Valerie Bertinelli, actress and mom, marks 3rd anniversary with Jenny Craig; has lost and kept off 40 pounds

On Monday, March 8th, it will be Valerie Bertinelli’s three-year anniversary with Jenny Craig.  After losing 40 lbs on the program, Valerie has been able to maintain her fabulous look and wants to help everyone else get bikini ready with tips on how to drop the weight for good.  Valerie is a co-host on "The View" today on ABC.

While half the battle is losing the weight; the other half is learning how to keep it off. Bertinelli reached her goal of losing 40 pounds with Jenny Craig in December of 2007 and today she struts a toned physique and rocking bikini body!

Through the Jenny Craig Weight Management Program, Valerie was given access to a variety of tools that helped her reach her goal. The weekly support from her Jenny Craig consultant combined with portion-controlled meals to keep her calorie intake in check allowed her to be a true weight loss success story and inspiration to people everywhere looking to lose weight.  Valerie recently shared her advice for current Jenny Craig clients:

“For clients starting out on Jenny, these are my top three tips:

·         “Find a consultant who gets you. Kathy was invaluable to me. She understood how my brain worked, she was patient and she pushed me whenever I needed a nudge. In a nice way though, huh, Kath?

·         “Keep a journal. I didn’t really like this at first but I found that it was too easy to slip into old habits at the beginning. If I wrote down what I was thinking and feeling, it gave me a chance to think a beat or two before I made a decision I’d regret.

·         “Surround yourself with people who care about/know what you’re doing. I used to diet in secret. This was a bad idea for me because then I wasn’t accountable to anyone but myself, (who I was so used to letting down) so one more time didn’t matter.”

“For clients who have reached halfway on Jenny, or are about to…

·         “Re-evaluate your goal. All I cared about was the number on the scale at the beginning. And then I found that other things were motivating me to lose weight like my health or being able to run farther than one block. Your body changes as you lose weight and other things do, too, so listen to what makes you tick and what will keep making you tick.

·         “Have a plan. Halfway means some meals on your own. Plan in advance what you’ll be ordering at a restaurant or on a plane or a party. Kathy and I used to do only meal planning at some of my consultations where we’d look the restaurant online (they also have a Dining Out Guide with a ton of restaurant menus listed) and we’d "pretend order" in advance. This was great because then I wouldn’t have to think about it.”

“And for clients who are on Jenny Craig’s maintenance program …

    * “Come over to my house and let’s hug it out together. Seriously, changing your life isn’t easy! Lots of support and reminding yourself of all the things that are so much better in your life now is key.” 

Ok, Valerie, how does Sunday afternoon sound?  :)

*Clients following the Jenny Craig program, on average, lose 1-2 pounds per week.