After facing years of scrutiny over her weight, Oprah Winfrey continuously stuns everyone with her massive body transformation. She first got the people’s attention when she graced the premiere of The Color Purple in Los Angeles earlier this month with a stunning figure that instantly made her the talk of the town. As she revealed back then that she was on a treadmill to maintain her new physique, the media mogul now admitted to using weight-loss medication as a maintenance tool.
Oprah Winfrey Opens Up About Body Journey
Oprah Winfrey has been open about her body journey in the last 25 years, as it has played in media, magazines, and even her eponymous talk show. Now, the iconic TV host has opened up about how it has become a public sport to make fun of her and her weight for almost her entire career.
“It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years,” she told People.
She revealed she had been blamed and shamed for her weight that she already did the same to herself. The TV and movie producer then recalled one hurtful moment when she ended up on the list of acerbic fashion critic Mr. Blackwell early in her career.
Oprah Winfrey admits she’s been using a weight loss medication: “The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be… pic.twitter.com/IZyjhuqw3M
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 13, 2023
At the time, she was on a magazine cover that said, “Dumpy, Fumpy, and Downright Lumpy.” Despite the insult, she didn’t feel angry. She was sad and hurt.
“I swallowed the shame,” she said. “I accepted that it was my fault.”
Years have passed since, and Winfrey is now optimistic that she knows how to maintain a healthy weight long-term and eliminate the shame that has haunted her for decades. Aside from following a holistic approach that includes regular exercise and other lifestyle changes, she also admits that she’s using a weight-loss medication.
Oprah Winfrey Reveals Weight-Loss Activities
Oprah Winfrey revealed she had also had weight fluctuations before, which had happened for about five decades. This made her question why she couldn’t win over her weight, believing it was because of her willpower.
However, everything changed after her knee surgery in 2021, resulting in a steady weight loss over the last two years. She began hiking then and set new distance goals every week. With consistency, she managed to walk three to five miles daily and a “10-mile straight-up” hike on weekends.
“I felt stronger, more fit, and more alive than I’d felt in years,” she said.
Her last meal will be at 4 PM, and she usually drinks a gallon of water daily. She, too, uses Weight Watchers to count points. And though she’s aware of the use of weight-loss medications, she first proves to herself that she has the willpower to lose weight.
Now that she no longer feels that way, she’s recommending it to people even before she got into it.
So, what convinced her to opt for pharmaceutical aids? It’s the taped panel conversation with weight loss experts and clinicians called The State of Weight and is part of Oprah Daily’s Life You Want series.
She then admitted that obesity is a disease, and it has nothing to do with her willpower but the brain. So, she consulted her doctor, who prescribed her weight-loss medication.
“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage, not yo-yo-ing,” she continued, though she didn’t reveal the drug’s name. “The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”
Oprah Winfrey might have admitted to using weight-loss medication, but she first opted for a natural way to lose weight. As she said, she only uses it as her maintenance tool and doesn’t fully rely on it to shed the extra pounds, making her look healthier than before.
