Written By: Prerna Mittra | Updated : December 15, 2023 3:01 PM IST
Photo: Instagram/@oprah
Oprah Winfrey has been looking slimmer lately, and the American talk show host, television producer, actor and author -- who has been under scrutiny in the past for her height and weight -- admitted to having used a weight loss medication for it. She talked to People magazine recently about an unnamed weight loss drug, stating that it has allowed to feel better and lead a healthier life.
"The fact that there is 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 am absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself," the 69-year-old was quoted as telling the outlet in a cover story published December 13, 2023.
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Talking about her appearance, the 'Color Purple' star also said how it was a "public sport" to make fun of her for 25 years. She has been, in the past, dubbed 'Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy' on the cover of a magazine. "I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself... I didn't feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault."
But now, Winfrey -- who turns 70 next month -- has a weight-loss drug and a new fitness regimen to thank. She told the publication that she uses a "holistic approach" that includes regular exercising and other lifestyle tweaks.
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Following a knee surgery in 2021, she "started hiking and setting new distance goals each week". "I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I'd felt in years," she was quoted as saying.
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On what her daily routine currently looks like these days, Winfrey said she eats her last meal at four o'clock and drinks a gallon of water a day. "I had an awareness of [weight loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way."
She added, "Obesity is a disease. It's not about willpower it's about the brain."
Winfrey also told the outlet that she "released [her] own shame about it", consulting her doctor, who prescribed a weight-loss medication. "I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing," she said.
