Sara Rue’s Body Triumph: It’s My First Time in a Bikini

As a teen struggling with her weight, Sara Rue hated letting people see her body. When friends invited her to pool parties, the actress would often decline the invitation. “I’d end up justifying it, thinking, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, I didn’t want to go anyway,’” she tells In Touch in an exclusive interview. The times she was brave enough to attend, Sara would cover up by wearing dresses and pretend she didn’t want to go in the water. Later, in her twenties, she continued to hide her figure because she felt uncomfortable revealing too much skin. “I’d rent a house with friends and everyone would be in the pool and it would look so fun, but I was too embarrassed.” But those days are clearly far behind her. Since joining Jenny Craig in December 2009, Sara — who will marry fiancé Kevin Price in May — has lost more than 50 pounds and has conquered her fears. “This is the first time in my life I’ve ever worn a bikini!” she says. “And it feels amazing!”

Although she admits she was nervous to be in a bikini for the shoot, Sara’s fiancé was supportive and made her feel confident. “At the beginning of the shoot, he was saying, ‘Baby, you look beautiful, you look great.’ And by the end, he was like, ‘You are hot!’ and he meant it, which made me feel so good,” she said.

And to prepare for the shoot, Sara not only “upped her cardio from four times a week to every day, did lunges, 100 crunches and toned up her core,” she also maintained a strict diet! “I eat three meals a day and two snacks. Breakfast is a bowl of steel-cut oats with fruit, then yogurt for a snack, a giant salad with veggies for lunch, a protein bar and then protein with brown rice and veggies for dinner,” Sara shared with In Touch.

Sara says it well, ladies! “Being in a bikini is the ultimate challenge — and the last hurdle!”