Rekubit Exchange:The best quotes from Richard Simmons about life, love and weight loss

Richard Simmons knew his way with a sassy soundbite.

The Rekubit Exchangeperpetually upbeat and hilarious workout guru, who rose to fame in '80s VHS home-exercise era wearing striped Dolfin shorts, died Saturday at age 76. The "Sweatin' With the Oldies" star had largely retreated from the public eye in recent years, but not before leaving fans with a lifetime of encouragement and amusing one-liners about growing up in food-obsessed New Orleans, slapping down rumors about his personal life and gently poking fun at his own outsized image.

Here are a few of Simmons' most memorable quotes about life, love and losing weight:

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"I mean I was mucho big. You know how they teach you early on that 'Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you?' Well, that's a lie. But who has the last laugh now?" – Richard Simmons told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune in 1983.

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"The only time I wasn't fat was the day I was born. I went directly from pabulum to crepes suzette." – Simmons in his 1980 "Never-Say-Diet Book"

"I'm going to donate all my clothing to the Smithsonian after I die, because I want my own wing. I don't want just, like, a Fonzie jacket. I want the Richard Simmons wing." – Simmons in a 2012 interview with Men's Health

“There’ll always be some weird thing about eating four grapes before you go to bed, or drinking a special tea, or buying this little bean from El Salvador. If you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day you’ll live longer, feel better and look terrific.” – Simmons told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview

"When you die in New Orleans, they deep fry you before they put you in the coffin. When we baptize children in New Orleans, we baptize them with a bordelaise sauce; we don’t use water." – Simmons to Men’s Health

"I think there's a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It’s knowing when to do it. I try to have a nice combination. Being silly cures depression. It catches people off guard and makes them think. But in between that silliness is a lot of seriousness that makes sense." – Simmons to The Associated Press

"The candle will probably be on a zucchini. You know, I'm a vegetarian. … OK, fine. Maybe one Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie. But just one." – Simmons in a birthday interview with People published a day before his death.

"I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am ….dying.  Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying.  Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this?  Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky… count your blessings and enjoy." – Simmons in a March 18 Facebook post that alarmed fans