Valerie Bertinelli Bares All - Almost All - on Oprah

Valerie Bertinelli is exceedingly charming, playful, full of laughter, and seems much younger than her years in both appearance and manner.

Valerie Bertinelli appeared on the Oprah show on February 25, 2008 to promote her book, Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time

While watching the previews for the Oprah show I could feel myself becoming disappointed at the prospect of Valerie indulging in the same predictable behaviors that so many in Hollywood succumb to.

Watching the show changed that for me and I could feel myself blush at my rush to judgment. While I don't condone Valerie Bertinelli's actions or some of the choices she has made, I commend her raw candor and admit that she taught me a lesson or two, and she surprised me as well.

She looked like a million bucks; one could easily feel inferior to her or think they could never measure up, but she was so humble that she admitted that her beautiful long hair wasn't really her hair. I inferred that she had the help of extensions. No matter what, not many women would admit to that, but she did.

In an hour of being interviewed, Valerie had that rare ability to keep viewers engaged. She was fun!

In reference to her weight and body image issues:

"The inner me is prettier than the outer me...I hope."

"I wish I could shake that young girl I was and tell her she looked fine!"

On her extra-marital affair:

"We shouldn't be allowed to be as stupid as we really are in our 20's. There should be a law against it."

"We had grown apart and I just wanted to be loved and touched because I wasn't getting it at home." "That's not an excuse. I should have dealt with the problems in our marriage, and then separated."

She admits to having made a wrong choice and felt a lot of guilt.

On Jenny Craig:

They called her up. Her amusing reaction was, "They know I'm fat too?"

Weight-loss Tips:

Valerie wears a weighted walk vest and goes on 1 mile walks. She mentioned that some women look for ways to have some alone time with their husbands so that they can talk; going on walks together is great for that.

She showed what she eats -- Jenny Craig of course, but for snacks she sometimes has 10 calorie Jello with fat free whipped topping. She also likes 100 calorie ice cream treats.

At the conclusion of Valerie's interview, I came away respecting her when I anticipated being disappointed in her. What's not to like about someone who is both genuine and honest? Many celebrities project an image of themselves that isn't even accurate. Valerie Bertinelli does and while it's not always pretty, at least it's the truth.