Zooey Deschanel: Working Out to Be Skinny Is ‘So Boring’

Zooey Deschanel shows off her sunny disposition on the cover of Self magazine. - Pamela Hanson"Most people spend too much time comparing themselves to others," Zooey Deschanel insists in Self magazine's latest issue. "Get to know yourself a little bit better. Stop and ask yourself a few questions, and think about you."

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So what's the 31-year-old star of "(500) Days of Summer" thinking about when it comes to herself these days? Plenty. In addition to her singing and acting and career -- which includes a new Fox sitcom premiering in the fall -- Deschanel says she spends her time tweeting, baking, blogging, writing, playing the ukulele, and catching "TopChef" with her hubby, Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard. Then there's her new venture, HelloGiggles.com, a humor site aimed at women for a change."There's a lot of dude comedy out there and not enough outlets for funny, creative girls, so my friends and I decided to build one," she explains.

Zooey says she can "hula-hoop" for hours ... and proved it during the photo shoot. - Pamela Hanson

Despite the packed schedule, Deschanel still finds time to exercise, of course, but you won't find her spending mindless hours on the elliptical machine, hoping to shed a few pounds. "A lot of people work out to be skinny. That's so boring, and it seems like a depressing goal for a modern woman. I work out to be healthy and because I like it," she explains, adding that she makes sure to focus on sports or fitness classes that engage her mind as well.

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"If you're active, fitness will follow; and probably a good figure, too," says Deschanel. "When I exercise, I like to take lots of different classes because I want to really apply myself and feel like I'm learning a new skill."

"I work out to be healthy and because I like it," the 31-year-old explains. - Pamela Hanson

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If Deschanel sounds like she has it together, well, she does. But that doesn't mean she was always this even-keeled.

"If I could give my teenaged self any advice, it would be 'Calm down!' In fact, if I could relive one day of my life, it would be the worst day of seventh grade, just so I could appreciate how much better life is now."

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