Oprah
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/...winfrey_weight

So with all her money and resources, and experts, Oprah can't stay thin. That really makes you realize how awesome the 3FC maintainers are, doesn't it.

BTW - I can't believe that she pulled her wagon of fat out on stage 20 years ago. That makes me feel really old.

Interesting post, Sandi. I feel for her, as it must be so hard to be not only judged by yourself but the public as well. It just goes to show you that there is no such thing as a silver bullet for weight loss.

Maybe it's just me but I still think she looks nice and she is till 40 pounds down from her highest weight.

love her- she is a beautiful person. I don't think OP meant to insult Oprah- only to point out how difficult it really is. I can thank her, and other celebrities for that as well- every time I see some new sure fired way to lose weight I think that if it is really that simple all of the super wealthy would be thin and they just aren't.

Oh Oprah. I'm sad that she gets such hard public scrutiny, but god bless her for standing up to it and being forthright and candid about her weight -- I think it helps other women to realize that the richest and most powerful woman in the world has weight problems, so maybe we shouldn't hate ourselves if we struggle.

Also, I think she looks absolutely gorgeous at her current weight! I happened to see her in person a few months ago and man, she was radiant.

My first thought at reading that was: "Damn, I'd KILL to weigh 200 pounds!!"

Just goes to show that we all have our demons.

I agree with the posters above--she is still gorgeous! But if Oprah FEELS fat and unattractive, no amount of us telling her she is beautiful will suffice.

Very sad.

And yes, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the skinny Calvins came out on stage with the lard.

I bet it is really hard to stay thin if you're Oprah (God, the pressure alone).

Her days are probably busier than I could fathom. Also, a woman like that probably has food shoved at her all the time- gifts, parties, etc... Some women can resist the urge, but Oprah is human. I can relate to that (well, not to being Oprah, but having a really hard time passing up delicious food).

I do still think she looks great even though she has "filled out" a bit.

Honestly, I'm glad she's approaching this (I've heard her elude to this on her show). I get so annoyed with shows who only focus on the loss. If we gave more than half a thought to maintenance, it might not have such a high failure rate. She could do a real service with this.

That was exactly the word I was thinking of when I was trying to describe her. She is quite radiant!

Yes, don't get me wrong, I love Oprah to death and I love the way she is always honest about what is going on with her.

I guess it just really goes to show you what a battle being overweight is. Sometimes I think "if". You know if I had more time, I would work out more. If I had more money, I do Jenny Craig. If, if, if. Oprah has all the if's in the world and it's still a struggle.

It just makes me feel like less of a failure, knowing that it's hard for someone like Oprah too.

Totally agree. Maintaining is the most difficult life experience I've taken on. I decide every day whether or not I'm going to "maintain" and lately I have not succeeded. But I get back on. And I think it's huge that Oprah is tackling this. I've been waiting forever.

She is busy. I think that 2008 was probably even a little busier than other years (maybe---just assuming!). She's human too and I admore her so much for her forthrightness and ability to deal with her weight issues in the public eye. I remember dieting and trying to lose pregnancy weight in 1995 following advice by Bob Greene on the Oprah show. I think Oprah has so much influence on being able to teach about health, nutrition and movement. I wish she would hang out on 3FC for awhile. :)

Oprah is human like the rest of us. At least I don't have magazines writing about my weight! And I am really glad that it is not featured on CNN's home page!

The biggest thing I got from that article was that she said that she had lost all the weight on a liquid diet, celebrated the loss by eating, and two days later her jeans didn't fit.

Lesson for the chicks: Start eating for maintenance now and make your weight loss eating habits very similar to your maintenance plan.

I think she just fell in the trap many of us chicks have fallen into before, the idea that we change our eating to lose the weight and look forward to "going back to normal" when it's gone. But we know "going back to normal" means gaining the weight back.

I'm not pointing fingers at her at all, because I think pretty much everyone here has done the same thing at one time or another. It just reinforces all the good advice we get here about making your eating plan something you can do forever.

rodeogirl - That thing about going on a liquid diet and going back to eating was 20 years ago. Since that point though, I think she has tried to do something that is maintainable.

Yeah like I said I wasn't judging her just pointing out what I thought was a good lesson from the article.

I can't imagine my weight and what I eat being the whole world's business.

I guess it's the business of a whole lot of people here on 3FC - but everyone here wants to help. Much of the world just wants to tear celebrities down, or at least hold them to inhuman standards.

I still love Oprah.

Oprah's human too. We're ALL human.
 

I think most of us have a hard time passing up delicious food, no?

I think it's incredibly hard to stay thin no matter WHO you are. Not that I would know, but she's probably got seem things that would make it harder - IDK - more parties, more lavish ones at that. But in ways she's got it easier -gourmet chefs and trainers at her side.

I think regardless of your circumstances - your easier things and your harder things - losing weight and keeping it off is HARD. Period. Many of us know WHAT to do, I think Oprah even mentioned that, but of course the difficulty lies in the DOING it part - day after day after day after day. After day.

I'm still a newbie at maintaining and have many, many more decades to go, but I know for me, the only way that I have been able to maintain my weight thus far, is by keeping it CONSTANLY on the forefront of my mind. Without a doubt it is one of the very most important things in my life. Sounds dramatic, but I know that's the only way that this will *work* for me. Tippy top priority.

And I too was shocked to hear that it's been 20 years since she shlepped out the wagon of fat. I remember that episode so clearly. I was so envious of her.

I hope she finds her way back. No matter what her weight, she IS a radiant, beautiful woman. I don't think too many would disagree.

Well you can't argue with that!

That's what I wish she would focus on (and am glad she is). I remember the Biggest Loser show she did a while back and Ali was on (last season's winner) and they paraded out some the most recent contestants and it was all grand and wonderful and she did have some older contestants who had regained, but all I really saw of Ali was stars in her eyes (Understandably). Her perspective just seemed, I don't know, naive? And I guess that was sort of an epiphany for me. I think Oprah really does inspire many people to live better lives for themselves and I'm just surprised that she hasn't really tackled this issue before, she has just focused on the losing part. Although I have to admit, she's done an excellent job with making Dr. Oz a fixture. I appreciate that she's giving us a view into this aspect of her life, just as she did with her weightloss.

I've said before, losing was easy compared to maintaining. It's worth it, but it's hard and I wish the issue was confronted more in-depth by the media (and I know, that doesn't sell diet pills).

I think I'm going to go write Oprah a letter :lol:

Robin, I have been thinking a lot about this. I think for me to lose all this weight and maintain it, I will have to always be a little obsessed with it. I don't mean obsessed in a bad way, I mean in a very aware and wary way. I don't trust myself to not make it very important. I'm afraid I'll slip back into old ways if I don't.
It's pretty scary when someone with all the resources that Oprah has struggles with it. My heart goes out to her, I can't imagine having it splattered all over magazines, TV and the internet. I hope people give her a break, with all that she's had going on it's understandable she would slip on it. I wish her the best in getting healthy.

I love Oprah and think she's fantastic. I think part of the problem is that she's a "fad" kinda gal. She's always featuring the newest diets and diet aids and she follows them, loses weight and then goes back to eating "normal" and gains the weight back. Like a LOT of people.

It must be SO HARD to live your life in the eye of the media. I don't envy her that's for sure.

I've been morbidly obese, I've been obese, I've been overweight - now I am at a healthy weight and I gotta say - I really, really LOVE being a healthy weight. And that's what I want to remain - forever.

Some very wise maintainers here pointed out to me that's it's not obession - it's dedication. That's really the bottom line - I am thoroughly and completely dedicated to staying at a healthy weight. I am passionate about it. It's just THAT important to me.

So yes, it IS scary to hear about someone with all of Oprah's resources gain back the weight (but really the resources can't keep the weight off - Oprah still is the one that has to do the work), it is even SCARIER to me to gain back the weight. All I can say is that I hope to continue to remain scared. I'm using that fear to my advantage and keeping on my toes. Because I know that in a blink of an eye, one can easily put the weight back on.

Hey Sandi--No, I didn't mean to imply you were down on her at all. You have a very valid point and make it very nicely! I only meant to imply that I thought she still looked good and there's a ton a gals that would like to be her weight.

Well I personally felt a huge depression when I read about it. And I'm not convinced that she only weighs 200 lbs either. She loves food, I love food. I agree with those who said she goes "on a diet" and "off a diet", and never really changed in her heart and mind what she wanted to eat. I totally understand those who say if she can't do it with a personal chef, with trainers, with top of the line equipment, with being able to set her own schedule, no kids, then how can I?

This is the only site I have ever been on with people who have lost a huge amount of weight AND KEPT IT OFF - I think you are all amazing. Because the percentages of not regaining are small, but you guys have done it.

I was thinking about this Oprah thing earlier today, and about how she has a personal chef and a personal trainer and personal advisors - and how very different that is from what most of us have. It's left me wondering if the fact that she has so many people responsible for her personal stuff has meant that she doesn't have to take responsibility for it, or at least doesn't feel that responsibility as keenly as most of us do. I don't know if this is the case, but I do know that if I could abdicate all of the cooking and meal planning, I wouldn't put nearly as much thought as I do into making wise choices. I wouldn't have to put that thought in, and making wiser choices wouldn't have become second nature for me like it has.

Oprah obviously has a lot of demands on her time, and it makes sense to hire people to take care of some things for her. And while it's probably awesome in a lot of ways, I'm sort of glad I've had to do some of this the hard way. It's forced me to spend a lot of time and mental energy on figuring out why I make the choices I do/did, and I think that's been crucial to making the changes stick.

Lisa

I think there may be something to that. Also- I know that I get pretty irritated with the "diet police". So, what if you are surrounded by those people all the time?! :dizzy: I don't know about her, but I would be sneaking some chocolate in my room!

Lisa, you bring up a great point. I hadn't thought of it in that light. Perhaps you're on to something.

It's funny. Because I used to watch all of Oprah's weight loss shows, and especially the ones with her personal chefs and trainers and I would sit there and say to myself, "If only I had someone to plan out all my meals and cook me all those fabulous foods and have all the right stuff on hand, it would make this so much more doable". And then, hello, it finally hit me - I do have someone to plan all those meals and cook me all those fabulous foods - ME." Lord knows I was doing all the cooking in the house anyway. Waiting around for someone to do it for me was just not going to happen. I needed to take resposnibility for it. ME, ME and only ME. I had the right tools available to me the whole time. Took me a loooong time to figure that one out though.

Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own well-being. No one can take care of us, better then us. It's all up to us. And it IS an ongoing, never ending venture.

I have always loved Oprah - what she stands for and all her 'good doings' around the world.

It just goes to prove that being one of the richest people in the world can't buy weight loss. - "money can't buy weight happiness".

I am sure it's a humbling experience for her to again say - "I've put the weight back on." I can't imagine having everyone around the world watching my size all the time. I was watching Oprah one day and DH walked in the room and said - "Looks like Oprah put her weight back on." Gee, even my husband noticed.

We all know what a hard road this is. She gives our struggle a public view. I wish her well and hopes she can get her groove back again.

But the irony of course is that this is exactly why and how weight loss and change are possible. It is up to us, only us, in our hands, and no one else can stop us! We can only stop ourselves. It makes it hard, and yet simple, at the same time.

Yes!!! Thank goodness it's in OUR OWN hands. Imagine leaving that HUGE responsibility up to someone else. A common expression comes to mind, not sure if it was intended for weight loss/health, but I think it applies - "If you want something done right - do it yourself!".

Something else I want to bring up again, the fact that this IS an ongoing, never ending journey. As hard as that may be, once you accept the fact that this IS just that - a day after day on going, never ending "thing" that in and of itself makes it a bit easier. It just becomes "what you do" and "who you are". It's not an option NOT to do it. Okay. I'm rambling again. :blah::blah::blah:

Dear Oprah!

Come on over to 3FC. This is the largest group of loosers and MAINTAINERS I have ever encountered! We know what a struggle it is. No judgment here. We'll support you!
Jump right back on that wagon girl. Good Luck!

DJ

And, therein lies my problem. I keep waiting for life to get easier so I can tackle this weight. But, life never does seem to get easier or stay easier for long. I guess we all have to take a deep look at ourselves and decide if we are ready for this lifelong challenge..if we are so sick of the fat that we're willing to step outside of our comfort zone and do what needs to be done...forever. It's a daunting thought, but I keep holding onto what I've heard many of you say...nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. One day I'll truly understand that saying.

This is what I thought when I first saw the magazine! :D

I just admire her for bringing this out as an open discussion. We can all relate to her. She is just saying what many of us have said, "Why did I let this happen again?"
I still wish I had her resources, but she has shown that it has to come from within. Like Rhonda just said, there is never going to be a perfect time, a perfect scenario. This won't just fall into place. We have to make it happen. (Talking to myself at this point...)

Rhonda, I guess the way I think about it is that there are always going to be lifelong challenges, and sometimes we're lucky and get to pick which ones. For me, it really comes down to this: Do I want the lifelong challenge of (eventually) maintaining, or do I want the lifelong challenge of diabetes (and high blood pressure, and bad joints)?

Lisa

I'm not a fan of Oprah in fact I dislike her lol...but then again to me it is her private issue and I don't care if she is thin, fat, purple, pink, whatever. I mean we all have weight issues here and they never go away.

Fat doesn't make you who you are and if there are people out there judging her because she isn't "thin" then I think those people suck lol.

I think there are people who use whatever resources they use, Weight Watchers, the Gym, Personal Trainers, whatever, and when they get down close to goal they find themselves gaining back the weight because they find that maintaining is actually harder. You can't just diet, loose the weight, and then go back to eating all the things that negatively affected your body in the first place. I think the energy you put into loosing doesn't match the energy you have to put into living your life and maintaining your weight. As others have said, it doesn't get easier because there isn't a perfect time, perfect scenario and etc.

The most important resource is yourself. *i'm telling myself that too* lol

I'm not surprised that she has gained back weight and it doesn't scare me. The reason is that she is just another person out there struggling with weight issues. It makes me feel less alone and besides even though I may not like her, she still looks like a normal woman. Meaning, she isn't one of those super thin actresses or tv personalities running around. She has curves! :D

For all her fame and money she's just like the rest of us. If we are prone to put on weight as I am and so is Oprah and many more of us, we have to be willing to make a lifestyle change and even when we are successful it can become a drag. Why can't we be like people who never have a problem with weight ? Well, we aren't and we have to be willing to accept that. I understand what Oprah is going through. I've been there myself.

Part of it is just taking the responsibility into your own hands.

When Oprah would get thin, we all would say "Gee, wish I had a personal chef and personal trainer". Well - she did and still can't keep the weight off. It seems easy on the surface to say "Tell me what to eat and what to do". Don't we see this kind of post every day here on 3FC? People looking to be told how to lose weight and what would work best for them.

I think the key is, and studies and surveys show, that to be successful you have to come up with something that works for you. A modified "you" version that is something you can keep doing for your whole life.

May Bob Greene's eating plan isn't something that works for Oprah. Maybe she needs something that incorporates the food or style of eating she is probably surrounded by all day. I imagine she eats a lot of grab and go food, or nibble food.

I don't know if Oprah really puts herself first, you know? I mean her, and not her show, company, mogul image, or what have you, but Oprah the woman.

It IS a daunting thought. But how daunting is the thought of STAYING at an unhealthy weight any longer? They are both very difficult things. But at least the difficulty of getting to and staying a healthy weight has many, many incredible benefits. You MUST remember this.

Like Lisa so wisely pointed out, luckily, we DO get the choice of which daunting (challenge) we want.

Rhonda, I've been on both sides of the coin and I PROMISE you when choosing the challenge of losing the weight/keeping it off or remaining heavy, the first one is the better option. :hug: