Valerie Bertinelli Reveals Amazing Bikini Body

Posted on Dec 2nd 2009 2:58PM by Jennifer Fields

Of all the stars whose bodies you admire and aspire to, Valerie Bertinelli has probably not been at the top of your list. But if you take a look at the stunner in the bright green bikini on the cover of the April 6, 2009 issue of PEOPLE, you might change your mind. The 48-year-old Jenny Craig spokesperson put on a two-piece for the first time in over 20 years to show off her phenomenal 50-pound weight loss and revealed a body even 22-year-olds would envy.

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Valerie Bertinelli Shapes Up

Valerie Bertinelli shows off a dramatic 50-pound weight loss on an April 2009 cover of PEOPLE.The 123-pound actress lost weight with the help of the Jenny Craig diet and a workout that included walking, running and strength training with incorporated resistance bands four to five times a week.

Stephen Danelian, PEOPLE

Valerie Bertinelli Shapes Up

Stephen Danelian, PEOPLE

Bertinelli was just 15 when she landed a role on the long-running sitcom, "One Day at a Time." Bertinelli told PEOPLE that she has spent her life "consumed" by body issues and that as a teen in the '70s, she would go on crash diets.

CBS

As a teen star, Bertinelli struggled with weight. She has said that she became dangerously thin at times, reaching a low of 98 pounds.

David Mcgough, DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Nice-girl Bertinelli surprised everyone when she married guitarist Eddie Van Halen in 1981. They were together for 25 tumultuous years, through Van Halen's battle with alcoholism and cancer. She has said that while her husband struggled with one kind of addiction, hers was with food.

Ann Clifford, DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Bertinelli and Van Halen had one son together, Wolfgang, born in 1991. Bertinelli has said that in the years following the painful split from her husband, she began a pattern of emotional eating and began to gain weight -- and avoid the camera.

Jim Smeal, WireImage

Bertinelli teamed up with Jenny Craig (left) in 2008. The actress became spokesperson for the popular diet plan at her highest weight of 172 pounds and set a goal of losing 30. Less than a year later, she exceeded her goal, losing a total of 50 pounds.

Robert Benson, WireImage

Bertinelli penned an autobiography in 2008, "Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time," in which she openly discussed her food issues, life as a teen star, her rocky marriage and her comeback.

Mark Mainz, Getty Images

Bertinelli shows off a sleek, sexy figure at the Heart Truth Red Dress Collection show during Fashion Week in February 2009. The star, who admitted to being shy and self-conscious about her body, has learned to have some fun flaunting her new look.

Scott Gries, Getty Images

How Valerie Bertinelli Lost the Weight

Less than one year earlier, Bertinelli -- a petite 5'4" -- weighed in at 172 pounds. Through the help of the Jenny Craig diet plan and a fitness routine that consisted mostly of walking 10,000 steps a day, the former child star whittled herself down to a slim 132 pounds. But Bertinelli decided she wanted a new challenge for herself. "I thought, if I'm so afraid of a bikini, there's something wrong. And so I had to get back into one!" the svelte actress told PEOPLE.

In December of 2008, the former "One Day at a Time" star kicked her routine into high gear. She hired a personal trainer and eventually was running five times a week and doing strength training. Three weeks prior to the bikini shoot she trimmed her daily calorie intake from 1,700 a day to 1,200 and cut out salt and the glass of champagne she would treat herself with. All the hard work paid off: Bertinelli dropped another nine pounds and has immortalized her spectacular 123-pound figure on the cover.

While losing the weight was by no means easy, Bertinelli admits that there's a mental adjustment to make as well. Bertinelli told PEOPLE that she struggles to ignore the voices that resonate in her head that say, "She's let herself go." She admits that she can still view her body harshly. "My eyes go immediately to the parts I don't like, the 'jiggly bits,'" she says – referring primarily to her thighs, according to PEOPLE. But baring it all in a bikini was a powerful moment for the actress: "I felt the fear – and I did it anyway!" she said in the interview. In addition to learning to love her body: "We all just need to appreciate our bodies for what they are, jiggly bits and all," she says, Bertinelli is well aware that there's work involved in maintaining her new figure. But she's positive and determined about the future, telling PEOPLE, "This is just the beginning of the journey."

Click the arrows in the gallery below to see more hot celebrities over 40.

Hottest Celebrities Over 40

By AOL Health Editors

Lisa Rinna

Rinna turned heads and stole the headlines for posing for the May 2009 "Playboy" cover at age 45. In an interview with That's Fit, she explains how she stays in shape after having kids. While she's always been a fan of exercise, being on "Dancing With the Stars" has changed her entire workout philosophy. "Dance is such an overall workout...that also makes you really, really happy... what's more fun than dancing?"

PLAYBOY Magazine

Demi Moore

If you were a 46-year-old toting around 31-year-old arm candy, you might worry about looking young, or at least try to look your best. But we hear that this actress is willing to drop more than six figures a year to sustain her fit figure -- covering the cost of personal trainers, equipment and Pilates classes, among other things.

Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Valerie Bertinelli

After shedding 50 pounds, 48-year-old Bertinelli graced the cover of "People" magazine, clad in a bikini -- for the first time in 20 years. This former teen star and current Jenny Craig spokeswoman ditched the excess weight by cutting calories, running five days a week and doing strength-training exercises with her personal trainer.

Jean-Paul Aussenard, WireImage

Kathy Ireland

This 46-year-old former "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit model and current CEO, author and mother, recently had a wake-up call that she was carrying some extra weight, from her son of all people. After he told her she looked pregnant, she stepped on the scales to find she'd gained 25 pounds. A friend, who's a personal trainer and nutritionist, helped her plan healthier meals, cut back on snacks and sweets and incorporate three exercise sessions a week. As a result she's lost nearly all of the added pounds.

Jonathan Exley / Kathy Ireland Worldwide

Sheryl Crow

This Grammy winner is nearly as famous for her albums as she is for her show-stopping body. When the 46-year-old recently stepped out on the red carpet looking more toned and fit than ever, she shared that her incredible figure was the result of a regimen of yoga, Pilates and P90X workouts.

The sweat-inducing system, created by trainer Tony Horton, is made up of 12 different workouts designed to create "muscle confusion" by introducing new moves to beat boredom and avoid plateaus. There's also a three-phase diet plan that focuses on lean protein, complex carbs and limiting fat.

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Courteney Cox Arquette

Our favorite 'Friend' and soulless tabloid journalist has only gotten better looking with age. Cox Arquette's secret weapon for those cut arms and toned legs? Tennis and Budokon, an intense workout integrating yoga, martial arts and meditation. Cox Arquette has also been said to use the Blood Type Diet.

Starface, Retna

Kim Cattrall

Our pick for sexiest of the "Sex and the City" pack is also the oldest. And at 51, we think Kim Cattrall looks even more fabulous now than she did when the show first debuted. Cattrall has said that exercise is crucial for her and that without it she feels sluggish. When she can't make it to the gym for a 30-minute workout, she likes to walk.

MAP/Splash News

Daniel Craig

How does hottie Daniel Craig get Bond buff? It's no surprise that there's a lot of weight lifting in his fitness routine. Craig has said that a routine centered around weights was the only way to bulk up in the short time he had to prepare for "Casino Royale." But for his next Bond venture, the 40-year-old stunning star is mixing up his heavy lifting routine with boxing and running.

Splash News

Madonna

Madonna may be single-handedly responsible for helping yoga and Pilates go mainstream. With her enviable arms and taut abs, her body is a walking advertisement for the two fitness disciplines which she has long practiced. Her high water intake (three liters a day) and strict diet that bans processed foods, alcohol, caffeine and dairy also helps keep the 49-year-old slim. But we're sure the two-hour sessions of dancing and hitting the Hybrid Body Reformer (a pulley-system machine) that she does six times a week don't hurt.

Dave Hogan, Getty Images

Jamie Foxx

The Jamie Foxx workout doesn't involve exclusive gyms or personal trainers. He keeps it simple. Every morning he does four sets of pushups, situps and crunches. But not all at once, mind you. He breaks up the workout with chores. A set of pushups. Brush teeth. One set of ab exercises. Take a shower. And so on. That way, he doesn't have to make time for exercise, it's just part of his morning routine.

Chris Gordon, WireImage.com

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