TMC
02-06-2026, 08:29 PM
https://people.com/melissa-joan-hart-lost-18-lbs-by-cutting-sugar-and-alcohol-exclusive-11897482
Melissa Joan Hart says she thought perimenopause would keep her from losing weight — until she dropped nearly 20 lbs. just by cutting out sugar and alcohol.
“I actually feel stronger and better than I have in a really long time,” Hart, 49, told PEOPLE exclusively at Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler’s 7th Annual Jam for Janie Grammy viewing party, an event benefitting his Janie’s Fund, which helps neglected and abused girls, on Feb. 1.
The Clarissa Explains It All alum — who turns 50 on April 18 — shared that she’s been working out “really hard” as part of “a health journey, like a longevity journey.” As she explains, “I just wanted to feel better. It had nothing to do with losing weight. I really didn't think I could lose weight anymore, being in midlife and perimenopause and all those things, I was like, ‘Can I really lose weight? I don't think I can.’ “
As the Mayo Clinic explains, hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause, along with aging and lifestyle changes, “make it more likely that women will gain weight around the abdomen.” But Hart shares, “I lost about 18 pounds last year.”
It started by “just trying to feel better. And in doing that and discovering fasting and cutting sugars and cutting alcohol — I haven’t had a drink in over a year.”
She went on to explain, “I just don't even enjoy drinking. So why bother? So I cut these things out of my life, and I started to feel better. And in doing that, I lost a lot of weight and kind of feel great.”
The Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum shared that, while she's not a fan of water, she's staying hydrated in other ways. “My husband says when I drink a glass of water, I make a face like it's the most disgusting thing on earth," she tells PEOPLE of her husband, Mark Wilkerson, with whom she shares three sons, Mason, 20, Braydon, 17, and Tucker, 13.
Melissa Joan Hart says she thought perimenopause would keep her from losing weight — until she dropped nearly 20 lbs. just by cutting out sugar and alcohol.
“I actually feel stronger and better than I have in a really long time,” Hart, 49, told PEOPLE exclusively at Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler’s 7th Annual Jam for Janie Grammy viewing party, an event benefitting his Janie’s Fund, which helps neglected and abused girls, on Feb. 1.
The Clarissa Explains It All alum — who turns 50 on April 18 — shared that she’s been working out “really hard” as part of “a health journey, like a longevity journey.” As she explains, “I just wanted to feel better. It had nothing to do with losing weight. I really didn't think I could lose weight anymore, being in midlife and perimenopause and all those things, I was like, ‘Can I really lose weight? I don't think I can.’ “
As the Mayo Clinic explains, hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause, along with aging and lifestyle changes, “make it more likely that women will gain weight around the abdomen.” But Hart shares, “I lost about 18 pounds last year.”
It started by “just trying to feel better. And in doing that and discovering fasting and cutting sugars and cutting alcohol — I haven’t had a drink in over a year.”
She went on to explain, “I just don't even enjoy drinking. So why bother? So I cut these things out of my life, and I started to feel better. And in doing that, I lost a lot of weight and kind of feel great.”
The Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum shared that, while she's not a fan of water, she's staying hydrated in other ways. “My husband says when I drink a glass of water, I make a face like it's the most disgusting thing on earth," she tells PEOPLE of her husband, Mark Wilkerson, with whom she shares three sons, Mason, 20, Braydon, 17, and Tucker, 13.