Lose weight, one pound at a time

October 20, 9:06 PMNY Women's Health ExaminerAmy Capetta

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Over the summer I received an invitation to a Jenny Craig press luncheon which offered me the opportunity to have a one-on-one interview with Valerie Bertinelli. No joke, I think I emailed everyone I’ve ever crossed paths with to tell them the exciting news! I mean come on, it’s not like I’m meeting celebrities for lunch on a regular basis! And who wouldn’t like to hang out with Valerie Bertinelli?

And since I’d just recently seen her on an episode of Oprah, I was curious to see if she really looked that good in person. Not only am I happy to report that she looked like a million bucks, but the personality is 100% authentic—there’s not one ounce of “Hollywood” in her and within 10 seconds I felt like I was talking to one of my girlfriends instead of one of America’s Sweethearts.

But I had a job to do (which was to ask Valerie about her most successful weight loss tips) so I had to force myself to put on my professional cap and stop gushing and telling her how thrilled I was to meet her. And when it came down to it, Valerie had some really useful advice for anyone looking to lose weight, whether it be 5 pounds or 50 pounds. And what I really loved about her is that she’s an eater—in other words, she’s real!—so consuming a bunch of celery sticks would never cut it in her world, or in mine for that matter.

Here are three of the actress’ tips:

Know your bad time of day: “I can tell you that my most dangerous time of the day is actually between 3 and 6. That’s when I get lethargic and I get hungry and if I haven’t drank enough water, I will really notice it. So I will try to get out of the house and go do something. Whether it’s going to the mall and walk around—and not buy anything, just window shop. Get out of the house and take a walk, it’s just about getting out. Because I know for me that between 3 and 6, I’ll try to plan for the kids dinner and I’ll want to be in the kitchen nibbling, and that’s when I need to get out of the house!”

Share and share alike: “When we [meaning her boyfriend Tom, who has also lost weight on Jenny Craig] go out for dinner, we basically have it down to a science. We split an entrée, and if we don’t want to split an entrée or don’t see something we like together, then we’ll have an appetizer for dinner. And a salad with the dressing on the side. Now we do have dessert once in a while? Yes. Especially if we’re at a table with a lot people. I’ll have one bite, especially if it’s lemon meringue pie, I’m going to have a bite because one bite ain’t gonna kill me! I just have a bite. And then I shove it to someone else at the table and say, ‘Get this thing away from me because I’ll eat the whole thing if you don’t!’ But I don’t and I’m not going to deprive myself because that’s how I got into trouble the last time. I deprived, deprived, deprived, then I’d overeat.”

Grab a pen, not a cookie: “I’m an emotional eater but now I’m a conscious eater, and I have to be careful of it when I know I’m having an emotional day. And I’m not always successful at it, but that means I get right back on the diet, if I have indulged. Or I just have to deal with my emotions and that’s when journaling comes in. Journaling for me has been very, very helpful.”