Valerie Bertinelli admits that she used food as a crutch. Valerie was first recognized by Hollywood for her role in the sitcom “One Day at a Time”, these days she is looking and feeling better than she has in a long time. The former “Jenny Craig” spokesperson is married to husband Tom Vitale, has recently been on an episode of the “Dr. Oz” show, which aired last Monday. The now “Hot in Cleveland” star spoke about her drug use and also her addiction to food in the past.

Valerie told Dr. Oz that, “[Using drugs] wreaked havoc on [my body], because one day I’m eating a healthy meal and the next day I’m just putting a bunch of white powder up my nose,” during the appearance.

The things Valerie blames these two things on is the fact she had low self-worth, “I’m not being good to myself … I’m not worth being treated well anyway, so I’ll just treat myself even worse, I’m so glad I’m not that person anymore.”

Valerie also revealed that getting rid of her drug habit was not too difficult, but however her food habit, well that was a whole different story. “I was never really addicted to drugs. That’s why it was so easy for me to stop,” she says. “But food is a whole other thing. And I used food as a crutch, and I abused food in a way that I shouldn’t have. And it made me afraid of food for a while, too, but now I embrace it.”

Valerie has shared from her new cook book, a yummy taste of her lamb chop and Ribollita soup with Dr. Oz. She offers Italian recipes, tips and tricks, portion control and also healthy eating. ”I’m a master at losing weight. I’ve done it almost my whole life. I’ve lost weight. I’ve gained it back. I’ve lost weight, and I gained it back.”

In fact, Valerie lost more than 40 lbs. with Jenny Craig and told Dr. Oz. “This is the very first time in my life that I have kept this much weight off for as long as I have.”