Oprah Winfrey has lived a life in the public eye. The former talk show host not only became a worldwide celebrity via her talk show, “Oprah,” but also experienced the negative aspects of fame, revealing that she was mocked because of her size.
Not long ago, Oprah revealed that she had used weight loss drugs after struggling with her weight for years. While she was on the receiving end of cruel comments, she admitted to having played a part in the fixation on body image. Moreover, now, she has revealed that the subject of weight also plays a part in one of her biggest regrets.
Oprah Winfrey became a household name across the US, and later worldwide, when her talk show Oprah, aired in 1986. The Kosciusko, Mississippi native’s successful television stint lasted 25 years before her show ended in 2011.
Oprah had thousands of guests speak about thousands of different subjects throughout the quarter-century her show aired, but in hindsight, one specific moment has turned out to be her biggest regret. It has to do with weight and weight loss, which she herself has been focused on in recent years.
Oprah has kept herself busy following her farewell from television. She launched The Oprah Podcast and continued with her book club, which she had started back in 1996. Not only that, but on a personal level, Oprah has also been on quite a journey regarding her weight
The 71-year-old has openly discussed her weight for much of her career. Two years ago, she revealed she had started taking GLP-1, a type 2 diabetes medication that can also result in weight loss. As a result, she dropped 50 pounds.
Oprah Winfrey weight loss
In January earlier this year, on an episode of her The Oprah Podcast, she revealed that using the weight loss medication altered the way she viewed other people.
“One of the things that I realized the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people, those people just had more willpower,” Oprah said.
“They ate better foods, they were able to stick to it longer, they never had a potato chip.”
She continued: “And then I realized the very first time I took the GLP-1 that, ‘Oh, they’re not even thinking about it. They’re only eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full,” before sharing the reason behind her decision to reveal that she was taking a weight loss drug.
“When I announced last January I was like an anomaly, an anomaly in that I was willing to say it,” Oprah concluded.
Oprah has been candid about using weight loss drugs, and sadly, the former talk show host has felt that discussing her weight has gotten too much focus. Speaking with People Magazine, Winfrey stated that “making fun of my weight was a national sport” for more than two decade.
Admits to playing a role in “diet culture”
She added that: “I want to acknowledge that I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years.”
Furthermore, Oprah said she felt “blamed and shamed” and recalled how one magazine cover dubbed her “Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy.”
“I didn’t feel angry,” she told People. “I felt sad, I felt hurt, I swallowed the shame, I accepted that it was my fault.”
Although Oprah Winfrey clearly was hurt by all the negative comments about her weight, she also admitted to being a part of the problem and diet culture. Last year, while hosting a WeightWatchers live special, the former talk show host acknowledged that she had a role in it, but said she is “done with the shaming.”
“I’ve been a steadfast participant in this diet culture,” Winfrey said. “Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years, through online — I’ve been a major contributor to it. I cannot tell you how many weight loss shows and makeovers I have done and they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television.”
Oprah Winfrey recalls one of her “biggest regrets”
That Oprah herself feels that she has been a part of the problem, shows. She stated that it also plays a part in what was her “biggest regret” throughout her career.
During an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1988, Oprah decided to roll a wagon of fat onto the stage, representing the weight she had lost through a recent liquid diet and exercise.
She admitted that she had starved herself for months and explained that it “sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet and set a standard for people watching that I, nor anybody else, could uphold. The very next day, I began to gain the weight back.”
Oprah added: “I own what I’ve done, and now I want to do better.”
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