Kate Hudson covers the March issue of Shape in a pair of camo workout tights. I think she’s promoting her Fabletics clothing line, which offers a subscription service for workout clothes. (I looked into it, and decided it wasn’t for me after reading all the complaints about how hard it is to cancel.) Inside, Kate talks about her personal workout philosophy and how she finds it fun to work different types of exercise into her day. You have to hand it to Kate, she’s always admitted that she works out hard and counts calories, she’s doesn’t just blow smoke about how she “runs after her kids” to get those abs. Here’s some of what she said, with more in the print edition of Shape:

On having to prove herself to her brothers
I’ve always had that girly gene, but I lived with boys. So I’d go out in a party dress looking pretty and come back torn, muddy, and bruised. I was the sister who wanted to keep up. I was that bungee-jumping, rock-climbing kind of girl. My brothers and I would ski the double black diamond. Now that I look back, I can’t believe I did it.

By nature, I’ve always been a ‘dive in the deep end’ person. Literally. My mom says as a kid I used to jump in the deep end the pool without knowing how to swim.

Why she hates dieting
It puts so much pressure on people to lose weight quickly. Getting healthy is not a two-week process, it’s a change of lifestyle.

How shade from a French woman helped her rethink her diet
I was at my favorite French restaurant in Paris … eating everything I love … steak, fries, lots of wine. Then the dessert came, and I was having strawberries and cream pastries plus the wine. [Then,] a svelte, sophisticated woman approached [my] table. She pointed to my glass of wine. ‘This is your piece of cake. That’s how you should be thinking.’ And I always try to remember that: Everything in moderation!

On exercise and being active
I’ve been switching up from the softer stuff, like Pilates and yoga, to more aggressive activities like TRX and boxing. It’s not just about trying to look good physically, it’s important to get oxygen to my brain and feel like my blood is really circulating. I love skiing, walking, hiking and especially riding my bike. It makes me feel like I’m a kid again.

[From Shape via Page Six and Huffington Post]

I agree with her that you feel better when you’re exercising. It’s awesome when you get that high and suddenly feel happy. Exercise improves your whole day. Plus there’s something really wonderful about riding a bike, especially around a city. You feel like everyone else is missing out by walking around like chumps.

The story about that woman in a restaurant telling her not to drink and eat cake too was ridiculous. If some random person tried to tell me not to eat dessert I would have some words for them, I wouldn’t take it as inspiration. Kate has spoken in the past about how she doesn’t believe in diets, but she does count calories. It may sound like she’s arguing over semantics, but diets can be so much more limiting than calories. She’s not telling people to go on juice cleanses or cut out gluten and dairy like so many other celebrities.

Also, last week’s Star has a little blurb about Kate that sounds like it’s true. They claim that she was mistaken for a hostess at a restaurant and she played along by picking up menus and leading the guests to a table. The real hostess stopped her in time and “Kate was laughing her tail off.” It sounds just like her.

Kate is shown yesterday at a Michael Kors eyewear event credit: WENN.com and she’s also shown on 2-6 at a Fabletics photoshoot, credit: Pacific Coast News. Photos from Shape Magazine via Huffington Post