Oprah My God
Oh boy howdy, did I hear about Oprah today! In case you hadn’t heard (which I sincerely doubt is the case), she now WEIGHS TWO HUNDRED POUNDS SHOCK HORROR SHOCK. And is talking about it in the January issue of O Magazine with great consternation and hand wringing.
“I’m mad at myself,” Winfrey writes… “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?'”
Kate Harding had a good answer:
Honey, you didn’t “let it” happen again. Your body made it happen again, because your body does not freakin’ want to be thin. And every time you quit the part-time job of dieting — or even just cut back your hours — your body goes, “Thank god!” and starts storing fat hand over fist. It happens to nearly all of us. I know you’re a woman who’s used to defying odds by quite a lot, but there is no shame in having a body that responds to dieting in exactly the same way as pretty much everyone else’s.
Rachel also responds, echoing a point Kate made and a point we’ve made before:
She’s the poster child for unproven, untested, unsuccessful and medically unsound weight-loss plans galore – plans that despite their proven ineffectiveness, continue to motivate viewers to try similar methods because Oprah did it! And yet even with her great wealth, personal chef and trainer and access to healthy foods and fitness resources, Oprah hasn’t been able to sustain a weight loss for any length of time.
Interestingly enough, when my husband sent me the link this morning he read it as “Oprah is going to stop dieting!” and quoted me this:
Winfrey also writes that her goal is no longer to be thin; instead, she wants to be strong, healthy and fit.
I think that this little snippet may have gotten lost in the hubbub: her goal is no longer to be thin. She may not be the perfect size acceptance advocate by any stretch of the imagination, but what this quote tells me is that she might actually be on the right track at last. I’ll be interested to see what she says on her show and in her magazine. She no longer strives to be thin. Does she really mean it?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Celebrities, Magazines, Oprah
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I think its quite sad that Oprah, an admitted “food addict,” has seemed to try everything under the sun to get her “addiction’ under control and manage her weight BUT therapy. If she has tried therapy, she hasn’t discussed it or made it an issue. This is understanding, of course, as mental illness continues to be stigmatized, but Oprah has made much of her dieting exploits and eating healthier and exercising. Why not also discuss the emotional aspects of food addiction and the psychological resources available to help treat it?
I also find it incredibly sad that such a talented, accomplished, strong and powerful woman such as Oprah still feels a need to apologize for her weight or explain it, much less discuss it at all.
And as a side note, the hubby and I were watching Anderson Cooper last night and they reported on Oprah’s “devastating” weight gain. I told my husband that I almost weigh as much as Oprah and if its positively “devastating” for her to now weigh 200 pounds, just how am I supposed to feel? The media is presenting this as a kind of OMG! worst-case scenario! ever!
Hi there,
I think that whether one focuses on being thin, or focuses on “accepting” their heavier condition – the result is still the same: we are still seeing women in a “half light.” The body and soul are fused together, so when we ignore the spiritual we be come too entangled in the material and physical.
Perhaps if Oprah, and all of us, paid more attention to our souls, these kind of discussions would happen less and less.
Thanks!
Ok, the cynic in me says mmmm… Oprah featuring her new commitment to health and fitness in the JANUARY issue of the magazine. Also, her chefs and personal trainer have probably made a lot of money off of getting Oprah thin, so maybe there’s some backroom dealing there.
But yes, oh Oprah so strong, so dedicated to others, so accomplished and she’ll go to her grave regretting that she wasn’t thin! What a waste of her time and talents.
Every time she dumps on her weight, she kind of negates a lot of the good she has done, IMHO. For all the reasons everyone here has already posted. She espouses self-love and living a life of meaning and purpose, then turns around and calls herself a “fat cow.”
She makes me sad.
It’s time for Miss Winfrey, that mendacious merchant of mass-market mediocrity, to give a “Thank you, Jesus!” for her wealth, fame and slavering audiences, and SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT HER WEIGHT! The woman has made a fortune off pandering to the worst of middle-class opinion (just check her book club selections, for God’s sake!), and by simply saying “Hey, y’all – I’m FAT! Deal with it! I LOOOOOVE my body!” she could do more good than she could ever know. But no: she chooses to remain a total fatphobe & continues to flagellate herself for allowing her body to do what comes naturally.
Come on, girl! Practice what you so loudly preach: love yourself as you are RIGHT THIS MINUTE!
Ahh, but Carol… weight-loss sells; body acceptance doesn’t. It’s a sad fact, but if not for the deficit model that tells women they aren’t enough, I doubt Oprah would even have a show.
The fact that Harpo voluntarily released this information to MSNBC in a press release format suggests to me that this is more of a marketing ploy than a sincere confessional. Oprah’s weight may be very personal to her, but in terms of the show, it’s just another commodity in which to gain ratings.
Oprah looks JUST FINE on the cover of her new magazine, whether or not she’s airbrushed. I hate that stupid fucking jogging suit she’s wearing. It’s like she’s playing to all the fucking tabloids who always showcase photos of “fat” celebrities in their jogging suits.
Ugh. UGGGGGH. Maybe she’s planning some fucking dumbass reality show or some bullshit.
I know that I will never be a size 6 again. My body is just not designed to be that thin (and be healthy at the same time). But I admit to longing for those skinny days.
I find it very hard to accept my body the way it is now.
If I was in the public eye as Oprah is, I think it would be even more difficult.
It seems to me that Oprah is already *fit and healthy.*
She’s just fat.
I’ve always thought of Oprah as proof diets don’t work for exactly those reasons. There is someone with unlimited money, access to everything I’ve always said would make me thin – the cook, the trainer, the whole works – and it fails!
Why more people haven’t used Oprah and her yo-yoing to figure out diets don’t work is beyond me. Maybe now they will listen.
Perhaps she is miserable at 200 pounds, not so much because she is fat but because she feels that food is controlling her. I’ve often wondered about the therapy issue. It sure helped me!
I sure hope that Oprah is going to stop the Yo-Yo dieting. It would be way, WAY healthier for her to be 200 pounds constantly than to be different weights all the time.
I was thinking the same as Baroness.
I also agree with Oprah, “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.” She should be embarrassed. Echoing the other comments, she’s successful already. She has more money and fame than most of us could dream of. She should be embarrassed that she’s not planning to do something more worthwhile with her time and money than starving herself.
While body acceptance generally doesn’t sell, I think it would sell better if Oprah was endorsing it. (Hell, I’m pretty sure I could sell my own poop if Oprah decided to endorse and advertise it!)
My 2 cents: Oprah’s been one of the promoters of the philosophy of The Secret. She’s talked about using affirmations and visualization for achieving goals and maybe felt like she had to walk that talk.
Okay. Aside from the obvious topic of interest on this blog, i.e. weight acceptance, feel good about yourself, etc., etc. blah, blah – I have a bigger question.
Why is the media reporting this? Why is this news? “OPIE WEIGHS 200 LBS! THE HORROR!” I think Edward R. Murrow is rolling over in his grave right now.
The fact the Opie weighs 200 lbs is not news; the fact that she’s a self absorbed, self important person is not news; nothing about her is news, as far as I’m concerned. Thank God the press doesn’t report about ME when I’m at 200. I’d be on the front page every day.
Honestly, she just needs to stop beating herself up just because she weighs 200 pounds and just live her life and do HER!!! Seriously!!! I think she looks great the way she is.
My 2 cents: Oprah’s been one of the promoters of the philosophy of The Secret. She’s talked about using affirmations and visualization for achieving goals and maybe felt like she had to walk that talk.
Maybe Oprah broke the Secret covenant and looked at some fat people!
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
I just really wish that Oprah would stop spreading blame-the-victim style misinformation about thyroid disease. Man.
http://thyroid.about.com/b/2008/12/09/oprah-thyroid.htm
“O” how this post makes me smile! I used to say, “Ya know if I had a personal trainer, a personal chef and all the money in the world to buy fresh produce and expensive ingredients as opposed to sodium-loaded-but-oh-so-cheap Ramen Noodles, I’d be thin too! F**K Oprah and her high and mighty, newly skinny person, attitude!” But now I see that it’s really all the same for everyone – fat, thin, rich, poor, whatever. You’re body is going to be what it’s meant to be no matter how you try to torture it.
I would think that she of all people could find something more inspiring, current and relevant to talk about… who the fuck cares that she’s gained 200 lbs… get over it ~ your body clearly wants to be bigger… lord knows her but does! she needs to find a wider vision…
There’s a lesson in there somewhere for her, she’ll keep beating her head against the wall and blaming it on weight until she figures it out.
Meowser: HEH!!
I wanted to rant about that oh-so-annoying factoid about The Secret but your comment nailed it!
If she’s really a food addict I wonder if she has tried the 12 steps. If she’s trying to overcome an addiction through willpower she can’t succeed, however she’s defining success.
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Why all the Oprah hate? She’s the confessional poet of daytime television — her own evolution as a person has always been part of her appeal.
She’s not perfect — but she’s a very generous person.
And while some of her book club choices, especially early on, were more middlebrow, who else on the planet is going to be more successful in getting people to read Faulkner, Elie Wiesel, Tolstoy, Toni Morrison, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez?
This whole thing with Oprah’s weight, reminds me of how when I watch Discovery Health there’s a mention of a patient who’s 100 pounds overweight.
I feel like, “Oh no, these doctors actually will have to put in extra effort for a patient! We can’t have that, so we’ll call them the lazy ones!” It’s simple, don’t become a doctor, if all you’re going to do is stand around and whine about how a patient with a not-up-to-your-standards body is making you have to actually do your job.
My take on the whole thing.
On TV you are a public podium. Maybe what you need to do is be realistic and offer the real side of the coin…..common failures in life.
Money has no feelings of the heart, no sensitivity to daily stress in a love life.
The world see’s you as “Wow this is Oprah”
They simply forget that you are a black woman that has lived her life in stress…..now the stress is wealth, and everyone is watching! Black is now gone……look at your audience.
No more free giveaway shows, commonplace goals for the everyday family are whats needed.
The world does not need to see your wealth, but your genuine self (not all on tv please)
Wishing you wealth and the simple life I live.
I have lost over $700K in the last 6 months.
I lost my wife of 32 years to cancer in 2005.
No show to speak of my life….God Bless my country.
Allen
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