Hilary Duff Shares How She Learned to Love Her Body

Hey now, Hilary Duff's approach to self-love is what dreams are made of. 

"When everyone in my household is happy, that's when I feel the most confident," the How I Met Your Father star told E! News in an exclusive interview while promoting her partnership with the vitamin and supplement brand OLLY. "And, to be honest, when I'm working. I love my job, too. I love what I do and that's a huge boost, to be feeling confident in the workspace, but also, when my whole household is thriving, that makes me feel great, too. You feel Superwoman powers when everyone's had a great day."

The former Disney Channel darling is mom to daughters Banks Violet, 4, and Mae James, 2, with husband Matthew Koma, and her 11-year-old son Luca Cruz Comrie with ex Mike Comrie.

While striking that balance between her home life and professional commitments takes "a lot of work," Duff said, her evolved approach to fitness has helped her maintain a routine.

"You have to make it a priority for yourself and your health," the 36-year-old explained. "I had to change my mindset around it and not be like, 'This is for my body. This is for me to look good.' I have to be like, 'No, this is for me to be good inside for my family.' It's not just about what's on the outside, it's about what's happening to your brain."

Listing hikes, weight lifting and the Tracy Anderson Method as some of her current favorite ways of exercising, Duff also revealed that tennis has proven to be a "really big break from the noise" of her busy life.

Even though Duff admitted she is "lucky because she loves to work out," she doesn't put pressure on herself to exercise and knows it's totally okay to miss a Monday.

"It feels liberating," she expressed. "My body is changing. It's really important to listen to that and be still sometimes, too. We're so plugged in and there's constant noise, so t's really important to recharge in calming ways."

So what are some of those grounding practices that the Younger alum turns to?  

"It looks like a few different things," she shared. "It looks like phone calls to friends. It looks like a swim with my family. It looks like a bath with salts and a hair mask. It looks like hiding and reading a book and scrolling on my phone. Sometimes it looks like a corpse lying in bed with the TV remote in my hand. I have multiple things that feel good to me and it just depends on what I am in need of in that moment."

That flexible approach to self-care comes after struggling with body image issues and her relationship with food during her teenage years, a journey Duff has spoken candidly about in the past. 

"I am still working out, but I'll have some bad eating days and I don't really care and then I clean up my act, and I'm like, 'Well, we're going out again tonight and I'm drinking a couple too many glasses of wine,' and that's okay," Duff said of her mindset. "It's all about balance and what feels good and, as I get older, it feels good to not care as much and be appreciative of my body in other ways."

And becoming a mom was also what dreams were made of for Duff.

"I'm obsessed with my kids," she gushed. "I am so lucky I got to grow them and birth them and with every single one of them my body has changed a little bit, and I'm cool with it. It feels good."

Still, when things get a little too hectic with her busy schedule and all three of her kids now being in school, Duff turns to Olly's "Goodbye Stress" gummy vitamins along with her coffee for an assist in the morning.

"I usually pop a couple before I am leaving the house," she said, "and we're out the door."