Celebrities Slim Down on Dancing with the Stars
![Talk show host Ricki Lake, 43, on the show Dancing with the Stars, October 24, 2011.](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/221807/talk-show-host-ricki-lake-43-show-dancing-stars-october-24-2011.jpg?w=550&f=a8145fedfdfc748f6363ce3e43b9382e)
Most of the celebrities who have joined the current season of "Dancing with the Stars," showed Monday they are shedding double-digit pounds as the show kicks off its 6th week.
One clear example came Monday when former talk show host Ricki Lake, 43, confessed to DWTS host Brooke Burke that she has lost about 20 pounds since the season began.
When asked how many pounds she has shed so far, Lake gave her best guess.
"I don't know, probably around 20 pounds I guess but a lot!”
Lake had hoped by joining the show, she would slim down for her wedding in 2012.
"I fell in love, and I got a little fluffy this year," Lake told Access Hollywood in September. "Not a lot fluffy, but like a little fluffier than I want to be. This is definitely time for me to shed the [pounds] for my wedding next year."
Also in the double digit weight loss spotlight is TV host Nancy Grace who has lost at least 16 pounds since she joined ABC's dancing competition show.
"This has been a great side effect of dancing, so I'm happy," Grace told People magazine recently.
In addition to dancing, Grace said she is eating meals by Freshology, a gourmet diet delivery service.
Cher's transgender son Chaz Bono is not staying behind. He told reporters Monday after the show that he is 12 pounds slimmer.
"It's hard to tell because I'm in my uniform. I'm down I think about 12 pounds now," he said, according to OK Magazine.
When the season began, Bono told his dancing partner Lacey Schwimmer he was not eating any different, "just dancing."
To end the list is reality star Rob Kardashian who also looked thinner on yesterday's competition.
Kardashian revealed on week five that all the cardiovascular exercise from dancing has helped him drop few pounds, although he didn't say how many. Yet the star is struggling with getting his diet together, according to the site Celebuzz.com.
"You probably wouldn't know, but I'm the most insecure and overweight I've ever been," Kardashian told Us Magazine at the beginning of the season. "I'm over 200 pounds, so I want to drop weight and this will be a good start."
Studies have demonstrated some of the health benefits of dancing on the brain and body.
Whether its ballet or ballroom, clogging or jazz, dance helps people of all ages stay in shape, according to several studies. Among the benefits dance bring are are to:
-strengthen bones and muscles without hurting your joints
-tone your entire body
-improve your posture and balance, which can prevent falls
-increase your stamina and flexibility
-reduce stress and tension
-build confidence
-provide opportunities to meet people, and ward off illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression