Ruby Gettinger Talks - page 2

05 November 2009

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You were told to lose weight or die how frightening was it to be faced with that ultimatum and what was your first thought or reaction?

I left the doctor's office, and I felt myself dying. But it took me three weeks to finally say, "Okay, I'm going to do something."

Your friends have all rallied around in support how valuable has their support been? Could you have done it without them?

My family and friends support me 100 percent! They do not know what will be shown or revealed about me and are sometimes a bit shy about appearing on camera. They know how important it is for me to show my truth and have been beside me during my entire journey on and off camera.  I couldn’t have done it without their love and encouragement.

What sort of eating and exercise regime did you put yourself on to make the change? What were the challenges you faced?

I was a snack eater, that’s all I would ever do - candy and potato chips for dinner. Now, I have such a variation of foods. I eat the air popcorn, which is like 100 calories, or I eat a pretzel. Before I was eating like 3,000 calories a day without knowing.

The best exercise there is - right now I’m boxing. I’m walking like three to four times a week. I try to walk a mile or when I’m on a bike, I ride it 25 minutes outside, where I’m sweating enough. I’m also dancing, not hard dancing, but easy dancing. I’m doing a lot of different things I enjoy, because if you do things that you enjoy it keeps you motivated.

The hardest part was changing my palate. It’s something you really have to work out. Especially when I have set backs. But even though my palate is changing - thank God - I’m like craving chocolate. It’s the hardest part for me. But it’s amazing because I never go back to it. It’s hard with the exercising, and walking, I have to keep motivating myself.

And how are things now? What makes you keep going?

I’m able to do things like get behind the wheel of a car or ride a bike for the first time. I’m able to do things like that - it’s a dream that I thought would never come true.

 So what is your goal now?

The goal remains the same, to continue losing the weight and staying focused, positive and enjoying life.

The show has been a massive success how surprised are you by that?

It’s amazing, so many people are on this journey with me. People come up to me, and they tell me that they've lost 40 pounds, they've lost 80 pounds, and they say: "Because of you, I'm walking now; I'm riding a bike." And I'm sitting there looking at them, and I'm thinking, "They're inspiring me to keep going on."

People ask me, "Where do you find the strength to do this?" I started realizing we all have the strength to do it. When people tell me, "Because of you I've lost" I say, "No, you're doing this.

You may be watching me, and I may have given you the push, but you are the one doing this. I'm not with you every single day. You've got the strength you start giving yourself credit, because you're doing this."

What do you hope this show will do to help other women in the same situation?

I have always been "Hacky Wacky" which is my lingo for HAPPY! I refuse to allow my obesity to control me. It already has kicked my butt in terms of my health and my physical well-being! I don't let negative attitudes and meanness from other people keep me from living my life. I will not let my weight define who I really am...on the inside.

I am a girl who loves life and loves people and I find that in this life there are more good people than bad and that is who I choose to surround myself with. I want us all to get healthier, but also to live life to the fullest along the way. I want people to live their lives no matter what.

Have you any advice to women/men who want to lose weight?

The first thing I tell people is you have to go to a doctor. If my mother did not make me go to the doctor, I would have been dead because you don't know what's going on with you physically. Once that's done, just start with the baby steps. Do one thing each day to start getting healthier.

Make one change. Walk two times in your living room back and forth. Then walk to your mailbox and then to the stop sign on your street. Then the next week, instead of snacking on Oreo cookies, snack on an orange. You know, just take it one step at a time. I also tell people to write down everything they eat and the calorie counts. That really helps.

Finally what's next for you?

Well we’re currently filming season 3 of Ruby at this very moment as there is more weight to be lost and so many more things I need to learn and conquer.

Ruby is on The Style Network (Sky Channel 253) from Tuesday 10th November at 10pm

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