Hilary Duff Says Women's Health Nude Photo Shoot Was 'Scary,' But She's 'So Happy' She Did It

Speaking with ET at Disney's upfront event on Tuesday, the "How I Met Your Father" star admitted the whole thing was "scary," but that's a big part of why she pushed through that fear and did it anyway. It also helped that she was made to feel safe through the whole process.

"it was an all-female set that day, and so that was very-- everyone was just there boosting me up and making me feel great and beautiful," she told the outlet. "I'm so happy I did it."

Leading into the shoot, though, Duff said that in some ways it surprised herself as much as it did the rest of us that she did it at all. "I'm not that person that cruises around my house naked, ever," she said, admitting that "it was scary."

At the same time, she explained that she likes "to do thinks that kinda make me a little uncomfortable," laughing that "this was obviously that."

Duff has come a long way in her relationship with her body. In the accompanying interview with Women's Health, she opened up about a "horrifying" eating disorder when she was 17. Since then, she's reached a place where she really is "proud" of her body.

"I'm proud that it's produced three children for me," Duff told the magazine "I've gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through."

"I also want people to know a makeup artist was there putting glow all over my body and someone put me in the most flattering position," she added, keeping it real.

"I think that, at 34, I have just gained a lot of respect for my body. It's taken me all the places I need to go," she continued. "It's helped me build a beautiful family. I feel like the older I get, the more confident I get in my own skin ... I'm really just fascinated by one, being a woman. And two, all the changes that your body can go through throughout your lifetime."

The magazine also outlined just how Duff prepared for the naked photoshoot, saying she started working out with a new trainer in the month's before the shoot. Her workouts -- which went for about an hour, four times a week -- included everything from squats to lunges and dumbbell rows and focused on lean muscle mass.

"I slept better, I felt better,” said Duff, who also went for hikes or played tennis on her off days and admitted she has reduced the "intensity" of workouts since the revealing shoot.