Hilary Duff would rather pull off her finger nails than go on a diet.

The former 'Lizzie McGuire' actress puts her enviable figure down to a strict exercise regime but isn't prepared to give up her favourite foods altogether in order to stay in shape.

She said: ''I'd rather have someone pull my fingernails off than hunker down and go on an actual diet.

''I work out with weighted balls, battle ropes, and big rubber bands.

''I do this think with a sledge-hammer where I swing it and hit a rubber block, and it gets out all of my aggressions. Everyone is like, 'Uh-oh, Hilary's got the hammer - get out of the way!'''

The 27-year-old star - who insists the ''key to a happy life is cheese'' - has learned to accept that her own opinion of her body will change from time to time.

She said: ''Some days I feel great, others I feel pretty normal, and that's acceptable''.

Hilary added that being a mother to her three-year-old son Luca - whom she has with her estranged husband Mike Comrie - is a work out in itself.

She told Shape magazine: ''The other day we went to Disneyland and he fell asleep in my arms, and I had to carry him back to my car, which was a 30-minute walk. I was dying.''