Bertinelli wants to take shame out of gaining weight

August 22, 2012. Actress Valerie Bertinelli stands on her star after it was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California. (Reuters)

Valerie Bertinelli admits that she has put on some weight. The ‘Hot in Cleveland’ actress honestly discussed her weight fluctuations on Wednesday’s episode of “The Talk,” reports People.

She famously lost more than 40 pounds on Jenny Craig, appearing in a bikini on TV spots and penned a low fat cookbook but recent photos reveal a curvier figure.

“I broke my foot three months and the weight started to creep up,” Bertinelli said on the talk show. “I haven’t been able to move. My doctor even told me, ‘Do not get your heart rate up.’”

Bertinelli then noticed the pounds gradually coming back on, a prospect that frightened her.

“It started to panic me and panic me,” she confessed. “And then I thought, 'Well, wait a minute. This is my body. I’m almost 54. I broke my foot.' I started thinking, ‘Why do I feel so much shame?’ We need to take the shame out of it.”

“We all need to give each other a break – especially women,” she continued. “Let’s leave each other alone.”

She’s now ready to go back to the gym and start working out again but the actress whose birthday is on April 23 has no intention of existing solely on hot lemon water. “I still like to eat,” she exclaimed, “and I’m going to eat!”