Attention Michael J. Fox fans: Teen Wolf is back. Fox isn’t signed on to star, but MTV has done a surprisingly awesome job with the update (which debuted June 5, right after the MTV Movie Awards), and we’re pretty stoked to see what happens past the pilot. That’s why we sat down with Holland Roden—who stars as bratty, sassy, popular girl Lydia Martin on the show--to talk food, fitness and why cupcakes solve everything.

What’s your healthy living motto?
I’m obsessed with Oprah. I’ve missed zero episodes in almost five years. And she really promotes ‘live your best life, and be the best that you can be.’ So I’m a big advocate of not comparing yourself to other people because they digest food differently, and their bodies take to exercise differently, so you’re really wasting time when you compare yourself to other people.

What’s your food philosophy like?
Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. If I wake up and I’m not hungry (although, usually I am, because I love breakfast) I listen to my body. There’s emotional eating and then there’s physical hunger. I would say that 90 percent of the time, I use food as fuel. When I’m emotionally hungry, I try and find something else to do.

What about the other 10 percent of the time?
Sometimes, I know I want a cupcake purely because I‘ve had a bad day, and it’s okay to give into that sometimes. You’re never going to be perfect.

What do you do for a workout?
I dance. I go rock climbing. I surf. My siblings go out for three or four hours, and then they’re done, but I could surf all day long. I love when exercise sneaks its way in. I took a piloxing class the other night, and it’s my new favorite thing. It’s ballet and kickboxing, with a little bit of jazz and hip-hop—all while you’re wearing these weighted boxing gloves. You get the best workout, but it’s so much fun.

What do you do when you’re just not up for being positive and healthy?
I definitely struggled with a funk when I was growing up. The way you exercise your body, you need to exercise your mind. Motivational tapes get a bad rap, but sometimes, if I’m in a really bad mood and I can’t get out of my own head, it helps to bring a third party in. Either that, or I’ll go volunteer at an animal shelter or at the Boys & Girls Club. When you focus on someone else, you can usually forget whatever was bothering you in the first place.