When a new season of The Hills premieres on September 29, Lauren Conrad will be noticeably absent. And while Lauren’s been the center of The Hills for years, she says that she’s finally ready for a new endeavor. But she wasn’t always. Lauren needed to find a way to restore her shaky confidence, by brushing off the biting criticisms of others, before she could take a new step. 

“People I thought I could count on were undermining me, and my self-esteem took a hit,” Lauren says. “My mom kept saying, ‘Let it go, Lauren. It doesn’t matter.’ My friend also sat me down and asked, ‘Why do you care what people say about you? How does it really affect you at the end of the day?’” Lauren has since put the past behind her- and inked a new tattoo that says ‘sticks and stones,’- homage to the idea that words will never hurt her!

Lauren also finds that diet and fitness play a big role in feeling confident. Instead of calorie counting, she now eats a healthy, flexible diet.

“I’ve found when all I’m eating is really fresh, healthy foods, I stop craving pizza and burgers,” says Lauren. Instead of junk food, she opts for “fruit, like watermelon and grapefruit; organic salad greens; and lean protein, like turkey, tuna, and beans,” according to her interview in Shape magazine.

Lauren and her boyfriend Kyle Howard also started working out together instead of lingering over long dinners and skipping activity, a relationship routine that led to a little extra weight around the middle.

“We like doing outdoor stuff: tennis, bike riding, kayaking, stand-up surfing, hiking in the canyons around L.A. I just ask Kyle, ‘You feel like working out?’ It’s more fun than hitting the gym alone.”

For more of Lauren’s workout, check out the ‘Do-Anywhere Workout’ that she does with trainer Jarett Del Bene over at shape.com. It uses lots of resistance bands to tone in 20 minutes!