Ricki Lake is giving fans a firsthand look into her health journey.
In recent social media posts, Lake has been showing appreciation for her body and the freedom that comes with self love.
In her latest, uploaded on May 8, Lake wears a dress she first wore in 2007. She also includes a photo of the first time she wore it nearly two decades ago to the premiere of “The Business of Being Born.”
“Oh, this old thing,” Lake wrote in her caption. “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!”
In the comments, her followers praise her for managing to hold on to items for so long. They also applaud the success Lake has found on her health journey which has resulted in weight loss, something Lake celebrated earlier this year.
On Feb. 24, Lake wrote about how she and her husband, Ross Burningham, both lost more than 30 pounds in the last four months in an Instagram caption. They’d committed to getting “healthier” toward the end of 2023.
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 to show her weight loss.
Lake shared more about her journey in the caption, writing to her followers, “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,” 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, which is 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.”
Lake has been on a “self-love and self-acceptance” journey since New Year’s Eve in 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.”