John Schneider Transforms During 'DWTS' With 22 Pound Weight Loss

The ballroom is whipping John Schneider into shape. The 58-year-old Dukes of Hazzard star told Fox News that he's slimmer than he's been in years, having lost 22 pounds thanks to his time on Dancing With the Stars.

Schneider told the news outlet that his rehearsals with pro dancer Emma Slater are paying off not only with good scores from the judges, but on the scale as well.

"I 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 said, adding that the show is "tougher than you can possibly imagine."

"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," he admitted of the ABC dance competition.

As for keeping his energy levels high, he said he has been "trying to eat carbohydrates but that's tough for me" given his past struggles with his weight.

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

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

Schneider admitted that it's tough to get in his meals between his and Slater's busy schedule of rehearsals. "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," he 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 an eating plan," he said.

As the oldest competitor on the 27th season of the show, Schneider has made it past three rounds of eliminations thus far, dancing an Argentine tango last week during trios' night with Slater and NSYNC singer Joey Fatone.

The Haves and the Have Nots star said during an earlier episode of the show that he hopes the dance competition will help him reconcile with his adult children, with whom he says he's not on speaking terms.

"I feel good. I'm so excited to be here," he told Erin Andrews on air during the two-night season premiere last month. "I'm hoping that I will do my family proud, I'll do my love over there proud," he said, referencing his girlfriend, Alicia, and added, "and maybe my children will speak to me again."

Schneider is in the throes of a legal battle with estranged wife Elvira "Elly" Schneider, who filed for divorce in 2014. The divorce is still ongoing after Schneider was unable to pay Elvira $18,000 per month in alimony. He served jail time earlier this summer for contempt after being "willing but unable" to pay. It's possible that some of his Dancing With the Stars earnings will go to Elvira, TMZ reports. Her legal team recently obtained documents detailing that he made over $1 million through various projects last year, despite the fact that he argued he did not have enough income to afford the monthly alimony payments to Elvira.

Schneider and Slater will compete to stay in the competition Monday night on the show's Disney Week episode. Dancing With the Stars airs at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.