At 49, many people slow down and take a gentler approach to fat loss, but not Melissa Joan Hart. Even at this stage of life, she shed 18 lbs simply by cutting two things from her diet.

“I actually feel stronger and better than I have in a really long time," Hart told People in an exclusive interview. The ‘Clarissa Explains It All’ star expressed that she is on a mission, “a health journey, like a longevity journey,” for which she has been working out a lot.

"I just wanted to feel better. It had nothing to do with losing weight," Hart, 49, said at Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's Grammy viewing party Feb. 1 in Los Angeles.

“I really didn't think I could lose weight anymore, being in midlife and perimenopause... “I lost about 18 pounds last year,” she told People.

Trying to feel better, she decided to change her lifestyle, “And in doing that and discovering fasting and cutting sugars and cutting alcohol, I haven't had a drink in over a year.”

Quitting alcohol was the easy part for her, as she never really enjoyed it, but after she cut out sugar, she understood its importance. In fact, losing weight wasn't even the hardest part of her journey.

Hydration Was the Real Challenge for Melissa Joan Hart

Hart even joked that her husband, musician Mark Wilkerson, constantly calls her out for avoiding water whenever he can.

"My husband says when I drink a glass of water, I make a face like it's the most disgusting thing on earth... I'm sipping on it, like, 'Eww.'" joked Melissa Joan Hart.

However, the actress has found alternatives that help her stay hydrated. “I'll do hot tea, cold tea, green tea, peppermint tea, any kind of tea,” explained Hart.

Back in 2014, Melissa Joan Hart told CNN that after a year of working on her weight, she lost nearly 40 lbs. Although it's all about longevity now, simply incorporating healthy habits has helped her lose nearly 20 lbs.

So what were your takeaways from Hart's approach? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi