Valerie Bertinelli is glowing on the cover of the November issue of Ladies Home Journal.  When she started Jenny Craig in 2004 she weighed 172 pounds she has since lost the weight, ran a half-marathon and now in 2009 she still looks great and weighs 123 pounds.  The 49-year-old has a new lease on life and her positive words are inspiring. She said,

“Being thin is about changing the way you think about yourself. It’s about saying you deserve to be healthy,” she explains. “In no way have I perfected this eating thing and I don’t know that I ever will. But life is about making progress. It’s not about perfection.”

When asked about her recent bikini modeling she admitted she was hesitant at first especially since she couldn’t hide behind a pair of Spanx.  But because she worked so hard to get her new body she decided to go ahead and wear that bikini and show it off to the world.  She explained,

“I thought, ‘Why not show this body off? I’m almost 50 and I haven’t felt this good about myself since I was 16.”

Almost 50 years old and Valerie Bertinelli looks like she did back when she was starring in One Day at a Time.  What a woman.

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Valerie Bertinelli is still celebrating her new body and better health.  As if wearing a bikini for People Magazine wasn’t enough, last weekend she ran the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half-Marathon! She completed the 13.1 mile race in 2:12:19.  She said,

“My legs are killing me, but I think I’m so high and excited and full of pride – which is an unusual thing for me! – that I probably won’t feel it for a couple days,” says the actress, 49. “I am in amazement. I can’t believe what a body can do if you believe in it.”

Bertinelli has been training hard for months in order to prepare for the big race.  Her boyfriend/workout partner, Tom Vitale, ran in the race with her.  She did tell People Magazine that before the race the two of them indulged in a food splurge of panzanella bread, cheese and tomato salad for lunch and beet salad and lemon cottage-cheese pancakes with creme fraiche for dinner knowing they would burn it all off the next day.  She said,

“The pancakes are to die for! I said, ‘I’m eating them! I’m allowed because I’m running!’ I’m going to enjoy it.’ Sooo yummy!” she says. “The last time I ate whatever I wanted and didn’t feel guilty was when I was pregnant!”

As for a full marathon, the 49 year old does see it as a possibility:

“My trainer thinks I’m going to do a [full] marathon before I’m 50. I have till April,” she says. “I’m not committing yet! I haven’t wrapped my head around it. We’re negotiating.”

Good luck, Valerie.

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Valerie Bertinelli successfully lost 40 pounds as a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig Diet.  However, over the past year she decided she wanted to be slim and trim just like she was almost 30 years ago when she was the hot actress on the sitcom, One Day at a Time.  To get back into her bikini she lost an extra 10 pounds and did the following 60-minute bikini workout four to five times a week to get the classic sculpted results.  She told People Magazine about her workout:

Cardio Training: In the cardio portion she ran on a treadmill for 35 to 45 minutes.  On some days she would break this up into five minute intervals where she would start with a five minute slow run, do some strength exercises, and then get back on the treadmill for five more minutes. This is a great way to efficiently blast off unwanted fat.

Strength Training: For the strength portion, Valerie used resistance bands and weights to do a series of alternating combinations.  The combinations consisted of 25 tricep dips, 20 push-ups, 30 squats, 100 sit-ups and some step-ups too.

What a workout!  Her hard work and dedication paid off.

Over the past three years we have watched Valerie Bertinelli proudly transform her body as a spokes model for Jenny Craig.  In 2008, she did get down to her goal weight, but then decided she wanted to push herself even further and drop an extra 10 pounds in order to be bikini-beautiful.  Now at 48-years-old, Valerie has decided to get ultra-fit and model for People Magazine wearing only a bikini.  And from the looks of the above image, she looks dynamite.  She said,

“I thought, if I’m so afraid of a bikini, there’s something wrong. And so I had to get back into one!”

Before the big decision to do the photo shoot, she was working out on her own and walking 10,000 steps a day as part of her exercise regimen.  But in the final weeks before the photo shoot, she hired a personal trainer and dropped her caloric intake from 1,700 to approximately 1,200 a day.  She said,

“It was crunch time….like getting ready for your class reunion!” She continues, “I never, ever, ever had deltoids! Oh my God, when I’m doing exercises and I see them pop out, I’m like, Yes!”

Other stars who have had success, and also failure with the Jenny Craig diet are Queen Latifah, Liza Minneli and Kirstie Alley.

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Valerie Bertinelli’s weight has certainly been making news lately, with some tabloids calling her efforts to lose weight on Jenny Craig a “Diet Disaster.”  In the latest issue of People, Valerie, who split from ex-huddy Eddie Van Halen in 2001,  reports she has lost 30 lbs in 4 months on Jenny Craig.  Holding nothing back, Valerie dishes all including her take on the “Diet Disaster.”

On being overweight:

“I think about all the parties I didn’t go to because I felt bad about how I looked. That’s so selfish.  And, I looked at how my children (Lille, 13, and William True, 14, suffered because I wasn’t happy.”

“You just don’t want people to see what you look like, because you can hear their brains going.  What got to me was someone would come up to me and say, “I think you’ve put on a few pounds.”  Really? Because I don’t own a mirror? I know- believe me!”

On her weight loss:

“I’ve come to the realization that once you lose the weight, you don’t all of a sudden get happy. Sure it’s easier to put on clothes, but I’ve lost the weight so many times thinking “Oh, if I just weighed this much I’d be so much happier.” I know now that I still have to work on that other stuff that has nothing to do with weight.”

On recent tabloid coverage labeling Valerie Bertinelli a “diet disaster”

“I had finally reached a point where I was starting to feel good about myself and than (after unflaterring pics appeared of her sweeping a deck in her bathing suit) the tabloids had me as a “Diet Disaster”! But you put me in a bathing suit and I’m sweeping the deck and I just got out of the pool and I have no makeup on- yeah. I look like a 47 year old woman! Give me a break!”  And yes, the speculation is true, she does use slimming lingerie called Spanx, although now she wears the small size.

Valerie Bertinelli: Diet Progress
Valerie says she “powers through plateaus.”  She found herself gaining weight when she was drinking martinis three nights in a row.  She cut out the alcohol and now she is back on track.  She has her boyfriend losing weight along with her too.   After losing 30 lbs, her new weight goal is 45 lbs.  She says, “I want to get to the size I was when (my son) Wolfie was in kindergarten 10 years ago.”

Celebrity Diet Doctor Weigh in..
Valerie has a good head on her shoulders and obviously has a great sense of humor.  I think she will be successful in the long run because she shows a lot of insight when she says “I still have to work on that other stuff that has nothing to do with weight.”  She realizes that while cutting calories is important, 90% of weight loss is mental.  Way to go Valerie and you’re a hottie!

Kimberley Locke, of American Idol and Celebrity Fit Club fame, is reportedly going to be the new pitch woman for Jenny Craig, joining fellow celebs Kristie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli. She has apparently already lost 30 lbs on the diet plan and plans on losing another 10 before formally announcing her gig with Jenny Craig.

Seems that Jenny Craig is taking a different marketing approach with Kimberley than with its other celebrity endorsers. Their marketing strategy in the past has been to hire the celeb first and have them lose the weight on the diet. Why the change? Perhaps it’s an insurance policy for Jenny Craig? If she loses the weight great. If she doesn’t, Jenny can opt out and the story gets buried.

Food delivery services have become all the rage recently with the remarkable success of Nutrisystems. With all the calorie counting and portion control done for you they are especially convenient for those on the go. Epicurious recently rated 5 of the top diet-food delivery plans.

In descending order here’s how the plans were rated:

1. eDiets Deliciously Yours (formerly eDiets express) – daily price $39.26

2. Zone Chefs (endorsed by Liza Minnelli, Ivanka Trump and football player Jason Fabini) - daily price $52.13

3. Pure Foods fresh low carb (formerly Atkins at Home) – daily price $47.80

4. Jenny Craig – (endorsed by Kristie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli) daily price $23.99

5. Nutrisystem – (endorsed by Dan Marino) daily price $12.23

The eDiets plan was rated number one primarily for it’s flexibility compared with the other plans. Here’s a little secret you may not be aware of; eDiets, Zone Chefs and Pure Foods low carb are all contracted from the same manufacturer, so it’s no surprise that the same Very Berry Chicken dish was found on all 3 plans. Under the less costly eDiets plan you can also choose the same dishes on the Zone Chefs and Pure Foods plans so this may be a way to save a few bucks.

Zone chefs follows the Zone Diet by Barry Sears, Phd, which advocates 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats. Celebrity devotees of the Zone diet include Jennifer Aniston and Cindy Crawford. More gourmet in flavor it was considered too costly by the epicurious team.

The Atkins plan, Pure Foods fresh low carb dominated by meats and artificial sweetners, is high in saturated fats and low in fiber. The Jenny Craig plan was panned for too much sugar (almost a quarter of total calories) and trans-fats. Fiber content was also noted to be too low. The least liked by the ePicurious team, the Nutrisystem plan was noted to be high in artificial sweetners, trans-fats, preservatives and low in fiber. The add-water component to many of the packaged meals reminded them of “astronaut” food. Another aviation inspired comment included “much of the plan tastes like airline food.” Ouch!

Following success with Kirstie Alley’s much publicized 75 lb weight loss, Jenny Craig has signed on fellow celeb Valerie Bertinelli to join the program. Excited to team up with Kirstie as part of this advertising campaign, not to mention getting paid for losing weight Valerie says “I was a huge Cheers fan and have always admired Kirstie Alley’s sense of humor, poise and tenacity. Watching her lose weight and maintain her weight loss publicly definitely inspired me to ‘call Jenny’ and accept the challenge to be a healthier, happier me.”

Viewers can check out her progress as she marches her way towards her 30 lb weight loss goal. At week six into the program she reports a 17 lb weight loss. Way to go Valerie!

The Jenny Craig program is set up to be a no-brainer weight loss program with a pre-packaged meal plan. All the portion control and calorie restriction is done for you. But this can get expensive as Jenny Craig costs $137 per week which is 150% more than the average American spends on food. The biggest downfall of the Jenny Craig program is that it does not teach life-long eating habits. Once off the program, without the discipline and convenience of the prepackaged meal plan, what’s to prevent one from regaining the weight? So what are you to do? Call Jenny again?

“Give a man a pre-packaged meal plan and he will lose weight for a day. Teach him how to eat and he will lose weight for a lifetime.”

CelebrityDietDoctor Proverb