Valerie Bertinelli Talks Food Addiction, Keeping The Weight Off

Five years ago, Valerie Bertinelli vowed to lose weight. I remember her declaration to lose weight with Jenny Craig article very specifically, not because she seemed emboldened, but because of the schlubby jeans and baggy top they put the woman in to make her seem worse for wear than she was. Still, the woman had to put in a lot of hard work to achieve her weight goal. Years later, Bertinelli has firmed up those thighs and worked to become a healthier human being, but she also says she regrets some of the things she put into her body in the past.

Bertinelli is set to appear opposite Dr. Oz on Monday, and People has a look at what the episode will entail. In the episode, the Hot in Cleveland actress discusses her ups and downs about her weight and the path she is happy she is on now.

"I'm a master at losing weight. I've done it almost my whole life. I've lost weight. I've gained it back. I've lost weight, and I gained it back. This is the very first time in my life that I have kept this much weight off for as long as I have."

The woman has been a master of losing weight, dropping over 40 lbs. with the Jenny Craig program. Mastering such a challenge would have been nearly impossibly in the past. The actress openly admits to low self-worth and says that both drugs and a bad relationship with food made it hard for her to stay healthy, both physically and spiritually. One was an easier habit to refine than the other, however.

"I was never really addicted to drugs. That's why it was so easy for me to stop. But food is a whole other thing. And I used food as a crutch, and I abused food in a way that I shouldn't have. And it made me afraid of food for a while, too, but now I embrace it."

You can tell things are going a lot better for Bertinelli these days. Not only is she happier, fitter, and more productive, things are going more smoothly in her personal life, too. In 2011, the actress married her long-time boyfriend, Tom Vitale, and now she’s even put together a new cookbook. To catch some recipes and some wisdom from the actress, check your local listings to see when The Dr. Oz Show episode will air.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.