Everything Valerie Bertinelli Has Said About Her Weight-Loss Journey

Valerie Bertinelli has been acting ever since the 1970s when she appeared in a show called "Apple's Way." Since then, she's acted in numerous projects, hosted cooking shows, and written books. Along with her career, she's also become known for something else: being open about her weight-loss journey. From struggling with her self-image during the early years of her acting career to finding peace and learning to accept and love herself later on, Bertinelli has come a long way in her journey, even if she's experienced her share of ups and downs.

In a 2024 Instagram post that's since been deleted, she shared some words about how far she's come, along with a throwback photo of herself in a purple bikini. "This is a 150lb body on a 5'4 frame," she wrote in the caption (via People). "I don't weigh myself anymore because this is considered overweight by whose standards I don't know. It's stupid and I believed them for far too long." Bertinelli went on to talk about what she gained when she ditched the scale for good, saying, "I now, finally, know that I am a kind, considerate, funny, thoughtful woman. So please remember, who you are and what your character is, should never be overshadowed by what size you are or how much you weigh. You are enough. Just the way you are. F— 'em."

In her 2022 memoir "Enough Already," Valerie Bertinelli opened up about early experiences that impacted how she viewed not just her weight but herself as a whole. "I watched my father treat my mother badly when she would gain weight," she reminisced (via People). "I had a fifth grade teacher poke my belly and say, 'You want to keep an eye on that.' So I learned at a very young age that when you gain weight, you're not lovable. And what I'm learning is that your body is not what makes you lovable."

It seemed that Bertinelli also struggled with toxic diet culture during the early days of her acting career, especially when it came to comparing herself to her co-stars. While working on the show "One Day at a Time," she started comparing herself to fellow actor Mackenzie Phillips: "I had pretended to be the bubbly upbeat all-American girl, but in private, I have rarely thought of myself as anything but a failure."

While her particular experiences may have been unique to her, unfortunately, issues with weight and body image are not. In fact, a 2011 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners cites earlier research claiming that 53% of American girls aren't happy with their bodies, and this number balloons to 78% by the time they turn 17. Bertinelli's early life experiences highlight how some of these issues could begin to take root.

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

In 2007, Valerie Bertinelli began her partnership with Jenny Craig, a weight-loss program that offered prepackaged meals intended to help dieters reach their weight-loss goals without having to stress about planning or preparing their food. Over the course of a year, then-47-year-old Bertinelli succeeded in losing 40 pounds. In a 2010 interview with Good Housekeeping, Bertinelli revealed that her focus wasn't on losing more weight so much as finding ways to maintain her weight loss, with an emphasis on nutrition rather than comparing herself to unrealistic beauty standards.

While talking to the outlet, Bertinelli also discussed working with Jenny Craig and how it had helped her feel more connected to others who were also on a weight-loss journey. "This has really, really been good for me," she said. "People come up to me and tell me how I changed their life and I've inspired them. And they tell me their stories, and that keeps me going. This really is the great leveler and equalizer — when people talk about their weight and how they let it consume their lives."

Along with adapting her eating habits and exercising more, Valerie Bertinelli was also changing the way she looked at clothing as her body gradually changed. In two years, she had gone from 172 pounds to around 125 pounds, which meant she had to adapt to her new body and learn to let go of her life-long habit of keeping a laser focus on her weight. In a talk with Oprah, she opened up about this, noting, "I have obsessed about my weight in some sort of way all my life," she shared. "I used to write in my journal what I weighed every day."

She continued to express that she was confronting a lot of new feelings as she lost weight, saying, "It's still, for me, very new. This is the longest I've ever kept weight off before. I'm still thinking: 'Wow, is this really happening? Am I going to be able to do this?'" As time went on, though, Bertinelli was able to release some of her fears and try new things, like wearing a bikini for a magazine cover. "I started thinking: 'Okay, what's wrong with wearing a bikini?'" she recalled. "'I look better than I looked in quite a few years, so why not? What am I afraid of?'"

Valerie Bertinelli has always been open about food and eating being an emotional crutch for her. However, in her 2008 memoir "Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time," she opened up about other issues she'd also been struggling with. Not only did she have problems keeping her eating habits in check, but she'd also struggled with substance abuse and had also been unfaithful in her marriage to Eddie Van Halen.

When Bertinelli gained back weight around the time of her divorce from Van Halen, some speculated that the pain of the breakup was the cause. However, Bertinelli opened up to Today about what the true emotional cause for regaining the weight was. "I think a lot of people think because I was getting the divorce, that was really the catalyst for gaining so much weight," she shared. "[But] I had so many problems all through the years, ballooning and going down again. But I think really what my sorrow was, was that I wasn't giving my son the life I thought he deserved and I wasn't keeping the family intact. And I think I had a lot of grief about that and that was how I soothed myself."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In 2009, after losing 40 pounds, Valerie Bertinelli rocked a green bikini on the cover of People. While she had felt like she was stepping out of her shell after a major achievement at the time, in the future she would look back on the magazine cover with a mix of emotions. Speaking to People about the cover in 2020, she said, "There's a lot of pride and a lot of shame associated with that cover. I worked really, really, really hard. Physically definitely. I wish to God I had worked just as hard on my mental shape." Bertinelli continued to delve deeper into that thought, saying, "But when I don't work on what's eating me, I'm going to start eating."

While promoting her cooking series "Valerie's Home Cooking," she spoke candidly with People about how mental health impacts diet: "That means you have to do the internal work. I've been really good at covering it up and eating through it. It's just ... I'd like to be good at something else now."

Bertinelli certainly understood the connection between emotions and eating, and how it was impacting her personally. While struggling with eating and emotions can feel like a very personal issue, it also happens to be a common one. According to McGill University, emotions account for 75% of overeating, which highlights just how significant of a hurdle the emotional aspect of weight loss can be.

Just as Valerie Bertinelli struggled with comparing herself to others in the early days of her career, it seems she had the same struggle even as an experienced actor. In her 2022 book "Enough Already," Bertinelli wrote about her struggles with comparing herself to her "Hot in Cleveland" co-stars Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick. "Both women were tall, skinny, beautiful, and gorgeous, and I thought, 'Here I am again, the one with the hourglass figure, short and round,'" she wrote, per Life & Style. "All my insecurities came out."

Just as the way a person views themselves can be impacted by childhood experiences, so can the habit of comparing oneself to others. According to comparison coach Lucy Sheridan, who spoke with Stylist, measuring yourself against others starts early in life. "Comparison is part innate, part learned," she explained. "We rank children at school and praise individuals with gold stars, all of which makes us feel in competition with others rather than with ourselves at a very early age."

If you catch yourself making comparisons, it's best not to beat yourself up about it but rather to analyze why you're doing it. It may also help to understand that you're not alone. According to stats from Stylist's Love Women campaign, 40% of women compare their careers to others, 39% compare themselves to others who they think look effortlessly pristine, and only 14% feel they have high self-esteem.

In a 2023 Instagram Story, Valerie Bertinelli spoke not only about her relationship with food, but also about how food affected her relationship. "I have been screamed at so many times and told how fat and lazy I am," Bertinelli said, per People. "I realize ... that was someone just projecting on me whatever they needed to project on me, but my part in all of it was believing it, and I don't believe it anymore. But it still doesn't stop the feelings from coming up and the hurt."

In the video, Bertinelli also opened up about other feelings that were popping up as she not only assessed her relationship with food but also cut out alcohol. While she noted that she was physically feeling better and getting better sleep, she also mentioned that it wasn't easy: "I need to feel. Because what I used to do is try to soothe them or at least try to ignore them with food or alcohol. And I don't want to do that anymore. Wow, so many feelings coming up."

Bertinelli continued to speak about getting to the core of the issue and expressing her true self. She also spoke of how what other people think of you is not as important as what you think of yourself, saying, "My core is happiness and joy, and it gets covered with the stupid things people say to me that I started to believe." She went on to address her followers and remind them that she knew her struggles weren't unique to her. "I'm saying this because I know a lot of you out there feel the same way, and you're told s— that's not true," she stated. "It's not true. Someone's trying to dim your light. F— 'em. Shine bright."

In another 2023 Instagram video, Valerie Bertinelli was opening up about self-worth and what it did and didn't have to do with the scale. In the video, she said (via Today), "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."

Along with the video, she also wrote a caption digging deeper into her thoughts on the issue: "I have been doing a lot of emotional and mental purging in the last year." She went on to explain how the process of decluttering old clothes helped shed light on her emotional growth. "It's nice to see how far I've come emotionally. I continue to work on not suppressing or numbing my feelings with food or alcohol, and here I am," she said.

Near the end of the caption, she made her feelings even more clear. "I am enough," she said. "Our bodies do not define who we are as human beings. A number on the scale does not define how much love your heart can hold."

In 2022, while Valerie Bertinelli was promoting her book "Enough Already," she spoke with Eating Well about her relationship with eating. Not only was she opening up about her emotional connection to food, but she also discussed how the specific kinds of foods you eat can impact you mentally. In the interview, she described what the words "eating well" meant to her, saying, "They used to mean something like, 'You're a bad girl and you need to eat better.' Now it means treating myself well. I think about what I'm eating and will it make me feel good mentally." Bertinelli went on, "If it does, it will be fine for my body. I'll think about whether I have had enough vegetables because I can feel it when I haven't."

She also touched on how your lifestyle can impact your eating choices and the value of tuning into your body and listening to it for cues about what you should be eating. Bertinelli also mentioned touring with her son and how it impacted her diet, saying, "When I travel with my son's band [Mammoth WVH], it's hard to eat well. So when I come home, I'll eat salads for three days — big chunky salads with all kinds of veggies and a great lemon vinaigrette. I find that if you listen to your body — I don't do this all the time! — it will tell you what it needs to feel better."

In 2024, Valerie Bertinelli shared her thoughts on trending diets, and on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. While many celebrities were using it to drop pounds — many of them ending up with Ozempic face after using the diabetes drug — Bertinelli herself wasn't interested in it, or any other quick weight-loss pills. That said, she had nothing but acceptance for those who opted to try it. Speaking to People, she said, "I think whatever people need to help them, if it helps, use it. Get rid of the food noise and then continue on." She also revealed, "I've learned patience. Stop with the 'lose 10 pounds in a week.' Why would you want to? If you want to start taking care of your emotions and your head and your heart, do that and watch yourself release the weight."

Bertinelli went on to discuss the importance of doing the inner work over focusing on fast solutions, such as crash diets (which are never a good idea). She also made it clear that she thinks it's important to support others in their weight-loss journeys, even if that journey looks a lot different than your own. "Unless you do the emotional and mental work, weight is not going to stay off," she noted. "But what I don't like is people poo-pooing others that have decided to use it. 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."