Melissa Joan Hart (c) Instagram

Melissa Joan Hart (c) Instagram

Melissa Joan Hart admits the pressure of being a celebrity encourages her to go to the gym.

The 38-year-old actress - who gained 60lbs while pregnant with her third child in 2012 - recently lost a dramatic 40lbs and unveiled her impressive weightloss on Instagram earlier this month, but she insists it was her status in society that motivated her to drop the pounds.

Speaking to PEOPLE.com, she said: "I love looking at people that I'm motivated by and saying, 'Gwen Stefani looks fantastic. I want to be like Gwen Stefani.'

"Sometimes it's not always reasonable to look at somebody and draw inspiration off them. I actually don't mind the pressure as a celebrity, because I don't mind using it to try to get me to the gym. People expect me to look good! [But] you've got to take it with a healthy dose of reality. It's got to be what really works for me. Don't kill yourself for it, but maybe start to make some changes."

The blonde beauty tries to make time to go to the gym, but she admits running around after her children Mason, eight, Braydon, six, and Tucker, one - whom she shares with her husband Mark Wilkerson - is enough of a work out for her.

She joked: "Just keeping the little ones alive is a workout alone, trying to keep them from falling down stairs and slides and off playgrounds ... There's a lot of workouts in this family for sure, whether you want it or not."