Rosie O’Donnell Talks Exiting ‘The View’ And Weight Loss Wars, Including Bill Clinton’s ‘Weird Diet’ [Video]

Life since her heart attack hasn’t been rosy for Rosie O’Donnell. She was forced to recognize that she had to make lifestyle changes to save her life, including conquering her life-long weight loss wars. Now, in the days after making a decision to exit The View amid the stress of separating from her wife, Rosie is opening up about the past and what she hopes for her future, reported ABC News.

And although many areas of her life are in turmoil, Rosie admitted that her weight particularly perturbs her. That’s true even after losing 50 pounds following a difficult decision to have weight-loss surgery.

“I had thought about gastric bypass before, but I was always concerned about some of the side effects,” Rosie revealed.

So before she had a gastric bypass, Rosie tried various diets.

“I went to the Internet and I looked up where Bill Clinton did that weird diet and I went on that diet. Basically, impossible, in my opinion, but I did that diet for a couple months. I went vegan for a couple months. I just couldn’t do it.”

Although O’Donnell apparently did not realize it, the former president also abandoned his vegan diet on the advice of his doctor, as the Inquisitr reported.

Clinton made his confession on a recent episode of the Rachael Ray show, revealing that he was not getting enough good quality protein on a vegan diet. As a result, he now regularly eats fish and is particularly fond of salmon, using a Paleo-style low-carb diet that also excludes dairy.

Like Rosie, Clinton also had life-threatening heart problems. But for the former President, weight loss success did come more easily when he used that diet, and he’s also succeeded in reducing his stress.

In contrast, Rosie revealed that despite her weight-loss surgery, she still struggles.

“It’s not like all of a sudden you change and, boom, you lose the weight, everything’s fine, you got on a size 10, life is great. You’re having amazing sex. Nothing is wrong. It doesn’t work that way,” mused Rosie.

“All of the stuff that you carry with you as a heavy person in the world will still be there when you’re a thin person in the world.”

As the Inquisitr reported, O’Donnell linked her decision to exit The View to her health. The stress of debating with the other hosts felt like too much of a risk to continue, said Rosie.

“My doctors were noticing that there was an uptick in my numbers since I started on the show,” said Rosie.

“It got a little bit worse right before the holidays, and my doctor was kind of concerned, so when I went back after the holiday break, she said to me, ‘You know, the stress level is too much,'” revealed O’Donnell.

And she was equally candid about her separation from wife Michelle Rounds, who wanted to keep their situation private, admitted Rosie.

“Anyone can go on Instagram and see that Michelle’s not in the house with me, it’s been since Thanksgiving, people are not idiots. I don’t want to lie and fabricate but we also needed some time for both of us to figure it out,” she said.

For her farewell to The View, Rosie expressed her thanks to Barbara Walters, reported Entertainment Tonight.

“I want to thank her for making the show and letting me be on it twice. We’ve had fun and I hope we’re going to have more. I’ll come back and do an occasional crafting segment because I have a hot glue gun and I will travel,” joked O’Donnell.

[Photo By Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]