Hilary Duff “The Weight Doesn’t Fall Off Overnight”

Three months after giving birth to her first child, Hilary Duff says she’s not back to her ideal weight. But she has hit back against a cascade of mean-spirited chatter which hit the internet last week in response to photographs of the 24-year-old in a bikini.

‘Say it to my face,’ dared the With Love singer. ‘I’m not perfect, but I feel fantastic,’ Hilary told In Touch magazine. ‘This is how it goes for most women – the weight doesn’t fall off overnight.’

The actress and singer told the magazine she has been exercising ‘a few’ times a week, mixing spin classes with private training sessions. While many of Hilary’s fans were supportive of her wearing a bikini despite her extra post-baby pounds, others were cruel:

‘A month or so ago I was concerned that she wouldn’t even try to lose weight,’ wrote one online critic. ‘Now I’m convinced she doesn’t even care how she looks, gross!’

‘She’s turned into her mother. That happens,’ wrote another.

‘I don’t care what people say. I’m not back to where I want to be, but I’m not stressing it,’ said the Gossip Girl actress.

Hilary began dating NHL player Mike Comrie in 2007. In February 2010, the couple announced their engagement. Hilary and Mike married in August 2010 in Santa Barbara, California, and Duff gave birth to their first child, a son Luca Cruz Comrie, on March 20 this year.