Oprah Winfrey is focused on living her best life.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Winfrey shared how her philosophy around food has changed and how it has transformed her life. Before the interview, she spoke about how she enjoyed a croissant.
“I would have been thinking, ‘How many calories in that croissant? How long is it going to take me to work it off? If I have the croissant, I won’t be able to have dinner.’ I’d still be thinking about that damn croissant!” This morning, however, she is blissfully unbothered: “I felt nothing. The only thing I thought was, ‘I need to clean up these crumbs.’ ”
Winfrey also shared that she began using a GLP-1 weight-loss medication two and a half years ago.
“I thought it was about discipline and willpower. But I stopped blaming myself,” said Winfrey,
Oprah’s new book with obesity expert Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff, Enough: Your Health, Your Weight and What It’s Like to Be Free, is out Jan. 13.
“I feel more alive and more vibrant than I’ve ever been.”
“I could outdrink everyone at the table,” she continued. “I’m not constantly punishing myself,” she says. “I hardly recognize the woman I’ve become. But she’s a happy woman.”
As she looks forward to turning 72 on Jan. 29, Winfrey now enjoys “side-planking and deadlifting.” She also stopped drinking alcohol.
“I could outdrink everyone at the table,” Winfrey laughed.s “I’m not constantly punishing myself. I hardly recognize the woman I’ve become. But she’s a happy woman.”
Winfrey went on to speak about her public battle with obesity while she was building her media empire.
“Was I embarrassed by it? Yes. Was I disappointed in myself for continuing to fail? Yes, every single time. I felt it was my fault,” Winfrey said. “ And I felt doubly shameful because I have access to so much. Chefs and trainers and the healthiest of foods.”