LOS ANGELES, December 27, 2024 – Actress Valerie bertinelli revealed she was fired from a diet company after regaining weight, a painful experience that underscored the unrealistic expectations placed on women and their bodies.
A Size 12 Isn’t ‘Too Big,’ But It Felt That Way
BertinelliS story highlights the damaging cycle of diet culture and the importance of prioritizing mental and emotional well-being over arbitrary weight goals.
- Bertinelli was dropped as a spokesperson after her weight fluctuated.
- She initially lost 50 pounds with the program, starting in 2007.
- The actress now prioritizes mental and emotional health over a specific dress size.
- Bertinelli expressed a desire for a shift in societal focus from “skinny and fat” to overall health.
During a recent appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” last week, Bertinelli recounted a especially arduous memory tied to her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2012.While she looked “stunning” in a white dress and heels, as host Drew Barrymore noted, Bertinelli admitted she “felt so horrified.”
The source of her distress? She had been a spokesperson for a diet program since 2007, during which time she lost 50 pounds. But as life’s challenges mounted, she explained, she wasn’t prioritizing her mental and emotional health, and the weight began to creep back on.
“And this was the last year, I believe, that I was with this diet company,” Bertinelli shared. “And they fired me, eventually said, ‘We can’t keep going with you becuase your gaining weight again.'”
What size was she when she felt the most pressure?
Barrymore, 50, echoed Bertinelli’s sentiments, expressing hope that society is moving “some distance between just saying skinny and fat as opposed to like, what is healthy for you.” Bertinelli agreed,emphasizing the importance of health-mentally,spiritually,emotionally,and physically.
In October, Bertinelli discussed her lifelong struggles with body image, suggesting that “all of us have a little bit of body dysmorphia, as we’ve been trained to think that we’re not enough and our bodies are wrong and they’re not.” She concluded, “Our bodies are our bodies. Our bodies are lovely. Just put it in everything and anything you want to put it in!”
Bertinelli previously partnered with Jenny Craig, taking over from Kirstie Alley in 2007, and detailed the experience in her 2008 book, “Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time.”
