Valerie Bertinelli's Bikini Bod Revealed!

People Magazine

Valerie Bertinelli bares her stunning bikini transformation on the cover of People magazine, on stands Friday -- and she reveals how she shed nearly 50 pounds!

After not getting into a bikini in nearly 30 years, the 48-year-old star is grinning wide while posing in a green bikini that shows off her new figure.

Just two years after weighing in at 172 pounds, Valerie made the brave decision to have a bikini reveal on the cover of People in her new 123-pound body. Valerie tells the mag why she did it:

"I said to myself, 'Oh, please – a bikini? I'm too old for bikinis!' But then I realized, 'Wait a minute, Why not a bikini?'"

The beauty had major nerves the night before her bikini shoot, even giving herself a pep talk, saying, "What am I so afraid of? Come on -- it's just a bathing suit."

Valerie tells People she dropped 40 pounds in nine months on the Jenny Craig program and she takes part in a regular exercise routine. She walks 10,000 steps a day, hired a personal trainer in December, and started running five times a week soon after that.

The star also credits her weight loss to the support of her longtime boyfriend, investment fund manager Tom Vitale, who has also shed about 30 pounds on Jenny Craig.

To maintain her weight, Valerie says she only eats 1,700 calories a day, but dropped it down to 1,200 a day to get in shape for the bikini shoot.

"I'm just one jalapeno popper away from being 40 pounds heavier again -- that's what still resonates in my head," she tells the mag is one thought that often crossed her mind.

But for now, she's enjoying her fit and fabulous figure.

"I never, ever, ever had deltoids!" she tells People. "Oh my God, when I'm doing exercises and I see them pop out, I'm like, 'Yes!'"

Valerie's People magazine bikini bombshell hits stands this Friday.

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