Melissa Joan Hart Talks Her 40 Pound Weight Loss: ‘I’m Very Proud Of Myself’

Melissa Joan Hart is looking and feeling better than ever!

The Melissa and Joey star recently opened up about her 40-pound weight loss and how it has helped her gain her self-confidence back.

“Being able to take off layers or put on a jean that’s a size smaller is so refreshing and it just makes it easier just to move through life,” Hart says in a video for E! News.

“Especially when chasing children,” she continued. “It just makes it easier for me to play with them and run after them and have the energy.”

The actress revealed her dramatic weight loss last year and has been dedicated to keeping the pounds off since.

“Well last year getting into that bikini—that was nerve-wrecking but it was such a challenge and it was so awesome to be able to do that,” she explained.

“I just thought, you know, in my 30s, I can’t wear a bikini. I just thought, that’s not what women in their 30s do and especially after three children. But there I was, down in a bikini, running around the pool. So it’s been great, it’s been a confidence builder.”

In 2012, Melissa gained 60 pounds while she was pregnant. She explained that the increase in weight took a dramatic toll on her physical and mental state.

“It’s never easy when you put on the weight and you’re just uncomfortable. Nothing fits right, you have to be careful what you wear, how you hide and that kinda thing,” she said.

Hart added, “On the inside, it just meant confidence. It just made me happier. It made me feel physically and emotionally lighter to be able to do the things I wanna do, to be able to wear the clothes I wanna wear, to be able to feel sexy around my husband again. I’m very proud of myself.”

How was Hart able to drop the pounds? She explained that she lost the weight with the help of Nutrisystem and her husband, Mark Wilkerson, training her.

“Staying in shape and staying fit is so important in my life just because of all the things I want to do,” Hart explained to People Magazine. “Since he’s [Wilkerson] such an avid workout guy, I wanted to have him train me to see how my body could shift and change.”

Along with attending cardio classes, Hart says she and Wilkerson work out for about an hour each day, three days a week.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]