celebrity weight loss

Known for her spunky attitude as both Tracy Turnblad in the original movie Hairspray and her 11-year stint as a daytime talk show host, Ricki Lake, 43, is no stranger to weight issues. A few years ago, she dropped 140 pounds off her 270-pound frame, and although she might have gained some back, Dancing With the Stars is whipping her back into shape.

Ricki told Ellen DeGeneres on her show that airs today, "I lost more than 13 inches in a month. It's crazy." She's dropped about 15 pounds so far, and that includes five inches from her waist and five from her hips. She owes it all to her dance partner, Derek Hough, who encourages her to move more, boasting that, "The Derek Hough diet is the best. It's hardcore." She adds,

"[DWTS pros and execs] say it's the hardest thing you will ever do and you're like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've done hard: I had my baby in my bathtub at home' and yet we work out all day long. We are sweating all over each other!"

Ricki Lake told US weekly, "I am really getting in great shape. I will be wearing less and less clothing the smaller I get. I am feeling more comfortable in my own skin."

Like DWTS alums Kelly Osbourne and Kirstie Alley, it's amazing to watch someone slim down right before our eyes. I'm rooting for Ricki, hoping she's able to stay on the show week after week, shaking her booty and shedding those pounds.

Photo courtesy of ABC

The pressure in Hollywood to bounce back and lose the baby weight sometimes seems like a competition, but one new mom is not playing the game. Selma Blair, known for the movie series Hellboy, my personal fave Legally Blonde, and her latest film Dark Horse, says she didn't have time to hit the gym after having her son, Arthur Saint Bleick, in late July. She told Us Weekly:

"I actually haven't lost any weight since the day I left the hospital. I still weigh the exact same number. I haven't really been focusing on that at all, because I've been running around to different things like Toronto [International Film Festival] and Venice [Film Festival]."

She still looks pretty darn amazing for having had a baby almost eight weeks ago. Her secret? The 39-year-old actress says, "I've been following Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. It helps with my clarity and endurance. In a few weeks I think I'll start getting into [the gym] when things slow down a bit — it'll be Pilates in L.A.!"

I find Selma's attitude refreshing. I don't know about you, but this makes me feel better about wearing my maternity jeans until well after my daughter's two-month birthday!

A gorgeous and talented actress and singer, Jennifer Hudson didn't need to lose weight, but she did it to set a good example for her son. Well, that's not the only reason. Growing up, a size 16 was considered normal in her Chicago neighborhood. When she hit the red carpet in 2007, she tells Self magazine, an interviewer asked, "How does it feel to be plus-sized in Hollywood?" She looked around and wondered who the woman was talking to and she realized, "Oh, me? I'm plus-sized?" That was her ah-ha moment, and when she was pregnant with her now 2-year-old son, David, she realized it was time to do something about her weight problem. Portion control and exercise helped Hudson lose 80 pounds, dropping down to a size six. She says, "I'm prouder of my weight loss than my Oscar!"

I too had an ah-ha moment. After gaining weight in college, while in line at the grocery store someone asked me, "When are you due?" I was mortified. I thought I was chunky, but I didn't think other people did. I secretly thanked her because it gave me the big kick in the pants I needed to start taking better care of myself (to return two pints of Ben & Jerry's back to the freezer aisle), to dust off my running sneaks, and to get rid of the tire around my waist.

Whether you've already reached your weight loss goals or are still on the long journey, please share what moment you realized it was time to drop pounds. It not only feels good to get it off your chest but it might also inspire fellow readers to get serious about dropping pounds.

Now that DWTS is over, everyone is, as usual, talking weight loss. This time the weight-loss winner is Kirstie Alley; earlier in the season, the actress claimed that she was a size four-six, the result of losing 60 pounds before the show (which she's said was due to diet supplements that she endorses).

To show off her success, Kirstie even wore the same dress on her final dance that she wore in the very first episode, tailored to fit her now that she lost the weight. "My dress is half the size it was when we started," she said — reportedly lost a total of 38 inches.

The actress, while she has yet to announce an official weight-loss figure while on the TV show, tweeted that she had lost over 10 pounds only about two weeks into the show. Some of that was the result of a 1,400-calorie diet even while working out five to seven hours a day. Not fueling your body enough during a grueling workout is the opposite of sustainable and healthy weight loss — you'll have no energy and lose muscle mass, and restricting calories can lead to a slower metabolic rate. Even Kirstie agreed; she said she was upping her calorie intake after falling and feeling dizzy from low blood-sugar earlier this month.

Regardless of how much or how she lost the weight, she's has shown how fun it can be to dance the pounds off! Are you happy for Kirstie's weight-loss success?

Wynonna Judd has a new lease on life these days. After dropping 55 pounds and five dress sizes, the country music singer tells People that she feels "more alive."

For Wynonna, finding the motivation to commit to a healthier lifestyle came in the form of two life-threatening health scares. In March, doctors discovered blood clots in her lungs, and in July, Wynonna was involved in a head-on car collision.

To lose the weight, Wynonna underwent "brain state conditioning," which has helped her stop using food as a coping mechanism: "My weight was a symptom and not the problem. I used food to soothe and reward and I don't do that anymore."

But as many of us know, a healthy diet and exercise are also key. Wynonna gave her kitchen a makeover and no longer keeps unhealthy items stocked in her pantry. She also goes on walks every day: "I can walk up the hill behind my house without puking."

Kate Gosselin's abs are looking especially toned, and some speculate that it's from drawn-in ab muscle definition with a spray tan. While a sunless glow can provide extra definition, that's not the reason her abs look so darn chiseled. And neither is the tummy tuck she had after her last pregnancy — that merely removed excess skin that was overstretched from being preggers with six. On top of her favorite pastime of running, NYC-based Crunch personal trainer Jenn Burke tells Us Magazine:

"She has to be doing a lot of deep core training: planks, really working on activating her glutes. When you have children, it causes an anterior pelvic tilt, which causes the stomach to look more puffy than it is. You have to align it and activate those muscles again."

Burke believes this mom of eight must be working hard to maintain the body she achieved on DWTS. In order to stay that buff, this momma must make time to exercise an hour five or six days a week and incorporate "circuit training moves full of high reps to keep the body constantly moving and shedding fat and defining the look."

Sweating it out is only part of her regimen. To find out what Kate's diet looks like, read more