'OITNB' actress Lea DeLaria loses 50 lbs.

Lea DeLaria is losing weight. A lot of weight.

"I lost 50 pounds since September," she tells People. "I lost 25 lbs. since the SAG Awards – it's crazy!"

While DeLaria, who plays Big Boo on the Netflix series, was happily chatting about it, she also said it's the result of serious health issues.

"What you need to do is, first contract diabetes. Two, take the medication that they give you for diabetes," she says, noting that she was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic.

"I feel great," says DeLaria, who is engaged to Chelsea Fairless, "But I went through a year of going, 'Why do I feel so bad?'"

A blood test helped her understand why.

"And now I've got my energy back. I feel like me and everything is great."

She says that no matter how much she weighs, she tries to get the message across that "you're beautiful no matter what your size is. This obsession we have with thinness in our industry and in the world needs to [go away]."

OITNB returns for a third season on June 12.