Hilary Duff knows firsthand how hard it is to be a multi-hyphenate—especially during the hectic holiday season. The actress, singer, Below 60° Chief Brand Director, and mom of three is no stranger to navigating a jam-packed schedule, which might mean sneaking in a sweat sesh amid the festive frenzy.
"We have so much going on with school events and birthdays and other stuff. Our fall is really busy," Hilary tells Women's Health. "And we always host Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house."
So, how does Hilary balance holiday hosting with taking care of her health? Well, she sat down with WH to share all her best tips and tricks.
An early morning sweat sesh is a must for Hilary.
Morning workouts, especially during this time of year, are the How I Met Your Father actress' favorite holiday health hack, because "you feel like you spend all day eating and drinking, [so] it's nice to get it out of the way and just know you did it," she explains. "All the places that I work out at are open on the holidays in the morning for one class."
Hilary's go-to workout classes are the Tracy Anderson Method, and Silver Springs, the latter of which offers a HIIT Pilates class in a heated studio. The Lizzie McGuire star loves that heated workouts allow her to get "a little bit more sweaty" and are all about "purging of toxins."
"There's nothing better than the way [that workout] makes your skin feel," Hilary says. "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 keeps family time active, too.
When Hilary's kids—Luca, 11, Banks, 5, and Mae, 2—are home from school, she fills her days with active family activities—whether that's swimming or jumping on the trampoline.
The "Never Let You Go" singer even ropes in her husband, Matthew Koma, for some quality couple time that involves movement.
"I play tennis every Sunday. 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 says with a laugh. "So now, we ski, which is obviously seasonal. And we play tennis together, which is really fun." (The couple that sweats together stays together!)
When it's time for a solo sweat sesh, Hilary opts for strength training.
"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," she says. "...I'm not talking like crazy heavy weights. You know, I'm not a bodybuilder. But it is nice to lift weights." Plus, she points out that weight training helps women's bodies stay strong as they age.
Sometimes, that also means incorporating weights into her cardio workouts (a.k.a. rucking). "I was doing that 12-3-30 workout [on my treadmill], but it was getting really easy for me," she says. "So then, I started wearing a 12-pound weighted vest, and it got hard again. But I like it."
Hilary also wears a weighted vest when she hikes. "Depending on how strong I feel, I might take out some weights," she explains with a self-deprecating laugh. "But, yeah, I'm doing a lot of weightlifting right now, [and] I like wearing weights."
Hilary goes beyond the gym to take care of herself.
"Self-care, to me, has turned into many different elements. It's not just like, oh, I'm dry brushing or taking a bath or exercising or hydrating... relaxing and rest is important, and exercise is important, but creating your sanctuary is a huge part of self-care," she shares.
For Hilary, creating her self-care sanctuary starts with scent because it's "an expression of how I'm feeling," she says. It's why she's became the Chief Brand Director of Below 60°, an all-natural plug-in fragrance warmer company. "Below 60° is just a staple in my household now... It's really nice to work on a product that helps kind of create my identity and help me express my style and who I am in my household," she says.
It's also a way for the Younger alum to bond with her family—especially her daughters, Banks and Mae. "The girls are super in tune, and they love playing the game of, 'Do we like this [scent]? Do we not?'" she says. "It's very fun to be like, 'Okay, we're testing this [new scent], what does everybody think?' And the girls like everything pretty much."
Overall, Hilary's approach to health is all about moderation.
It can be hard to balance workouts and healthy eating with lots of decadent food and family time during the holidays, and for Hilary, that's okay.
"I don't think that a day is going to make a difference in your diet or your body. And I think that celebrating and food is a really good way to connect with the ones you love," she says.
In fact, that motto isn't just for the holidays. It applies to all aspects of the star's life. "I'm constantly trying to make healthier decisions, but I'm also a very balanced person in that some of the products we use aren't clean, and some of the food we buy is artificial," Hilary says. "You do what you can, and you try to make the best choices. So that's kind of my motto for our household."
Lindsay Geller is the Lifestyle Director at Women’s Health, where she oversees the Life, Sex & Love, and Relationships sections on WomensHealthMag.com and the Mind section of Women's Health magazine. When she's not writing or editing articles about the latest dating trends and pop culture phenomenons, she's usually watching reality TV or playing with her dog, Lucille (Go Fetch That) Ball.
