Ricki Lake has become the incredible shrinking woman on "Dancing with the Stars," losing - at last count - 12 inches off her body.
"I sort of see it everywhere," Ricki told Access Hollywood Live's Kit Hoover during a Thursday "DWTS" rehearsal of her weight loss. "I lose a lot of weight in my face, initially, and in my chest. They're telling me the dress size is going down, down, down."
Ricki's professional dancing partner, Derek Hough, said her smaller size has already made an impact on her ability to move more freely.
"We're doing the rumba right now and... you're using the legs," Derek said.
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The actress and talk show host has been vocal about her decreasing figure over the weeks of training she put in ahead of the show - and so far, two weeks of competition.
The engaged celebrity (her fiance is businessman Christian Evans) even said recently that she plans to postpone picking out a wedding dress until after "DWTS."
When Kit asked how small she wanted to get, Ricki said she isn't focusing on the number on a dress tag.
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"I don't know, and truthfully, I wasn't even engaged when I started this process. I got engaged over the summer, it was never something either of us ever anticipated happening, so that's now become a nice perk," she said. "It's not about the size, it's about how I feel in it."
And it is a perk Ricki said her fiance is happy with - or -- without.
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"I actually asked him last week, because you don't really know what someone's preference is," Ricki said, referring to what Christian thought of her smaller size. "He met me; I got heavier as I was with him and really happy. I said, 'Do you prefer a curvier girl or a more lean girl?' He said, 'Honey... it doesn't matter what you are.... I love you. It's about you being happy."
"Dancing with the Stars" returns on Monday at 8/7 C on ABC.
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