Paula Deen Weight Loss: 'Dancing With The Stars' Celebrity Chef Has Dropped 40 Pounds -- Her Diet Secret Revealed

Paula Deen has stunned audiences with her massive weight loss and according to the celebrity chef, she has dropped 40 pounds already.

The "Dancing With The Stars" contestant spoke to E! News and dished how she dislikes the word "diet."

"I hate the word diet. I don't even want to say that word with people as I'm trying to help them because you automatically start out feeling deprived and beaten," said the partner of Louis Van Amstel during a recent rehearsal break. "My favorite word in my new lifestyle is moderation. You know, we can have a cookie. It's that other five that we have that do the damage."

The 68-year-old has credited "clean eating" as her secret to success. The change in her lifestyle was triggered by a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis and to help others, Paula shared some of her clean recipes in her new book "Paula Deen Cuts The Fat" and tells people you can still eat your favorite, wonderful dishes even when you're focused on a healthier lifestyle.

She says that her dramatic weight loss gave her the confidence to finally agree to join the popular reality show. "This was either my fourth or my fifth year being invited to do the show, and I very quickly said no every year," said Deen. "And so I dropped 40 pounds and then when this invitation came in, my team was so happy and so I really accepted it for them and for my family. But I said maybe it would be doable now that I gotten four 10-pound bowling balls off of me, maybe I could struggle through!"

While the famous chef is looking fiery with her shaved pounds, she says you won't be seeing her in any skimpy outfits. "Oh no, not grandma, honey!" Paula joked to ET Online. "We don't want to make people sick the first night!"

Until debuting the results of all her hard-work, Deen has been lying low following a massive racial scandal in 2013 which saw the cooking queen removed from her "Food Network" program and loss of all her endorsements. She admitted to using racial slurs and quickly fell from grace.

"Dancing With The Stars" has returned for Season 21 and Deen is set to compete against Bindi Irwin, Nick Carter, Chaka Khan and Kim Zolciak, to name a few.

Catch DWTS every Monday, 8/7c on ABC.

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