AceShowbiz - Nicole "Snooki" Polizzo made use of her own self confidence to overcome her eating disorder. The "Jersey Shore" star has discussed how she learned to embrace herself and how her relationship with her body changed over the years.

"In high school, I suffered from an eating disorder - not eating, anorexic. Cheerleading did that to me," she told E! News.

"But then I just felt so confident in myself. I was like, 'You know what? Whatever, I don't care what size I am. As long as I'm happy and I'm enjoying life, I don't really care.' "

The 36-year-old reality star explained how her "body fluctuates" due to her height, which has only been exasperated since the mum-of-three became a parent.

Recalling her defiant confidence, she added, "When I went on the show, that's kind of where my mindset was at because I wasn't at my thinnest. And my body fluctuates so much because I'm so short. So like gaining five pounds looks 25 pounds on me because I'm only 4'9". So it's hard to maintain, especially after three kids."

Snooki - who has children Lorenzo, 11, Giovanna, nine, and Angelo, four, with husband Jionni LaValle - is now focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle for her and her kids. She explained, "My mindset now is I don't want to be skinny. I don't want to be thin. I want to be strong."

"Like, I want my muscles back. I want to be able to run around [with] my kids, not be out of breath. Or like... walk up the stairs and not be dying. So, my goal right now is to just be strong and have muscles."

She is glad to have retained that outlook while living in the public eye. She said, "During the whole show process back in the day of my weight fluctuating - like being very heavy and then losing weight - I never cared what anyone thought about me. I was like, 'I'm happy, I'm good, I'm confident. I feel confident in my skin no matter what size."