Valerie Bertinelli
Gossip

It seems all the media does is scrutinize the weight of stars.

If Jessica Simpson is seen in an unflattering pair of high-waisted jeans, she's fat. If Beyonce Knowles dons a gown that accentuates her curvy physique, she's fat.

Kim Kardashian will quickly leap to their defense, but it's still sad.

Fortunately, a celebrity story pertaining to weight loss came out today that you can get excited about! At age 48, Valerie Bertinelli has gotten her bikini bod back - and she's showing it off on the latest cover of People magazine.

Valerie Bertinelli has lost 50 pounds as she approaches 50 years.

Of course, it wasn't easy achieving her newly fit physique. It was an uphill battle. In April 2007, the former One Day at a Time star proclaimed, "I'm fat."

She was 5'2", weighed 172 pounds, and vowed to drop from a size 14 to a size 8.

Almost two years later now, the actress is in the best shape of her life after losing more than 50 pounds thanks to exercise and her Jenny Craig diet.

The star, who had last worn a bikini when she was 20, was ready for a new challenge: "I thought, If I'm so afraid of a bikini, there’s something wrong. And so I had to get back into one!," Valerie Bertinelli says in the new article.

And so – after about a year of exercising on her own while losing weight, primarily by walking 10,000 steps a day – she hired a personal trainer in December. Before long, Bertinelli was running up to five times a week and shedding pounds.

The rest, as they say, is history.

For reasons unknown, Sanjaya Malakar was invited to the White House Correspondence Dinner a couple weeks ago.

Perhaps People magazine, which included the American Idol reject among its table in invitees (along with Project Runway star Tim Gunn) lost a bet of some sort.

Who knows. No matter the reason for his invite, Sanjaya's presence did lead to a couple of humorous picture - and we're not even referring to the one of Shyamali Malakar nude playing a guitar.

Instead, here's a shot of Sanjaya and his mon, Jillian Blyth. They look nice, normal, loving. And they very well may be. She's also high as a kite, we're sure.

Then, there's Malakar and Valerie Bertinelli, the random actress and ex-wife of Eddie Van Halen who's back in the news for wanting to lose weight. And let's not forget about Teri Hatcher stuffed into the middle of this photo.

We've gotta hand it to Sanjaya. Sure, he'd probably prefer to be with Hatcher's Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria instead. But for an untalented singer, the guy is doing pretty well for himself.

Some celebs, such as Allegra Versace, are consumed with anorexia.

Others, such as Valerie Bertinelli, best known for her 1975-84 sitcom One Day at a Time, have got some different, but still exciting career news to share with us:

She's fat.

As a result, she's got a new role - joining fellow fattie Kirstie Alley as the new celebrity face - and body - for Jenny Craig.

The 5'2" Bertinelli, who turns 47 this month, vows to lose 30 pounds by September (from a size 14 to a size 8).

Going public with her goal "is the motivation I need," Bertinelli says. "I need to do this in front of millions of people so I can't mess up."

And Valerie Bertinelli is not shy about it, adding: "It is freeing because I can say it first: I know what you're thinking, I'm fat."

She's a good role model for Jennifer Hudson.

Poor thing.

Bertinelli says that Alley, who has maintained her 75-pound downsizing, also offered some advice:

"She said, 'Even if Wolfie [the 16-year-old son of Bertinelli and her ex, rehabbing Hall of Fame rocker Eddie Van Halen] wants to go to In-N-Out Burger, don't do it, because paparazzi will photograph you!'"

Freaking pararazzi. Just ask Justin Timberlake about those bastards...
The Jenny Craig campaign, for which Bertinelli will shoot a new ad every month as she shrinks, represents a major step back into the public eye for the mom whose last big TV role was on Touched by an Angel in 2003.

"Wolf is my priority," she says of her son. "I was a Hollywood hermit."

If only Britney Spears felt that strongly about Jayden James.

Although Bertinelli remains guarded about her current weight, her boyfriend Tom Vitale has been supportive of her. Which is nice, because she's focused on her goals.

"I don't know how my size, 14, has become obese while size 0 is normal," she says. "It's insane. I'm not even going for a size 6. I'll be happy with an 8."

We'll be happy (and shocked) if Nicole Richie makes it to age 30.