© ABC
The View co-host explained that the intense physical training with partner Val Chmerkovskiy has given her a feeling of accomplishment.
"I just think dance is so freeing and you know it, it helps my brain," she told Access Hollywood. "I feel better after I do it."
Shepherd continued: "I feel better dancing than I do going to the gym after I leave, because I feel like I've accomplished something and when you're on a treadmill you don't get to look at a cute guy. In dancing I do, so that is, that's a big plus right there."
The 44-year-old comedian-actress added that the increased exercise has also given her more energy.
"I can tell that my body's getting very toned, because it's like doing a great form of Pilates," she commented. "I'm more focused on the fact that I'm getting healthier and I've never felt better in my life.
"I wake up with a lot of energy and I feel like I can play with my son without breathing hard, so it's not so much a weight loss that's getting to me, it's just being healthy. I love, I love that feeling."
Shepherd and Chmerkovskiy were praised for their rumba by judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli last week, earning a respectable 24 out of 30.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC.
> Dancing with the Stars cast plan Sherri Shepherd birthday party
> Jack Wagner on Dancing with the Stars elimination: 'I'm very sad'
Watch Sherri Shepherd and Val Chmerkovskiy's rumba below:
