In 6 months, Jennie went from depressed to content, from unhealthy to fighting fit

Oct 4, 2012 19:01 GMT  ·  By

This year has been incredibly difficult for former “Beverly Hills 90210” star Jennie Garth as she saw her long-standing marriage to Peter Facinelli crumble to pieces. Now, 6 months later, not only is she depressed no more but she’s also looking and feeling better than ever.

Garth is featured on the cover of this week’s issue of People magazine, looking positively radiant and fighting fit in a body-hugging red dress.

The caption, “40 & wow! How I lost 30lbs (and got my life back),” makes it clear from the very start that her slimming down and leading a much healthier life has a lot to do with it.

Inside the magazine, in a lengthy interview, Jennie discusses the new chapter in her life, how she’s ready to love and be loved again, and how she finally realized that the time had come for her to stop feeling depressed.

In the end, it all translated into her reshaping her figure and boosting her health and well-being.

“I spent a couple of years lying in bed being depressed. It was that ‘I can't breathe’ pain. Physically I didn't look my best, and mentally I didn't feel my best. I was doing everything I could to be a good mom, but that was all I could handle,” Jennie recalls.

The wakeup call came after Peter decided their marriage was over, after watching herself on video. She was playing Wii and her nephew secretly videotaped her: never before had she realized she was such a “depressed person.”

“I didn't even know that person. I'm such a different person now,” she says.

That she is. With the help of a personal trainer who showed her how to exercise and taught her to eat healthily again, Jennie is now feeling and looking better than ever.

“Sitting around on the couch eating Pringles all day is not going to help anyone,” she says.

Garth’s diet these past 6 months has included mostly Greek yoghurt, fish and salads, with plenty of coconut water. She’s also been hitting the gym twice a week for some lightweight training, and keeping active in the great outdoors, hiking.