Valerie Bertinelli has wowed fans with her weight loss transformation over the past year. While she initially shed some pounds by doing ‘Dry January’ last year, she also has some more long-term weight loss secrets, which she didn’t hesitate to let her fans in on!
In a brand new interview with People to promote her cookbook, Indulge, the 63-year-old Hot in Cleveland star spoke about her current eating habits. And what she said was very refreshing to hear!
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Valerie Bertinelli Says She Doesn't 'Deny' Herself Anything
"I don't deny myself anything anymore," the One Day at A Time actress candidly told the magazine. "I think what do I want, as opposed to what am I going to eat because I need to be careful about calories," she continued, adding: "If I want pasta alle vongole, I'm going to make that. And I'm not going to feel one ounce of guilt about it." Music to our ears!
"But I also don't crave things anymore that won't necessarily feed my body all the nutrition that it needs," she also added.
What Did Valerie Bertinelli Say About 'Unconscious' And 'Emotional' Eating?
The Valerie's Home Cooking star also got candid about her eating habits in an interview with The Washington Post, where she revealed the things that worked for her – as well as the things that didn't – on her weight loss journey, and how her mindset changed once she turned 60.
"What wasn't working for me was living my life by a number. Because no matter what that number was, it wasn't going to be good enough," Bertinelli confessed, before telling readers how tackling unconscious and emotional eating was the real game changer.
"And I try to push it away, shove it away, eat it away, the feeling's not going to go anywhere. It's going to pop up again. It's not the food that's bad for us. It's how, or why, we're eating it," she explained. "If we're eating it unconsciously, if we're eating it to soothe an emotion."
Valerie Bertinelli's Thoughts On Ozempic And Unconscious Eating
Also in her People cover interview, Valerie touched on the controversial subject of weight loss drug Ozempic. While she hasn't admitted to using it, she said that she supports those who do, saying: "I think whatever people need to help them, if it helps, use it. Get rid of the food noise and then continue on."
Getting rid of the "food noise" for the Kids Baking Championship host meant working on her emotions and mental health. "Maybe it could have gone quicker, but why do I need to go quicker?" she asked. "Unless you do the emotional and mental work, weight is not going to stay off. But what I don't like is people poo-pooing others that have decided to use it."
She added: "I think anything you need to do, if you need to go on a diet, if you need to go on Weight Watchers, if you feel better doing paleo, or keto, if that makes you feel better, because my brother is doing keto and I tell him, 'Dude, eat a banana. It's not going to kill you.' But he says, 'This is working for me,' so, cool."
Valerie also confessed that she will undoubtedly "still have" those "moments" where she will unconsciously eat because she's feeling "something emotional," but she hopes that she will be able to control herself before fully falling back into her old habits.
"When I find myself unconsciously emotionally eating, I don't beat myself up. I go, OK, give myself a hug and say what's going on?" she said. "I've learned so much through all of it. I wished I'd learned a little quicker but I'm certainly going to enjoy the next 20 years. I see a happy ending."
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Valerie Bertinelli Previously Told Her Followers That 'Health Is Not A Body Size'
This isn't the first time Valerie has candidly opened up about health and weight. In October 2023, Bertinelli urged her followers to understand that their self-worth is not connected to their weight in a very candid and emotional video.
"I have done so much emotional and mental work to recover from years of pretending everything was OK when it wasn't," she said in the video. "Health is not a body size. Health is not the number you see on the scale. Your worth as a human being isn't dictated by your body."
"I thought I was fat the last time I wore these clothes," she confessed. "I've never felt more beautiful, more at peace, more mentally and emotionally stable than I do today, and I'm wearing my 'fat clothes.'"
