Ruby Gettinger

She made the brave decision to document her weight-loss efforts on reality TV. Find out how Ruby lost 300 pounds and counting.

Ever since she was 13, Ruby Gettinger has struggled with her weight. She has topped the scales at more than 700 pounds and has suffered the indignities and cruelties that come with being obese. But it was a doctor’s grim warning that finally shocked Gettinger, 34, into making the changes necessary to lose weight and improve her health.
When she got down to 400 pounds and found herself at a loss for how to successfully lose the rest of the weight, Gettinger convinced friends to create an amateur documentary of her relationship with food and her weight loss journey. “I wanted to find out if this is mental, physical, spiritual or emotional,” she says. “I wanted to know the truth behind my obesity.”
The truth, Gettinger found, was that she was addicted to food. An emotional eater, she used food for comfort. She did not eat meals; rather, she snacked on sweets and chips all day long. Breaking this habit would require more than just sheer willpower. She needed a support team.
So when the Style Network offered to turn her weight-loss documentary into a reality program, Gettinger readily agreed. She now works with a personal trainer, a therapist, and a nutritionist. Now in its second season (the first season is available on DVD), “Ruby” shows Gettinger successfully breaking the 350-pound mark and learning how to deal with life’s tragedies without turning to food for comfort. Gettinger also wrote a recently released memoir, "Ruby's Diary: Reflections on All I've Lost and Gained", that chronicles her personal journey.
Gettinger spoke with Weight Loss True Story about her food addiction and the health problems that shocked her into taking control of her weight.
Weight Loss True Story (WLTS): Eating became an addiction for you. What convinced you that you needed to break this addiction?
Ruby Gettinger: I went to the doctor, and he said: “Ruby, you’re going to die. I’m telling you right now you are a walking time bomb about to explode.” I had diabetes and an enlarged heart. I’d have to start taking insulin. I said, “I will never take insulin.” I mean I was adamant about never doing that. I felt like if I gave in to the insulin that I’m giving in to my addiction.
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.” But there was a part of me that thought: “Maybe it’s meant for me to die. I can’t beat this; I’m never going to beat this. Maybe I’ve finally done my purpose.”

WLTS: That just shows how strong the addiction was in you.

Ruby Gettinger: Exactly. I didn't realize until now that that was the food addiction talking.

WLTS: So what does it mean to be addicted to food?

Ruby Gettinger: Food is everywhere. It's in church, at the movies, and at every social event you go to. I don't care if they have celery and carrots out, you know there's cheese right there, too, and chips and stuff like that. And that's what I liked to eat. When I first started the diet, I was furious because I literally had headaches for the first two weeks. I was shaking. I went from snack eating — candy and chips — to eating meals. It took me almost three months for everything to kick in.
Now I crave things like fish. This is the girl that would never put real fish in her mouth at all. I never ate vegetables. Now I eat things like broccoli and asparagus. Everything you could think of that's good for you, I'm eating it.

WLTS: You really had to change your palate.

Ruby Gettinger: Well, that's what happened. I didn't go to rehab, but in a way, I kind of did. The times when I've had setbacks, I realize now that was the addiction taking hold of me. The biggest thing I've found out doing this show is that I am addicted to food. But now I need to find out the root of my addiction. I need to find out how this could have become so powerful that it got me to 716 pounds at one point.

WLTS: You have lost so much weight. Do you feel better physically?

Ruby Gettinger: Oh my gosh, yes. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that eating right and exercising will change your health. It really, really will. I had diabetes, but my doctor said I don't need any medication now. My heart is now coming down to a normal-sized heart. Is that not amazing?

WLTS: Do you feel more energetic?

Ruby Gettinger: Oh my gosh, I've never ever moved around as much as I move around now. I love it. I'm on the recumbent bike, and I'm doing it 30 minutes straight, and I say, "This is not challenging me enough." [Before] I couldn't have even walked five minutes — I mean, I couldn't even breathe. I've become an outdoorsy girl. I also love boxing. If you find what you love, you're going to do it, and you're not going to stop doing it.

WLTS: You also had sleep apnea. Any improvement with that?

Ruby Gettinger: I don't wake up anymore feeling like I'm going to die, so that's amazing. But you want to know the most amazing thing? I can get in the bathroom of an airplane now. I was on a flight from New York to L.A. I opened the bathroom door and was like, "There's no way." But I walked right in. I could not believe it! I closed the door. Before I lost weight, I could not even fit through the width of the door. Honey, you would have thought I just won the lottery. I was the happiest girl ever.

WLTS: I think that's a great example of the way they say that when you've lost weight, your mind doesn't see it right away. You still see that fat girl in the mirror.

Ruby Gettinger: You're just so right about that. Two months ago, I'm sitting there brushing my teeth, looking in the mirror, and all of a sudden I went, "Oh my gosh." I mean literally I was thinking, "Look how tiny your face is." I saw my jawline. I was turning my head left and right. It was as if I finally saw my face for the first time.

WLTS: To that obese person out there who hasn't started to lose weight but wants to, what are your words of wisdom?

Ruby Gettinger: 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.

WLTS: How does it feel to know that you've inspired so many people to change their lives?

Ruby Gettinger: 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."