Ricki Lake reveals 30lb weight loss transformation 'without relying on drugs'

American former talk show host Ricki Lake has revealed her weight loss transformation in a post on Instagram.

The 55-year-old Hairspray star has lost 30lb, just over 2st, (13.6kg) without relying on pharmaceutical weight loss drugs, after she made a commitment to get healthier alongside her husband Ross.

Taking to Instagram, Lake revealed that she is “so, so proud” of what she has achieved in the last four months. Lake said: "Hi friends. I’ve been wanting to share with you what I’ve been up to these last 4 months. On October 26th 2023 I made a commitment to myself to get healthier. My husband Ross joined me in this effort. Together we have each lost 30+ lbs."

She continued: "I really want to share, because we did this without relying on a pharmaceutical. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) 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."

Weight loss drugs have been making headlines after they were approved for use on the NHS in November 2023. Originally created to treat people with type 2 diabetes and other weight-related health issues, they have been championed by celebrities including Elon Musk and former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne who has spoken about using the drug Ozempic in her quest to lose weight.

Sharing on Instagram, Lake said she was "was a bit worried" that she would not lose weight like she had "in the past" due to being perimenopausal. She added: "I am so, so proud of us. I feel amazing. I feel strong. 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."

The former TV talk show host shared a collection of photos including one of her on a hike with her husband and another that showed them hugging. She also posted a graph that showed how her weight had fallen to 140.8lb, or 10st (63.9kg).

Lake is known for playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray and for her popular talk show which ran from 1993-2004. In 2019 she took part in the UK singing show The X Factor: Celebrity and has previously taken part in the US series of The Masked Singer.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.