Valerie Bertinelli’s Diet Battle Plan
Her goal? To be a slim-down success story by summer’s end. Here, her tips for staying on course:

Walk This Way!
Valerie has admitted she used to neglect exercise: “If I used a pedometer and didn’t get 3,000 steps a day, I was like, ‘Oh, screw it!’?” Now she is committed to walking at least 10,000 steps every day.

Pump Up the Volume
Since her diet allows her the guilt-free pleasure of eating unlimited nonstarchy vegetables every day, she rarely feels hungry. “I never feel like I’m starving myself,” she says.

Slow and Steady
Her aim of losing 2 lbs. each week is keeping Valerie from regaining what she has already lost. “When you lose weight slowly, you are actually losing pounds, not water, and you are more likely to keep it off,” says Valerie’s Jenny Craig counselor, Kathryn Brumwell. In the past, Valerie would drop 10 lbs. fast on more drastic diets, but she would always put the weight back on.

Buddy Up
She has made sure she has a great support system to prevent slipups. She attends Jenny Craig weigh-in meetings with two girlfriends. And her boyfriend, Tom Vitale, 45, an entrepreneur, is on the plan, too — he has lost a round 20 lbs. so far. "They come into the center together sometimes,” says Brumwell. “Couples or friends on the program do wonderfully because they share the same healthy goals and activity habits.”

Be Nice to Yourself
She maintains a positive attitude, even when the scale isn’t budging. “Valerie’s motto is ‘progress, not perfection,’” says Brumwell, adding that one key to staying on a diet is to avoid being overly critical or judgmental of yourself.