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"The doctor that told me I wasn't going to be successful, he motivated me," the former talk show host shared. "I say thank you to him, you know? He really pissed me off, and I wanted to prove him wrong."
Ricki Lake is sharing the motivation behind her recent weight loss.
In an new interview with Entertainment Tonight, the former talk show host said that one thing that inspired her to shed the pounds more than almost anything else was the desire to prove those who doubted her wrong.
"The doctor that told me I wasn't going to be successful, he motivated me," Lake shared. "I say thank you to him, you know? He really pissed me off, and I wanted to prove him wrong."
She continued, "I've done this in my mid-50s when we're told that we can't lose weight. I mean, I am, I guess, defying the odds, and I want to share my story. Not to say I'm better than anyone, but if I can do it, you can, too."
While Lake said she doesn't want to be a role model for others, she believes there's "power" in sharing her journey.
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Ricki Lake Reveals 30-Pound Weight Loss, Shares Photos of Jaw-Dropping Transformation
View Story"I'm really happy," Lake gushed. "[And] I think it's forever. 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.
"It's really a mindset," she added.
Lake, who has been open about her fluctuating weight over the years, told ET that she's tried just about everything in the past, but it's her current method of healthy eating and intermittent fasting that's really what's working now.
"I mean, I took fen-phen back in the day, I went on the crash diet... this time, I really am focused on eating really clean food, nothing processed -- or as little processed food as possible -- and intermittent fasting," Lake said. "I don't know, it's just working."
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It's a journey she's been on with her husband, Ross Burningham, with the pair making a "pact" to motivate and help one another after tying the knot in January 2022.
"We found each other later in life, we're in our 50s. I'm 55. I want to feel as good as I possibly can for as long as I can," she shared, "and that involves daily exercise, mindfulness practice, good sleep, and having a lot of fun. Like, I have so much fun."
Lake first opened up about her weight loss in February when she took to social media to share the news along with photos of her slimmed-down figure.
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"On October 26th, 2023 I made a commitment to myself to get healthier," she wrote at the time. Over the four months that followed that commitment, Lake and her husband each lost over 30 pounds, and have managed to stay on track.
Lake most recently showed off her weight loss at the Good Neighbor Gala Thursday, wearing a dress "from more than 15 years ago" that she now fits into for the first time in years.
"It feels amazing," she gushed.
See more of Lake's weight loss transformation below.
