This week, Ruby addresses a new health issues – her eyesight. When she visits her eye doctor, she finds out that he recommends that she get bifocals, a dreaded sign of aging.

More changes are in store for Ruby as she looks to break the 300-pound barrier in her weight loss journey. When consulting with her therapist about how to achieve that goal, she suggests that Ruby give up or change five things in her life to break through the barrier.

The first thing that Ruby addresses is a change in her workout. So, she decides to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Then, when she visits her doctor, the doc recommends giving up diet cola and taking up juicing vegetables. This didn’t go over well with Ruby. Then it gets worse when friend and roommate Jeff also suggests giving up diet soda.

Ruby and Jeff test out, well fumble with, her new juicer, and they barely get through it without a major catastrophic event. She practically gags on the carrot/cucumber/celery concoction. But, when she gets the bright idea to microwave the juice, she ends up with a soup that she actually enjoys.

Jeff stayed on the offensive, and suggested another change. Ruby’s favorite lounging chair was meant to accommodate her when she was 700 pounds. Now it looks over-sized. So, Jeff suggested losing the chair, and getting a replacement as a way of letting go a little of her past.

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In this week’s episode of Ruby, our southern belle confesses to having recurring nightmares, and she thinks it might be a good idea to videotape herself sleeping.

Ruby attended another one of her regular “Women’s Fat Night,” this time with special guest Tennie McCarthy, founder and CEO of Shades of Hope, a counselor who brings up the pattern of heavy women who eat as a way to fill a void for those who lacked a healthy relationship with their fathers. This was pretty evident in the women who attended the meeting. McCarthy refers to it as “Father Hunger.”

Next, Ruby meets up with Ron, her private investigator who she hired to help find the mysterious “Dr. Duke” from her childhood. In a previous Ruby recap, a commenter on our blog, who claimed to be a relative of hers, mentioned that his name is actually Dr. Dukes. The mistake is corrected in this week’s show, as Ron says that he has found him, and that he is not actually a doctor, but a physician’s assistant… and his name is Dukes.
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Ruby is not only taking charge of her own weight loss, she’s now mentoring others. In this week’s episode of Ruby, on the Style Network, Ruby and her so-called fashion guru Anthony go shopping for a new dress, when they stumble upon a brochure for a plus-size teen beauty pageant called Plus Teen U.S.A.

The pamphlet sparked a memory of a teen girl named Christina that Ruby met at a weight loss camp. This girl was so damaged by the ribbing she took by her peers that she dropped out of school and began being home-schooled.

So, Ruby recruits Christina to enter the pageant, which is in Texas, as a way to boost her self-esteem and get her out of her shell. There’s a short conversation to convince her to enter. But, when Ruby said she’d come too, Christina instantly acted more open to the idea.
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This week’s Ruby began with Ruby chatting with her ex-boyfriend Denny on the phone, which is then followed by one of her “Women’s Fat Night” meetings with some of her heavy friends discussing sex. Then, the bombshell was dropped: Ruby is a virgin.

The declaration opens up all kinds of intrigue and speculation. Sure, the most obvious is wondering what kind of depth of emotional pain one must have to be a virgin at 47. Secondly, how could someone be in a relationship for more than eight years, as was the case with her ex Denny, and not have sex? Their relationship is already intriguing in that you’re looking at a fit guy with a woman who was once 700+ pounds.

While some people may not want to actually say it, that certainly must make most of us wonder. Could he have been a genuinely good person who saw her for who she is on the inside, and not minded her physical shortcomings? Sure. But, the realist – or perhaps cynic – in me has to wonder about his motives. Not that they were necessarily bad, but everyone has to be surprised by the relationship.
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I must confess that until this week’s episode, I have only seen Ruby sporadically, and usually only parts of each episode that I stumbled upon. My first impression was that she was so sweet. She has the stereotypical Southern charm, and such a sweet disposition that you can’t help root for her.

Ruby’s show is a 180 from The Biggest Loser, in that it doesn’t share the same combative nature or personalities that are antagonistic. It’s not a competition, rather a sort of open diary as you watch Ruby go through daily struggles and triumphs.

The early drama in season three of Ruby is her struggle with repressed childhood memories – her entire first 13 years. This episode, she and her friends took a road trip to her childhood home in Mississippi. The interesting twist is that she is facing her demons in more ways than one. Not only is she investigating her mysterious childhood, but Mississippi is also the heaviest state in the country, and in Ruby’s case, filled with dietary landmines.
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