'Cake Boss' Star Buddy Valastro Reveals 40-Lb Transformation

Buddy Valastro got candid about the healing process following a freak bowling accident, part of which he said included a 40-pound weight loss journey.

The Cake Boss star, 46, opened up about recovering from the 2020 incident that left him needing multiple surgeries to fix his right hand after it was impaled with a metal rod while attempting to fix his bowling alley's pinsetter.

"After COVID, I was just home — doom and gloom — and eating. I mean…COVID was just miserable in that way," the Carlo's Bakery owner told People in a conversation published on April 27.

Then in March 2022, after undergoing five surgeries to correct the damage to his hand, the father of four recalled something clicking in his brain that forced a lifestyle change. "I just woke up, and I was like, 'This is almost the heaviest I've ever been.'"

But now, after a year of intermittent fasting and portion control, the celebrity baker is down nearly 40 pounds.

"It took me nine months to lose weight, and I've been maintaining it now because I lost it nice and slow. It wasn't a crash diet or anything like that," Valastro explained. "I just tried to be more disciplined during the week."

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He described "discipline" as learning to recognize his body's hunger cues and curb over-eating or snacking when bored.

"Growing up in an old-fashioned Italian house, you didn't eat until you were full, you eat until you couldn't even move. And you were gorged," he recalled. "And that's the way I would eat all the time. And once I started to shrink my stomach and stop when it's time to stop, you feel better."

And while his work keeps him active on the floor, Valastro said the "real trick" to losing the weight was upping his daily water intake."I try to pound seven or eight bottles of water a day," he told the outlet. "You're always peeing! But it is good for your skin, too."

"If you drink a lot of water, you can't eat as much. So it's kind of just changing your habits, and you make it your job," he added.

He also noted that he's proud of himself for doing his best to maintain his goal weight, especially since "food is so good." But he's optimistic, "I feel like I'm in a pretty good place now. So I'm happy. And just doing the best I can."

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