It has been an emotional couple of years for Valerie Bertinelli. In October 2020, Valerie lost her ex husband, Eddie Van Halen, to throat cancer. In July of last year, Valerie tearfully took to Instagram to call out a troll for making derogatory comments about her weight. Valerie has always been honest about her struggles with her weight. Valerie said that her shame about her body came from her watching her father treat her mother horribly when her mother would gain weight. Valerie also said that being fat shamed by her fifth grade teacher hurt her self-esteem. In a recent cover with People, Valerie opened up about losing Eddie. Valerie also said that she is staying away from the scale and is no longer obsessing over those pesky ten pounds she’s been determined to lose for 40y ears. Below are a few highlights:

In the two years that followed, the 61-year-old star and Food Network host, who says she often felt “like the most famous dieter in America,” came to realize that tying her self-worth to the scale wasn’t working and never had.

It took losing her first husband, guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen, who died on Oct. 6, 2020 of cancer at age 65, to see what truly matters. It’s a story she tells in her new memoir, Enough Already, excerpted exclusively in this week’s PEOPLE.

“The goal is to live in the moment,” she says, “and not according to the scale.”

Over time, her grief led to a deeper wisdom about life’s brevity and the road to happiness.

“There is no magic number that will make me feel good about myself,” says Bertinelli, who learned to find the magic in every day — from a mouth-watering recipe, to listening to her son Wolfgang’s new music, to even just watching cat videos. And always finding gratitude like her role model and one-time Hot in Cleveland costar, Betty White.

“I’m done judging myself,” writes Bertinelli. “I want to be kinder and more accepting of myself.”

Still, it’s an ongoing process, she says: “I have a lot of decades of thinking I have to look a certain way for people to accept me and to like me.”

That thinking began early on. “I watched my father treat my mother badly when she would gain weight,” she recalls. “I had a 5th grade teacher poke my belly and say, ‘You want to keep an eye on that.’ So I learned at a very young age that when you gain weight, you’re not lovable. And what I’m learning is that your body is not what makes you lovable.”

[From People]

I have been a fan of Valerie since her One Day at a Time days. Valerie has always seemed like such a light. I know that Valerie has struggled over the years with her body image and like Ricki Lake I have had a front row seat to her battle. I was really sad when Eddie died in 2020 and Valerie’s tribute to him was beautiful. Despite the sadness of the loss, I am glad that Valerie has been able to use the experience as a catalyst to heal.

I love how Valerie said that she won’t be able to find happiness on the scale. As someone who has been battling with weight the last two decades, those words really hit home with me. Valerie is right, life is short and dwelling on something so insignificant as weight can steal the years away. I hope that Valerie continues to heal and to say no to messaging she received as a child. Living in the moment is a gift and something that I am actively practicing. It takes the anxiety of the future and the pain of the past away. I also hope that Valerie knows no matter what her body looks like, she is and will always be lovable. Anyways, I am hoping that the next few years for Valerie will give her an opportunity to celebrate what she has accomplished and just enjoy her life. Valerie choosing not to hold her happiness hostage by whatever the scale says is a start.

Valerie Bertinelli Says She's Given Up 'the Damn Scale': 'I'm Done Judging Myself' https://t.co/hS0yLaqC5e

— People (@people) January 5, 2022

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A post shared by Valerie Bertinelli (@wolfiesmom)

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A post shared by Valerie Bertinelli (@wolfiesmom)

Photos via Instagram and Twitter and credit: InStar

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By: Oya
Title: Valerie Bertinelli on her weight: ‘There is no magic number’
Sourced From: www.celebitchy.com/748234/valerie_bertinelli_on_her_weight_there_is_no_magic_number/
Published Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2022 12:05:58 +0000

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