Ruby Sundays

191 pounds

Ruby Gettinger is back for her second season on the Style network starting this Sunday.

I had never heard of Ruby until I read about her in Entertainment Weekly this week. What I learned is that Ruby stars in her own reality show about her attempt to slim down from a dangerous 716 pounds. (I believe she's around 300 pounds in the picture above.) She lost 100 pounds last season and is back to try to lose even more this year.

The reason I'm interested in Ruby is because she says she's trying to lose the weight without surgery, shortcuts, or "miracle diets." She's a woman after my own heart.

I also appreciate that Ruby says we should all, "Enjoy [life] no matter what size you are."

I have long felt that this is the first step to being healthy. If you don't accept yourself the way you are, I truly believe you will never lose weight and keep it off.

I'm also interested in what Ruby will learn about her weight gain as she tries to lose that weight. As Ruby says, "How I got to be so big is a question I would like answered on my journey. I have battled this a long time. I feel like I am always getting in the boxing ring with this beast that has no name. He always seems to win. I start off strong and determined, and in the first three rounds I take him down. But right before my eyes—yet at the same I'm blinded by him—he grows bigger. Before I know it, he has knocked me out of the ring."

Anyone who has struggled with weight loss can relate to Ruby's admission that she feels like she can't win. We all know that it's not easy to be positive about losing weight the right way—slowly and over a long time. I know that sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and eating all day long. It's on those days that I wonder if I too could end up severely obese. But I tell myself that if someone like Ruby can lose weight, so can I.

Entertainment Weekly says that "You might actually cheer out loud when Ruby Gettinger, the show's bubbly heroine who once weighed 716 pounds, pulls on her first pair of jeans . . . But when things get serious — like when she talks about her missing childhood memories — Ruby will feel like a friend you can't help rooting for."

Ruby airs on the Style network on Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and I know I'll be watching every week from here on out.