Ricki Lake Says She Lost 40 Pounds by Rucking and Eating a Keto Diet

• “Hairspray” star Ricki Lake, 56, says she lost 40 pounds without using Ozempic.
• Instead, she followed a strict keto diet, went hiking daily with a weighted vest, and did Pilates.
• The actor told Us Weekly that she also uses a glucose monitor and an Oura ring to track her health.

Ricki Lake, 56, says she lost 40 pounds without any help from Ozempic.

In an interview with Us Weekly published over the weekend, the “Hairspray” star spoke about the fitness and diet routine that has helped her shed pounds since October 2023.

“I did not go on any drug because I wasn’t prediabetic,” Lake told Us Weekly. “There’s nothing wrong with those drugs. They’re actually game-changers for so many people. But for me, I did not want to be reliant on a drug if I could help it.”

Instead, Lake said she started intermittent fasting while following “a very strict keto diet,” which involves cutting almost all consumption of carbs in favor of eating fat and protein instead.

Fasting, such as the popular 8/16 diet that requires people to fit all their meals into an eight-hour window, can help burn more fat while preventing mindless snacking.

Additionally, Lake says also goes hiking with a weighted vest “every single day” and does Pilates “four days a week.”

“I hike every single day, weather allowed. But even in the rain, I’m just out there, [at the] crack of dawn with my dog and usually my husband,” she said.

Rucking, or carrying a weight over distances, has become an immensely popular fitness trend over the past year. It can help improve cardiovascular health while providing resistance training to help strengthen muscles and bones.

To track her progress, Lake says she wore a glucose monitor and her Oura ring, which tracks health data like sleep, temperature, and heart rate.

She also changed her lifestyle by prioritizing sleep and lowering stress levels.

“I don’t go out late at night like my friends. I have DJ friends, they’re going out at midnight, and I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry. I cannot get there,'” Lake said. “I am way asleep by, like, 8 p.m.”

The biggest change, by far, has been in her attitude toward working out, she said.

“I took what was once a chore, you know, every day having to work out and get on the elliptical and hate every minute of it,” she said. “Now it’s a privilege and a joy to be able to move my body, to not be in pain, to see the results [and] to fit in my size 4 jeans.”

During a May appearance on the talk show “Sherri,” Lake told host Sherri Shepherd that getting healthy was a “commitment” she had made with her husband, Ross Burningham, whom she married in 2022.

“I did this on my own, and I want to be an example that if I can do it, others can too. You know, whatever works for anybody — I don’t judge anyone, but I want to share my success in finding love in my 50s because it doesn’t have to be the end. It can be just the beginning,” Lake said.

“I think it’s safe to say I feel the best I can ever remember feeling in my entire life,” she said.

In recent years, more and more celebrities — such as Elon Musk and Whoopi Goldberg — have spoken up about using GLP-1 medications in their weight loss journey.

Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide, which the FDA approved in 2021 for weight management under the brand name Wegovy.

The size of the GLP-1 market is expected to double to $71 billion by 2027, according to forecasts from asset management firm, Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

A representative for Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.