-1
The singer says she had to give up her workouts in order to balance her hectic life. Tumblr

Gwen Stefani admits that she is no longer as obsessed with exercise and fitness as she once was.

The "No Doubt" singer, known for her rock hard abs, posed for the January cover of Marie Claire and told the magazine that she had to regroup her priorities in juggling work, marriage and kids.

“This past year, I kind of stopped working out. I think my body just needed a break. And so I did that and focused more on feeling good as opposed to beating myself up,” she said.

While recording No Doubt’s latest album “Push and Shove,” the singer detailed that her schedule was so hectic she had to give up something.

“I would be up all night because my second baby didn’t sleep, and he had a lot of ear infections. Then I’d wake up in the morning and do my workout, which I always felt I had to do, and then meetings for my three clothing lines, and then hang out with my kids, take them to preschool – da, da, da.”

Stefani admits that she once followed a strict routine of exercising five times a week.

According to Fit Sugar, the singer’s exercise regime consisted of weight lifting, boxing, and cardio.

In August, she told Harper’s Bazaar that she could not image not having a demanding workout routine.

“There is no secret: You just have to eat healthy, work out, and torture yourself!” she said.

“I’d like to have no rules and eat what I want, but I’ve learned over the years that I’m so disappointed when I can’t wear the clothes I want to wear.”

“If I let myself down, appear on stage when I’m not looking my best, it’s not fun for me. I just beat myself up about it.”

Despite still working hard to put out records with her band, Stefani says that she would prefer to be spending time with her sons, Kingston and Zuma.

“At four o’clock, I’d be like, ‘All right, I’m out of here. I’m going to go to the studio and try to write a record.’ I’d sit on the couch [with my band mates] and be like, ‘Let’s do this now, because I’m missing time with the kids. I could be having dinner with them and putting them to bed.’ It was really hard,” she said in her recent interview.

Giving up her workout routine does not seem to have affected the singer, as she looks as fit as ever in her sophisticated Marie Claire shoot. The January issue is currently on stands.