Jennifer Garner's life has taken a turn since having her adorable daughter Violet. She's spending more time playing in the pool to have fun than she is doing laps to burn calories, and she couldn't be happier. Recently Jennifer sat down with Self to talk about her own life and health with a toddler, including what she does to prepare her body for swimsuit season. Here are highlights:

Self: [Summer] is relaxing. Do you also feel more motivated to work out?
JG: Of course! You're in a bikini! In the winter, you feel like, Who cares? I am in my husband's sweater. It doesn't matter. But in May, everybody kicks it into gear.

Self: What do you do to prepare your body for swimsuit season?
JG: I try to decrease the overall size of my butt!

There's more including what she eats to stay healthy and how she protects herself from the sun so read more.

Self: Do you work out?
JG: I am exercising again. I started feeling like I didn't have time or energy for it, but now I realize I didn't have energy because I wasn't exercising. So I work out with my trainer or do an hour of pilates at 6 or 7 A.M. I'm done by the time my household is awake. I don't do it every day, and if I need to cancel, I cancel.

Self: So you don't feel like you have to work out constantly?
JG: No. It's not like I'm trying to get into Elektra shape. I'm just trying to feel good. We also have a pool, and I've been known to swim laps. But mostly I splash around and throw a kid. There are always nephews and neighbors over.

Self: What do you do to protect yourself from the sun?
JG: Every day, I use a moisturizer with SPF so I don't have to worry about it. But if I'm going to be in the sun, it's a whole different ball of wax. Then I get serious and put on, like, SPF 1 million! I mean, why not? You might as well do everything you can to protect yourself. It's no joke.

Self: Besides exercising and wearing sunscreen, what's your healthiest summer habit?
JG: I eat more food that's straight out of the earth. You can eat everything from the farmers market: just-picked corn, lettuce, all kinds of produce.

That's no joke about the farmers market. Check out these pics of Jen and Violet shopping.