Hilary Duff’s approach to diet and fitness is refreshingly realistic and easy to follow (2024)

Hilary Duff's approach to fitness is all about feeling good from the inside out, the star has shared in numerous interviews.

“I really like to be active. I have a lot of energy that I need to burn off or else I’m like, 'Blah!' So I feel better when I’m active,” she told Marie Claire in 2023.

Still, the mom of four is the first to admit that she's more focused on living a balanced life than seeking physical perfection — even though she's been praised for her gym body numerous times.

“(I’m) appreciating my health, doing activities that make me feel strong instead of just bettering the outside of my body, spending time with people that make me feel good and share similar views on health and body positivity and getting enough sleep and balance in my diet,” she told Women’s Health Australia in 2022.

Wondering how Duff stays committed to her health and wellness goals even with four kids at home and a thriving acting career? Here's everything she's shared about her fitness routine.

She prefers to work out in the morning when she can

If you regularly hit the snooze button, a morning workout may not be your thing. But Duff told Women’s Health she prefers to check exercising off her to do list early on in the day, especially during the hectic holiday season because “it’s nice to get it out of the way and just know you did it.”

She amps up her workouts with weights

If getting stronger is one of your main fitness goals, investing in some weights is a solid first step.

“Lifting weights, as a woman, is really important. It’s important for your bones. It’s important for us constantly being on our cell phones and our posture,” Duff told Women’s Health in 2023.

In the past, the star said she steered clear of lifting weights for fear that she would “bulk up,” but she changed her tune over time.

“I’m lifting and squatting and using a barbell with lots of weight on it, and I’ve never felt so strong but lean,” she told Women’s Health in 2019.

The actor also likes to challenge herself by adding weighted vests to her cardio workouts, especially when she’s hiking.

“I was doing that 12-3-30 workout (on my treadmill), but it was getting really easy for me,” she told Women’s Health in 2023. “So then, I started wearing a 12-pound weighted vest, and it got hard again. But I like it.”

She enjoys the social aspect of working out

“I like grabbing a workout or a hike with a friend," she told Marie Claire in 2023. "For me, it’s a little more social and more motivating to be in a room of people working out instead of constantly doing it by yourself."

She likes her workouts extra sweaty

While discussing her love for heated workouts with Women’s Health in 2023, Duff said she appreciates that they focus on “purging of toxins” and help her get “a little bit more sweaty.” She’s particularly fond of taking a HIIT Pilates class in a heated studio.

“There’s nothing better than the way (that workout) makes your skin feel,” she said. “You feel like you got rid of what you needed to get rid of, and then your skin just feels so nice. I really like that feeling.”

She strives to practice mindful eating

Once she started working with a dieting coach, Duff realized just how many extra calories she was taking in while eating mindlessly.

“I had no idea how much I was eating throughout the day, snacking,” she told Women’s Health in 2019. “I lost 10 pounds and I was not starving myself, and just eating things that I like and being more conscious.”

She’s a fan of resistance training

When Duff started working with her personal trainer,Dominic Leeder, he focused on building “lean muscle mass” and targeting her metabolism through resistance training, he told Women’s Health Australia in 2022. The duo started by “super-setting” both strength and stability exercises.

“We are looking at around 75-85% of her one rep max. So, that’s a weight that you can quite happily do eight to 10 reps with perfect form. After that we would then drop the weight down and do eight reps at a slower rep range. I’ve found it’s the best way to gain lean muscle mass if it’s mixed with a sensible, science-based diet.”

The pro then offered an example of a superset, suggesting that people do eight push-ups then get onto a stability ball with light weights right afterward and do a chest press with a 4-2-1 count rep range.

“That’s four seconds down, holding for two at the bottom of the movement, pressing up for one. That would be a good example for a chest superset. With Hilary, we did four one-hour sessions a week, and then up to five sessions a week,” he said.

She loves playing tennis with her husband

Duff aims to play tennis for one hour every week with her husband, Matthew Koma, typically on Sundays.

“My husband and I have that together, which is really nice. About two years ago, I told him, ‘Here’s the deal: We need a sport so we still like each other when the kids leave the house,’” she told Women’s Health.

“I’m really loving that escape and that little break,” she told Shape in 2023. “It’s a really complex game, and it’s hard to think about other things when you’re playing. It kind of drowns out all the buzzing in my head.”

While talking with Bustle in 2023, Duff said tennis has helped her manage “stress and overthinking” because “there’s so much to learn and think about when you’re playing that your brain really shuts off and takes a break.”

She counts macros

While working with a dieting coach and personal trainer, Duff has learned that counting macros can be a great way to maintain a balanced diet.

Macros (aka macronutrients) are the nutrients your body needs a lot of, including carbs, proteins and fats. Counting your macros can offer you more flexibility in your diet and the practice also lets you eat more of what you want without eliminating certain food groups.

While chatting with Women’s Health, Duff said counting macros and following a custom weekly menu has been “really successful” for her.

In 2020, Duff took to Instagram to shout out her dieting coach and said counting macros has helped her “stay lean even while eating bread, chocolate, and wine.”

Leeder told Women's Health Australia that carbs, in particular, are extra important if you're working out regularly.

“There’s a huge misconception that carbohydrates are the devil. Complexcarbs, in my opinion, are imperative. If you don’t have carbs, your body will use other things for energy, like protein. And because of the way I work with resistance training, we want that protein to go to the lean muscle build to help their metabolism. We need carbs, and the right carbs are going to (satiate) you," he said.

She’s realistic about pregnancy weight gain

The mother of four knows a thing or two about pregnancy weight gain.

“It was so hard for me. It’s such a bummer, honestly. You have this new baby. Or, in my case, (my first born child) was 1, and I was like, ‘I still have this body! What happened?’” she told Cosmopolitan in 2016.

Duff acknowledged that it takes “a lot of focus and dedication” to get back into shape after pregnancy and she shared a few methods that helped her.

“Talking to your friends about it. Just trying to motivate and reserve your energy to make sure you can get to the gym. Really cutting out things that are your vices for a little while,” she said.

She works hard to balance time at the gym with family time

Duff is dedicated to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but she’s also passionate about her career and family. Finding a way to balance every aspect of her life can be challenging at times, but Duff’s trainer Leeder told Women’s Health Australia he's worked with her to continuously set new fitness goals based on her current needs.

“What we ended up going with was, well, our goal right now is to maintain what we have while still having a fantastic life. ... She then went into filming for another show so it became even more difficult (to train together),” he said. “But because that was our goal, we more times than not managed to keep that going, so she can stay mentally happy. And then when she finishes that work, we’ll ramp back up again and we’ll find some new goals.”

She stays active chasing after her kids

Kids have an endless amount of energy, and Duff has learned that keeping up with them can qualify as a workout.

“Luca and I swim all the time, and he is an avid scooter rider, so I got a scooter, too, which is so embarrassing to be an adult on a scooter, but when I’m with him, it’s so much fun,” she told People in 2018. “Then we jump on the trampoline; we have a trampoline in the backyard. And his favorite game is tag right now, and he’s so fast. His legs are so long, so I’m actually running as fast as I can, and I can still beat him, but it’s a good workout.”

She’s done trying to be ‘perfect’

When you’re in the public eye, there’s a certain amount of pressure to look a certain way. Duff has certainly encountered her fair share of insecurity. However, she now tries to be kinder to herself.

“I don’t put a ton of pressure on myself to be, like, perfect,” she told Cosmopolitan in 2016. “When I was younger, I felt a lot more pressures. I probably cared a lot more of what people said or thought about me.”

Becoming a mom helped usher in this new mentality.

“After having a kid, I don’t come first anymore. I don’t have as much time to worry about it. Obviously, I care about how I look, and I care about taking care of myself and being in a good mental place, and working out really helps that, but I also like to eat food and drink drinks and enjoy my life,” she said.

After having her second child, a daughter named Banks, Duff said her perspective on body image shifted.

“I’m proud of my body. I’m proud that it’s produced three children for me. I’ve gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through,” she told Women’s Health while posing nude for the magazine in 2022.

She likes to prep meals ahead of time when she can

To avoid making impulsive, unhealthy meal choices, Duff told Cosmopolitan she likes to meal prep when she has time.

“I try to make stuff over the weekend, like a big thing of quinoa to throw in some salad,” she said in 2016. “I cook for a 4-year-old all the time, so if I don’t have stuff on hand that’s healthy for me, I’ll just clean up his plate, and that’s not a good look.”