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The Real Housewives of Orange County returned on June 20th, and for Vicki Gunvalson, it looks to be her season in purgatory.

After being fooled by ex-boyfriend Brooks Ayers into believing he had cancer (not to mention sticking by him when others presented pretty damning evidence to the contrary), Gunvalson took her fragile self out of the game for a moment to regroup.

Now, the insurance owner believes she’s regained her strength and joie de vivre.  Not only that, she’s dropped 22 lbs.

"I changed a lot of things,” Vicki told Entertainment Tonight‘s Brice Sander.

“You know, when life give you changes, change everything.”

The interview took place inside Gunvalson’s Coto de Caza home, which features a redesigned kitchen.

And she’s got a new haircut.  And her plastic surgery is finally starting to settle.

So, about those 22 lbs.  Exactly how did the reality star do it?

“It was over a three-month period,” the star said. “I cut out all alcohol … [I was down to] 500 calories a day."

Ok…

"No carbs, so I just did lettuce and grapefruit in the morning… celery, carrots, whatever it could be. Just very raw, and then nothing really for lunch."

That sounds terribly unpleasant.

"I would just do water, lemon water. Hot lemon water.

"And then at night, I would just have salad and protein, and it worked!”

I’m fairly certain that any doctor would advise against this kind of a crash diet.

We’ll admit, however, that Gunvalson was probably not in the mood to eat much after the break-up (she also lost her mother while filming last season).

“You know what, I was at such a depressed state,” she said

“I’m 54 now, and your metabolism changes. I put on, like, 10 pounds from my 40s to my 50s, and I never felt strong.

"I don’t want to be a bodybuilder. I don’t want to do all that stuff, but I wanted to feel like, OK, I’m gonna be single now. I gotta look my best, right?”

Totes.  

Gunvalson is currently dating retired cop Steve Lodge, but as of right now, he won’t be making an appearance on the show.

"I’m protecting my heart, ’cause my heart really got stomped on and it got damaged,” Gunvalson admitted.

“The new man has never watched The Real Housewives of Orange County. How crazy is that? So, he likes me for me!

"And not some thought of being on TV or such, which is very, very clean to me. It’s very organic … he’s courting me. So I’ll take it, right?"

Go get yours, Vicki.