John Schneider reveals his 'DWTS' 22 lb weight loss

(ABC)

SPOILER ALERT

"Dukes of Hazzard" star John Schneider revealed he has lost 22 pounds while competing on "Dancing with the Stars."

The actor, who survived the elimination round on Monday night's show as singer Tinashe was axed, told Fox News that he's slimmer than he's been in years thanks to his grueling dance rehearsals with pro partner Emma Slater.

"I just put on a pair of [size] 34 jeans and they're loose and that hasn't happened in, gosh, I don't know how long, 30 years?" he told Fox News.

"Most of the day, I feel like a kid but when I first wake up and just before I go to bed I feel like I'm about 1,000 years old," Schneider, 58, admitted, adding that the ABC reality show is "tougher than you can possibly imagine."

The star, who is best known for playing Bo Duke on "Hazzard" and now appears on the OWN network drama, "The Haves and the Have Nots," said he's finding it hard to manage an eating schedule because of hours of dance practice.

"I'm a big beef eater but I'm also a salad eater. I'm trying to eat carbohydrates but that's tough for me," he said of keeping his energy high for "DWTS."

Schneider confided that before his heartthrob days on "The Dukes of Hazzard," he was a chubby kid.

"I weighed nearly 250 pounds at [age] 16 so even though I know I've lost 22 pounds, something inside me won't let me eat a stack of pancakes, but I'd really like to," he said.

"That's probably what I should be eating in the morning -- but I've had omelets [instead]."

The actor sailed through Monday night's "DWTS" Argentine tango performance with pro dancer Slater and their trios' night partner, NSYNC singer Joey Fatone. Schneider is the oldest competitor on Season 27 of the dance show.

He sighed, "I'm trying to eat well [but] there's just no time. I don't want to eat before [dance rehearsals]. If I eat before we're dancing, that's uncomfortable, and by the time we're done, it's 10 o'clock at night and that's not really a time to eat. So it's hard to schedule that."

The TV icon said, "If I was going to advise a friend of mine…to do 'Dancing with the Stars,' I would say you've gotta get yourself on an eating plan."