Former 'Sopranos' Star Lorraine Bracco: James Gandolfini's Death Was a Wake-Up Call

Gandolfini's death served as a "jolting reminder" of how life can be fleeting, Bracco writes in her new book

Photo: imitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Motivated by personal tragedy, former Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco turned her life around with diet and exercise.

In her new self-help book, To the Fullest: The Clean Up Your Act Plan to Lose Weight, Rejuvenate and Be the Best You Can Be, Bracco, 60, recalls how James Gandolfini‘s untimely death from a heart attack in 2013 was a wake-up call.

The death of her parents, too, weighed heavily on the actress; in 2011, they died within nine days of each other. (Bracco, who played Dr. Jennifer Melfi on The Sopranos, writes in To the Fullest that Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior in the HBO mob drama, sang at their funerals.)

However, Gandolfini’s death at just 51, in particular, served as a “jolting reminder” of how you can be “here today and gone tomorrow,” she writes in her book.

The death of her costar had Bracco teaming up with a friend to do a 14-day detox, cutting out all processed foods, sugars, dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, alcohol and caffeine and continued to eat healthily afterward.

Following the lifestyle change, Bracco lost 35 lbs. over the course of a year. She has kept the weight off ever since.

To the Fullest outlines the detox that jump-started her weight loss as well as two weeks of healthy recipes. The book also includes shopping lists, simple exercises and tips on how navigate everyday situations – like dinner parties – without backsliding.