have that?s sexy, and leaving sex to the imagination and feeling confident.