Ricki Lake opens up about how she lost 35 pounds at age 55: ‘The healthiest I’ve ever felt’
Ricki Lake, who recently lost more than 30 pounds, says she's determined to continue her healthy lifestyle.
“I think I have to keep this up. I mean, I don’t know if I can keep up being physically this fit, but I’m going to hike every morning and be out in nature,” Lake told "Entertainment Tonight" on May 9.
“It’s really a mindset,” she added.
The former talk show host lost the weight along with husband Ross Burningham. She says they're at a point in their lives where health is top of mind.
“We found each other later in life. ... I’m 55. I want to feel as good as I possibly can for as long as I can,” she said. “That involves daily exercise, mindfulness practice, good sleep, and having a lot of fun. Like, I have so much fun.”
Lake also says there were plenty of people who doubted she could lose weight at her age, including a doctor.
“The doctor that told me I wasn’t going to be successful. He motivated me,” she said. “I say thank you to him, you know? He really pissed me off, and I wanted to prove him wrong.”
Lake said age shouldn't be a deterrent from being healthy.
“It’s so funny that because when you’re in your 50s, you’re supposed to be going sort of down, it’s all downhill from here,” she told People in an interview published May 10. “I feel the opposite, I feel the healthiest I’ve ever felt, the fittest and I have a beautiful partner that I share my life with. I pinch myself every day.”
“Love yourself first above everything else,” she continued. “Come to a place of real self-love and self-acceptance, and I think good things come from that.”
Ricki Lake's weight loss journey
In February 2024, Lake revealed on Instagram that she and Burningham had both lost more than 30 pounds in the four months prior. They'd committed to getting “healthier” toward the end of 2023, she noted.
In the post, Lake shared several photos documenting their journey, starting with a snap of the couple taking their daily hike. She also shared two photos of herself taken at the start of their journey, followed by a photo posing in the mirror in workout attire.
“I’ve been wanting to share with you what I’ve been up to these last 4 months," she wrote in the caption.
“On October 26th, 2023 I made a commitment to myself to get healthier,” she added. “My husband, Ross joined me in this effort. Together we have each lost 30+ lbs.”
Lake wrote that she and Burningham “did this without relying on a pharmaceutical,” likely referring to the rise in celebrities using medications including Ozempic to aid in weight-loss.
“Not that there is anything wrong with that,” she noted. “But neither of us were pre diabetic and both of us felt like we wanted to at least try and do it on our own.”
She said that she was “a bit worried” that she wouldn’t be able to lose weight like she had in the past. She cited her age, 55, as a factor, as well as experiencing perimenopause, the time before a person enters into menopause.
“I am so so proud of us. I feel amazing. I feel strong,” she wrote. “I will go in depth in another post of what I did exactly, but suffice to say this is the healthiest way I’ve lost weight in all of my years.”
In mid-April she shared another selfie and update on her weight loss, writing, "Still going…. Strong. Moving my body every single day. Out in nature, rain or shine with my beloved Ross and Dolly. So grateful and proud to feel like I’m in the best shape of my life at 55 1/2."
Part of the lifestyle changes she's made have also made her able to return to some older clothes in her wardrobe. In a May 8 Instagram post, she shared a recent picture of herself wearing a dress from 2007.
"Oh, this old thing?? Just had it hanging around.Originally wore this dress to the Business of Being Born world premiere in 2007 and now here I am wearing it again in 2024!" she wrote.
How did Ricki Lake lose weight?
Lake shared in her original Instagram post that a daily hike with her husband and dog has been part of her regimen. She estimated that when she started trying to lose weight, she was about 170 pounds.
She's since lost 35 pounds, she told ABC News in a May 9 interview. She also shared with the outlet that she has been intermittent fasting, following the keto diet, tracking her sleep and exercising more, especially doing Pilates.
Ricki lake's other health struggles
Lake has been on a “self-love and self-acceptance” journey since New Year’s Eve 2019, when she shaved her head after revealing she suffered from hair loss. She shared the “raw video footage” of the moment for the first time three years later on Instagram.
“In this video, you can see me come to a place of peace, liberation, and most importantly, self-love and self-acceptance,” she wrote in part. “May all of you struggling with whatever also come to a place of peace and acceptance. Life is too damn short.”
She celebrated the four-year anniversary of shaving her head at the end of 2023, writing on Instagram, “My transformation was so much more than physical.”
“I faced one of my greatest fears that day,” she added. “I will always acknowledge this anniversary and reflect on the growth and self love that came from my taking this huge leap of faith.”
Prior to the start of her health journey, Lake celebrated herself au naturale in an Instagram post shared in June 2023. In the post, in which she poses nude in an outdoor tub, the former talk show host said she was feeling "grateful."
“Hands down, these days are the best of my life,” she wrote at the time. “Grateful for all that had to happen for me to get to here. A place of complete self-acceptance and self love.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
