Marissa Jaret Winokur vows to 'stay away' from calories during the holidays

Wonderwall, Sunday, December 2, 2012, 11:57am (PST)

By Jon Warech with reporting from Taryn Ryder

• Since the "Wreck-It Ralph" premiere, everyone is talking about Marissa Jaret Winokur, who turned up on the red carpet an astonishing 60 pounds lighter and showed off a slender figure that she admits took some serious work.

  RELATED: Celebs who have slimmed down

  "Truly 100% I'm working out every day, I'm eating 1200 calories," she told Wonderwall at the 2nd Annual Santa's Secret Workshop, benefiting L.A. Family Housing, in West Hollywood, California. "Straight up, there is no trick. I have no food plan, nothing. It's truly working out and eating right. Calories in and calories out. I feel like there is a math to it -- 3500 calories equals a pound, it works. And if you go slow. I've lost over 60 pounds -- 62 pounds but who's counting? Truly just going slow. It's been eight months. I didn't do it overnight. I wasn't like 'I have to lose 50 pounds.' It's slow and keep going. It's not, 'I lost 20 pounds and I'm good.' I thought about stopping at 20. It's going slow and eating right."

  RELATED: Jessica Simpson shows off weight loss

  The ability to take things slow and stay the course is a new trait for the actress, who credits her son for teaching her that lesson.

  "My son everyday has taught me patience," Winokur says. "He's a ticking time bomb, I'm a ticking time bomb. You just have to take a deep breath. When you tell your child to calm down you should do the same!"

  RELATED: Gerard Butler explains shocking slim-down

  While Winokur appreciates fans loving her new look, she says she wishes she had dressed up for the occasion.

  "Literally the 'Wreck-It Ralph' thing -- if I had known anyone was going to [care] I would have absolutely pulled out a new outfit," she says. "I so threw it together in the car, literally. That blue shirt and black skirt are going to plague me. I gave the blue shirt away because literally I knew I could never wear it again."

  Holiday season is normally the toughest time to stay on a diet, but Winokur says she remains focused, and tells anyone who wants to stay fit through the end of the year to do the same.

  "Stay away! Just stay away," she says. "It's just not worth it. Of course have a bite of your favorite Christmas pie, but don't take a plate of full deserts and go through them. It's just not worth it. Make good choices. I know I'm having apple pie tonight so I'm going to eat great all day. When you count calories you become so aware."