Legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey has admitted to using weight-loss medication.
The media personality revealed the information in a recent interview, saying that being able to have access to such novel medication feels like a gift and should not be seen as something to be ashamed of.
During the interview, Oprah also disclosed that, in addition to using the medication, she engaged in regular workouts and followed other regimens. She shared that her journey towards healthy living commenced after undergoing double knee surgery in 2021, an experience that temporarily hindered her mobility for a while.
Oprah Winfrey Says She Uses The Drug Whenever She Feels The Need
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In a new interview, Oprah Winfrey acknowledged using weight loss medication to manage her body weight.
The 69-year-old said that for years, her weight had fluctuated, and she was stigmatized for it. During those times, she “blamed and shamed herself” and refused to use weight loss drugs, thinking her inability to keep her weight down was a case of her having low willpower.
However, after participating in a recorded panel discussion with weight loss experts and clinicians, she came to the realization that “no amount of willpower is going to control” her weight.
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“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” Oprah told People magazine, adding that she had been recommending it to people even before she began using one.
She added, “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 Reveals She Also Works Out Regularly
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Still, in the interview, Oprah gave a note of warning to individuals who solely rely on the drug to solve their weight loss issues rather than engaging in an extra physical regimen.
“It’s everything,” the media personality said about what she does to stay fit. “I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I’m not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn’t work for me.”
Apart from working out, some of the activities she incorporates include having her “last meal at 4 o’clock, drinking a gallon of water a day, and using the WeightWatchers principles of counting points.”
Currently, she is just seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160 lbs since beginning the medication before Thanksgiving. While she didn’t disclose the type of drug she is using, she did say that it was given to her by her doctor after she went in for a consultation.
Oprah Winfrey Had A Double Knee Surgery In 2021
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For Oprah, her weight loss journey is “not about the number” but rather reflects how far she has come in embracing her “second shot to live a more vital and vibrant life” following her double knee surgery in 2021.
At the time, the ordeal took quite a physical toll on her, which prompted her to make a life-changing decision to improve her lifestyle.
“When I came home the first time, I literally could not lift my leg, Oprah said at the time, per People. “I couldn’t lift my heel off of the bed, and I vowed if I was ever able to get up, walk around, and move again — that I would take advantage of movement, exercise, and of being able to be fully in my body.”
Slowly but surely, she embarked on her rehabilitation journey, incorporating daily hikes and striving to surpass the distance milestones she had set for herself. By last December, she had achieved one of her milestones: successfully walking up a big hill near her residence in Hawaii.