Ricki Lake learned to lose weight the right way

NEW YORK - Ricki Lake is a brand-new woman with a brand-new body.

Today, in part four of Weight Loss Week, the remarkable story of how Ricki finally got a handle on her life and lost those extra pounds one final time.

“I started doing (a new routine on) February 7, so it’s (been) just two months and I lost 24 pounds,” former talk show host Ricki Lake told “Access Hollywood.” “I’m a size 6 you know. I mean this is as good as I get basically.”

So what was Ricki’s biggest size?

“I was 260 pounds and a size 24. Now I’m 120 something and this is me,” Ricki enthused. “(I’m) less than half my size ... This is the thinnest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Ricki has been struggling with her weight for nearly 20 years! She was in her full figure prime back in 1988 when she made her film debut in the original “Hairspray.”

“I’m big, blonde and beautiful,” she said at the time.

Now after dropping 140 pounds, Ricki’s a new woman.

Ricki unveiled her new fit and trim look at the Tribeca Film Festival along with her new documentary “The Business of Being Born,” in which she actually gives birth.

So how did she shed those pounds? Ricki hired “Fresh Dining,” a food delivery service and the pounds just melted away.

“I went from a 12-14 to a size 6,” Ricki began. “I was nervous about gaining it back.”

Thrilled with her new size, Ricki has had to find new duds.

“I’m buying all new clothes. I’m investing in a huge new wardrobe, but it’s every day,” Ricki says of her battle with her weight. “I have become a little obsessed with the scale. I get on the scale every morning to make sure I didn’t gain any weight or maybe I lost more. You want to be well adjusted and not get too extreme.”

Extreme was the year she took off — 1992, before starting her talk show. Then at age 24, Ricki lost over 100 pounds, but she says that time she did it the wrong way.

“That was not healthy,” she admits. “I was starving myself. I was fainting. It worked, it was effective, but it wasn’t the healthiest way to do it.”

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