Valerie Bertinelli, 63, is happier NOT drinking alcohol adding she is 'high on life' with new boyfriend... after sharing she lost 10lbs skipping cocktails

Valerie Bertinelli is happy skipping the cocktails these days.

The 63-year-old Indulge cookbook author - who lost 10lbs after giving up alcohol last year - does not think it is difficult to leave the wine behind.

'I'm actually shocked at how hard it's not,' she said to People. 'Because for a long time, I leaned on it. Right now, I love how I feel more than how the alcohol makes me feel. I found that I do naturally hum at happy.'

She has a lot to be happy about these days like her new East Coast writer boyfriend who is 10 years her junior and her latest cookbook. 'I don't need anything to amplify my happiness right now,' Bertinelli shared, so there is no need to order a Chardonnay.

'I feel high just on life. I recently went out to dinner with a friend, and I had ginger ale in a wine glass. And it felt like I was celebrating,' she noted.

Her no drinking rule in not hard and fast. 'If I really, really want to have a drink, I will,' she shared.

Valerie Bertinelli is happy skipping the cocktails these days. The 63-year-old Indulge cookbook author - who lost 10lbs after giving up alcohol last year - told People that she does not think it is difficult to leave the wine behind. 'I'm actually shocked at how hard it's not,' she said

There has been a focus on her looks since she was a young woman; seen in the 1970s

Valerie first thought about skipping the sangria when she was penning her memoir, Enough Already.

'I was still going through a lot of crap, and I knew that I wanted to be on the road of intentionally finding my core happiness,' she told the site.

It was not easy at the time.

Eddie Van Halen died in 2020 and she split from her second husband, Tom Vitale, in 2022.

She realized the booze made her feel bad.

'I would go out and have a fun time, drink, and the next day, I'd be so sad,' she revealed. 'Because there was so much sadness in my life, and alcohol amplified it.'

In early 2023 she claimed to have lost 10lbs from doing Dry January.

The Food Network star said: 'These jeans that I'm wearing were so tight a few months ago that I couldn't comfortably button them. Now, they're so loose it's time for me to go down a size.'

'Yeah, I like that side effect,' said Bertinelli who appeared thrilled with it all.

A fan asked if she feels better. 'I may also do dry July,' said Valerie.

'For a long time, I leaned on it. Right now, I love how I feel more than how the alcohol makes me feel. I found that I do naturally hum at happy.' She has a lot to be happy about these days like her new East Coast writer boyfriend who is 10 years her junior and her latest cookbook

She used to love Bloody Marys and shared her favorite recipe online

She also talked accepting her body.

The star told People that it was thanks to 'more consistent therapy, more journaling and meditation.'

The Hot In Cleveland standout also shared with the site that she eats what she wants and if she craves pasta she will eat it. 

But the former Jenny Craig poster girl will make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs.

In the past, she said on social media that she has been taking more power walks and doing Pilates to shed the pounds, adding she slimmed down when she stopped drinking alcohol as well, so she is working hard on keeping healthy. 

She also said that after she lost weight she tried on her 'before clothes' from her Jenny Craig shoot from 2009 and they fit.

Instead of being disappointed they fit her just right, she said she felt comfortable. And when looking back at how she was shamed for fitting in those clothes she now feels that shaming was wrong and out 'diet culture' is not healthy. 

In early 2023 she claimed to have lost 10lbs from doing Dry January 

The Hot In Cleveland was a Jenny Craig poster girl who wore a bikini in 2009

In her shoot for the magazine, she not only looked slender but also vibrant as if she is living her best life.

The star has been promoting her new cookbook titled Indulge, which she added was like therapy after leaving Vitale: 'I wanted to write essays about forgiveness and finding the sweetness in life. And indulging in the joys of my life.'

Her diet is open as she does not want to limit herself.

'I don't deny myself anything anymore,' she said to People while posing in a button-down shirt and jeans.

'I think what do I want, as opposed to what am I going to eat because I need to be careful about calories.

'If I want pasta alle vongole, I'm going to make that. And I'm not going to feel one ounce of guilt about it.'

She added: 'But I also don't crave things anymore that won't necessarily feed my body all the nutrition that it needs.'

She also said that after she lost weight she tried on her 'before clothes' from her Jenny Craig shoot from 2009 and they fit. Instead of being disappointed they fit her just right, she said she felt comfortable

In 1977 she was skinny and a teen idol when she posed for Seventeen magazine

Also in her People cover story she said she is in love with a writer from the East Coast she met online.

They first came into contact years ago and they became friends.

They only became romantic earlier this year, but she still will not share his identity.

She also told People she has a new boyfriend, a writer from the East Coast who is 10 years her junior 

'I fell in love when I least expected it!' the brunette beauty revealed to the magazine.

'I'm in love,' Bertinelli added. 'It's a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again.

'I was supposed to die with my six cats and my dog and very happily live the rest of my years alone — I'm good alone,' she said.

'My belly is flip-flopping. This was not supposed to happen.'

She then shared: 'It's crazy the comfort level. It feels incredibly right.' 

Valerie added that she has been working on herself with therapy and long walks with her dog. 

And her new book Indulge pushed her to be more open. 'The cookbook was an offshoot of the emotional and mental healing I've been doing,' she said,

'First came the work. Why I thought I didn't deserve to be loved. Why I was using food to numb my feelings. All the drama and trauma I hadn't dealt with — with Ed and my last marriage.'

Ed is Eddie Van Halen, her first husband who died. And her last marriage was to Tom Vitale.

She will be in the Bay Area of Northern California on April 12 and 13