Ree Drummond says a chips and salsa 'rock bottom' catalyzed her almost 60-pound weight loss

Ree Drummond is taking her "Pioneer Woman" alter ego to another level as she explores her new lifestyle changes. 

The Food Network personality and cookbook author, who is known for her comfort food recipes and has "Butter is my boyfriend" in her Instagram bio, said she has lost almost 60 pounds.

She attributes many things to starting her weight loss journey, including wanting to look good for her daughter's wedding and having her injured husband coach her home workouts from the couch — but it was a night of chips and salsa that she considers her "rock bottom." 

"I basically hit rock bottom eating chips and salsa one night" after dropping her son Bryce off at college, Drummond said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published Wednesday. "I went a little overboard, but I thought that night, 'I am going to start tomorrow, I am doing something different.' " 

Drummond keeps track of how much weight she lost but she says the number isn't what motivates her.

"It was never about I have to lose this amount, it's really about how I feel," she said. "I feel great, I have, I feel strong," she said. "Even when I was thinner, I don't think I ever have been a squatter or a lunger before. Not since my ballet days. So it's really nice to just kind of feel the muscles that I thought were gone forever."

Healthy lifestyle:More people want a 'post-pandemic body,' experts say. But is it healthy?

Fitness trainers have seen an uptick in clientele trying to achieve their "post-pandemic bodies" with the hope of returning to normal life with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. A year spent at home led many, like Drummond who told USA TODAY in August about her "pandemic pants," to become lax in their diet and exercise routines. 

More:'Pioneer Woman' Ree Drummond talks stretchy 'pandemic pants,' shares Instant Pot recipe

During a year of change, Drummond told USA TODAY last year how her wardrobe changed as soon as COVID-19 lockdowns hit. 

"They’re black yoga pants, and I think (it was) the day all the kids came home – I would say it was March 12 or March 13 – and I have not worn anything, but black yoga pants since then," she said last August. "I cooked so much and nibbled so much that I was afraid to put on my jeans."

She added that when she started working out again at the time her jeans were starting to "actually fit pretty nicely," making her feel "better about life."

The home cook is ready to step into her acting pants with her upcoming movie debut, a journey she said she was nervous about on Instagram. 

"I was nervous filming this movie, because I am not an actor" she captioned a behind-the-scenes photo of her cameo in Food Network's "Candy Coated Christmas." "Fortunately, once a woman hits her fifties, the possibility of embarrassing herself really doesn’t keep her from doing anything in life."

Contributing: Erin Jensen