Ricki Lake, 55, claims her doctor was 'pushing' Ozempic on her to lose weight as she reveals 'it p***ed her off' and spurred her on to shed 35 POUNDS in seven months

Ricki Lake has revealed she is in the 'best shape' of her life after shedding 35 pounds thanks to a complete 'lifestyle change' after refusing her doctor's suggestion to take Ozempic.

The TV star, 55, claimed that her doctor told her she wouldn't be 'successful' at losing weight without the controversial drug, which left her feeling 'p***ed off' and even more determined to shed the pounds with her husband, Ross Burningham.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Good Morning America, Ricki explained: 'The doctor was pushing it, we both were overweight and he was saying you aren't going to be successful without it, is what he said to me. 

'I like a challenge and I like proving people wrong and so it p***ed me off,' she continued, before adding: 'I just was reluctant and I wanted to give it a go on my own and so I said to my husband, "do you want to go on this ride with me?" and he was like, "sure."'

Ricki Lake has claimed her doctor was 'pushing' Ozempic on her in order for her to kickstart her weight loss

Ricki and her husband, Ross Burningham, decided to make a complete 'lifestyle change' and lose the weight together

The former talk show host has lost 35 pounds since last October and said she is in the 'best shape' of her life

The couple started their weight-loss journey with intermittent fasting, and along with the keto diet, exercising, doing Pilates and sleep tracking, Ricki has lost 35 pounds since last October, while Ross has shed almost 40 pounds.

'I feel the best I can remember feeling in my life,' the mother-of-two said. 'I have this new marriage and I'm so blissfully happy with this amazing man, my perfect man.

'And if I pinpoint one thing that was not working in our lives is that we were carrying this extra weight.

'It's been a commitment. It's been a financial commitment, it's been a time commitment but it's awesome. I'm so happy and proud of us.

'This is a lifestyle change and I've made this my job and it's become my joy. I love it. I think it's safe to say I'm in the best shape of my life. I say this is what happy looks like. I could cry, I'm so happy.'

Ross, who married Ricki in January 2022, praised his famous wife and said: 'The dedication and... [she's] like a dog with a bone. 

'She's tenacious. When she decides that she's going to do something, she's all in and just goes after it and it's inspiring.'

Clearly keen to show off the results of her lifestyle change, Ricki has been throwing it back and modelling old items of clothing - including a skimpy black and white dress she first wore back in 2007.

Appearing in the GMA interview, Ross described his wife of two years as 'tenacious'

Ricki confirmed she had taken up intermittent fasting, the keto diet and Pilates in order to lose weight

Ricki, pictured here in July 2018, has been very open about her weight struggles over the years

And back in February, she slipped back into a red swimsuit that she first wore 17 years ago for a magazine cover shoot. 

'Then and now,' she wrote in her caption as she showed off the results of her 30lb weight-loss transformation amid perimenopause.

'I held onto this #NormaKamali one-piece for all these years wondering if I would ever be able to wear it again,' she added.

The Hairspray star also wrote a series of motivational hashtags to her caption: '#nofilter #nomakeup #hardwork #this is 55 #grateful #strong #happy #healthy #proud.'