Oprah Winfrey says her weight loss journey wasn’t about quick fixes, but deeper insight into health, biology and self-acceptance. The 71-year-old media icon opened up to People and other outlets about the lessons she’s learned since publicly addressing her long-term struggle with weight.
In a candid interview, Winfrey described a shift from shame and self-blame to a focus on health and well-being. “Whatever was happening needed to happen to get me to this point,” she said, reflecting on years of fluctuating weight and public scrutiny.
A New Understanding of Obesity
Winfrey credits weight-loss medication as one tool that helped her manage her weight more effectively. She told People that the drugs have become “a lifetime thing” for her.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption,” Winfrey said. “I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”
Her comments highlight a broader point she has made about obesity. In past interviews, she rejected the long-held idea that weight is purely about willpower. “Obesity causes overeating,” she said, explaining how biological mechanisms often drive food cravings and weight gain.
Experts on her obesity special pointed out that new medications work by signaling the brain that the body is full, reducing persistent thoughts about eating. “I’m not constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be,” Winfrey said on the show.
Yet she made clear that medication isn’t a standalone solution. “I use it as a tool combined with hiking three to five miles a day, weight resistance training and a healthy diet,” she said.
Lessons Beyond the Scale
Winfrey also underscored the importance of exercise and lifestyle habits in her transformation. She hikes regularly and has cut out alcohol entirely, a change she described as “pretty amazing.”
“I feel more alive and more vibrant than I’ve ever been,” she told People, noting that she was previously pre-diabetic with high cholesterol.
Her story doesn’t just focus on physical changes. Winfrey has urged people to shift the way they think about weight and stigma. “If you have obesity in your gene pool, I want people to know it’s not your fault,” she said.
In her new book Enough, she explores the concept of a personal “enough point” — a biologically-influenced weight range that varies for individuals. The work argues that understanding our bodies and genes can help reset unrealistic expectations.
Winfrey told interviewer Jane Pauley that she feels stronger now than at age 40. “To be 71 and feel that I am in the best shape of my life feels better than it did when I was 40,” she said.