Valerie Bertinelli Discusses Ozempic and Trying to ‘Lose 10 Pounds in a Week’
Valerie Bertinelli shared her stance on Ozempic and weight loss drugs.
She said, personally, she’s done with trying to “lose 10 pounds in a week.”
However, she doesn’t judge anyone’s weight loss methods. “I think whatever people need to help them, if it helps, use it,” she said.
Valerie Bertinelli and weight loss trends are well-acquainted—she has spent much of her adult life discussing her participation in them, and even promoting some (see: her Jenny Craig days). At 63, she’s ditched conventional dieting, but she doesn’t judge people who take a different path. In a recent interview, the Food Network star shared her stance on Ozempic (a type 2 diabetes drug sometimes used off-label for weight loss) and, in doing so, recalled her desire for quick weight loss.
“I think whatever people need to help them, if it helps, use it,” she told People. “Get rid of the food noise and then continue on.” However, a fast approach is not what works for her, she explained. Instead, she prioritizes her mental health so the physical can then fall into place.
“I’ve learned patience,” she said. “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.”
She continued: “Unless you do the emotional and mental work, weight is not going to stay off. But what I don’t like is people poo-pooing others that have decided to use [Ozempic]. 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.”
In past social media posts, Bertinelli shared that she stopped weighing herself. For her, feeling better was all about shedding her tendency to numb emotions with alcohol and food. “It is not about the number on the scale. My heart is lighter. My head is lighter. I want to feel my feelings, even though they can be scary sometimes,” she wrote on Instagram in June 2023. “That is the road I’m on and doing my best to stay on. I want to live the rest of my life truly happy, finding the deep joy within me, and not just faking it until I make it.”
All of that’s to say, it’s not always easy. “I still have my moments where I’ll start unconsciously eating because I’m feeling something emotional and midway through I’ll think, ‘What am I doing? Why am I feeling this way?’” she told People. The difference is, now, she gives herself grace. “I don’t beat myself up. I go, okay, give myself a hug and say, ‘What’s going on?’”
Even with all of the turbulence, Bertinelli is grateful for her journey and her current place on it. “I’ve learned so much through all of it,” she said. “I wished I’d learned a little quicker but I’m certainly going to enjoy the next 20 years. I see a happy ending.”
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