'The View' Co-Host Whoopi Goldberg Shares Why She Decided to Lose 35 Pounds

— -- "The View" kicked off a new season today with a whole new panel joining veteran host Whoopi Goldberg.

The legendary actress was joined by Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace, and a lot of the talk on the premiere was about O'Donnell's return and how great she looks, though the ladies noticed that someone else looked amazing, too: Whoopi!

Goldberg, 58, said on the show she topped off at 217 pounds recently and decided it was time for a change. She said former "View" co-host Sherri Shepherd was partly responsible for the motivation to lose the weight.

READ: 'The View' Premieres With New Hosts Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace

RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg Talks 'The View' Reinvention

"About 35 pounds," she told ABC News backstage after the show of how much she has lost. "I happened to notice that I had begun to look like a linebacker. I happened to look over and there was Sherri, skinny, and I said, 'What did you do?' She said, 'I've been doing Rocco DiSpirito's one pound a day diet.' I said, 'Please, I want to do it too.'"

Goldberg has been doing the diet since November and also gave up smoking.

"A month off helps, too," she said of the break between seasons. "I'll be ready again in a half a year to take another month off. I think that has a lot to do with it as well."

As for the first episode, Goldberg said, "It went well, we did what we do. We talked and that's what 'The View' does better than anybody else."