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Oprah Sorry for Weight Gain
There's nothing new about the celebrity rags ripping famous people for their weight fluxuations. Whether they are barely making triple digits on the scale or they are carrying around a little excess bloat, the shoddy news sources are sure to point out anyone's bodily faults.
But if there is one star who has been more than open about her weight issues, it's talk show guru Oprah Winfrey. And in her latest issue of O Magazine, Winfrey talks even more candidly about the fact that she is now tipping the scales at 200 pounds.
"I'm mad at myself," Winfrey writes in the article. "I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, 'How did I let this happen again?"'
Winfrey explains in the article that her battle with a testy thyroid left her fearful of working out, leading to the eventual addition of 40 pounds on her once 160-pound frame.
"Yes, you're adding correctly; that means the dreaded 2-0-0," Winfrey writes. "I was so frustrated I started eating whatever I wanted—and that's never good."
But her tip-top shape is, hopefully, not far off. Winfrey's goal is to be strong and healthy rather than skinny, and she's planning on kicking off her new weight loss plan along with her "Best Life Week" which starts Jan. 5 on her show.
It was tough for me to read this article because I think so many of us are rooting for Oprah. I have noticed the slow weight gain in photos or when watching the show, and thought, "Oh, Oprah, what's up?" I know her ultimate goal is to be healthy and, like many people I see struggle with weight issues, I want that for her.
One of the most important things Oprah writes in her article is this: "I definitely wasn't setting an example. I was talking the talk, but I wasn't walking the walk."
Is it her job to set the example for the rest of the country? Why does she have to apologize to everyone for gaining weight? She's only human, after all, and millions of people can sympathize with her situation. Is it healthy to hold someone up to such an unrealistic level of perfection?
—Caroline Shannon
I think it's great that she was so honest in the article. I know many people have had the exact same feelings and are so angry with themselves, and so I appreciated that she came out and said it. Whether she wants to be a role model or not, she is, just by being in the spotlight and talking about these issues on her show and in her mag.
The fact that she didn't deny it or cover it up, but put it on the front page is really very refreshing, and it gives me hope. I'm happy she did it
She wants to be a role model, and is for so many people, but I think her weight ups and downs do show that first and foremost, she's human. She's subject to all the regular problems and struggles that we are. I can't imagine having the extra pressure of everyone watching and perhaps criticizing.
I hope she can meet her goals!
I can't imagine being in her position. We all know what we need to do to lose weight and one of the things I appreciate about Oprah is that she helps people see that living healthier and losing weight are about long term lifestyle choices, not quick fixes.
I still believe she's a role model to many, and that seeing her struggle helps other women know that it's OK to fail, as long as you can be honest with yourself and keep trying. If she made it look easy (as some celebs do) I don't think we'd root for her the way we do.
I think Oprah is like most women struggling with eating or weight. The shame and sense of "knowing better" is something all of my clients share. If information or "knowing" were the answer there would be no addiction, no eating disorders. Overeating, binge eating, bulimia and all eating related issues tend to be about managing painful thoughts and feelings. Using food or diets to distract ourselves from these are where things become complicated.
When women learn to take their emotional needs seriously, stop giving more care to others than themselves, and learn to speak their truth more often, food and weight issues tend to recede, in my experience.
Lisa Claudia Briggs
IntuitiveBody.com
It can't be easy being in the limelight and even when you eat right and exercise it can still be hard to take weight off and keep it off (especially if you have a thryroid condition). It's not always possible to get your metabolism to cooperate. We're all different in that regard.
I've also read that our bodies want to be at a certain weight and they conspire against our attempts to reprogram that desire.
I hate to hear about people who "starve" themselves. Life is too short to be constantly in denial. Food is such a basic element of life ... something to be savored and enjoyed. It's terrible that we have to view it as the enemy :(
Let's all move to ... France!
Unfortunately, celebrities in this country are held to a much higher standard. They are expected to be perfect when in reality they are just like us and gain weight and make mistakes like the rest of us.
I think Oprah's thyroid has a lot more to do with it all than she realizes. Sure, maybe her weight gain is a result of other psychological issues, but thyroid disorders are no joke and when your hormone levels are off, everything is off. I wish she would do more to raise awareness for the condition, because millions of women in particular are misdiagnosed with depression or other ailments when really the thyroid is to blame.