bluetoblue......She had 3 secrets, one was a little bowl with a mix of grape nuts, shredded wheat, blueberries and milk.......the other was a jello/fruit mixture that she layered with a little squirt of whipping cream, blueberries and a few grape nuts on top. She called the berry jello one..."jello cobbler".
The 3rd idea was a no sugar, no fat chocolate fudgesicle. One stick's worth (half of the fudgesicle) is only 45 calories. Oprah suggested it quelched the sugar cravings, but she breaks them in half.

Thought I'd add my own two cents.......I limit myself to a bowl of high fibre cereal and skim milk, I often have a snack mid evening. I would say, def. NOT start raiding the cupboards or fridge on a SNACK ATTACK inhaling lots and lots of sugary carbs with mindless eating!!!.....and you'd be fine.

The problem with Oprah is she seems to think she's got the market cornered on weight loss. I mean, it's great she's sharing these bigtime "secrets" of hers, but frankly what she shares isn't enough to get most people going on their own. Meaning she doesn't make someone stand up and say, "Wooo! Go Oprah! Your secrets are gonna make me lose weight and I'm starting them tomorrow! Wooo!"

She breaks a 45-calorie fudge bar in HALF? I mean COME ON.

If I thought I had to give up eating late at night or I had to break a low-calorie fudgecicle in half in order to lose weight, I'd just scrap the whole idea.

Sorry, but I think she's full of crapola. She doesn't tell the whole story. Not from what I've seen, anyway.

Big huge weight loss secrets my foot.

And nobody get mad at me or take my comments personal, these comments are ONLY my opinion

I think that Oprah may have found what works for her, and if she can pass along to one person who is struggling with their weight and it works.. I think she's done a good job. It's really crappy feeling down on yourself because of your weight, and sometimes any advice is better than none. In the end we all find what works for us.. and remember, SO many people are going at this alone with no support, no place to ask for advice.. we are all very lucky to have a place to pass along ideas, and get feedback

As for that 45 cal fudge bar? Not my idea of fun.. plus the fact that artificial sweetners make my throat swell up and I can't swallow..

-Aimee

I have watched a few different shows of Oprah where she focuses on weight loss. I think for HER this plan works the best because really it was somewhat tailored to her needs.

She wakes up early in the morning I think and goes to bed pretty early too. So, for her, not eating at night might be only a short time before she goes to bed. She mentioned I think 7 pm as the cut off time. Well maybe she goes to bed at 9 pm.

She also has mentioned that she gets in 8 workouts per week... 6 days a week plus 2 workouts in evenings on those 6 days. wow that's just a LOT of workout time there. I think SHE needs that much and it would work of course, but it's not something _I_ could stick with.. not 8 times a week. Bob Greene's program is pretty tough, in my opinion. But.. she DID run a marathon! And to me that's pretty WOW.

I think some of the principles she talks of are good ones, but I think everyone needs to tailor a program that is do-able for THEM personally, something they will stick with, rather than just give up on after time.

I have to say though.. it was right after I saw a weight loss show of hers about a month ago that got me motivated to step on a scale.

~ Angie

Well, that's true. But still - I could get better advice from the internet, lol.

I don't mean to rag on her because I agree she's done beautifully for herself and has done a wonderful job keeping off the weight she's lost. And I perfectly understand her wanting to share this 'joy' with the world. I mean, nothing feels better than losing weight after spending many years trapped in a fat body. I'd personally rather starve than go back there again. But sometimes she makes it look like you've gotta bust your butt in a gym for 3 hours every day and eat berries and granola and break sweet treats completely in half in order to succeed. And there's so much more to it than that.

I personally find most of her advice to be misleading rather than helpful. But again, as I said before, this is just my opinion. And that's all

I personally get most of my info from the internet as well... although so many people don't have it and don't like using computers. And lets be honest, some people are just glued to the tv 24/7.. so if thats all the info they get, better than nothing, right? Plus it may save on medical expenses!

Personally when I get excited about my own weight loss, I definitely feel some weird need to pass along things that have been invaluable to me. It's like those MADD commericals, which can be totally disturbing, but if it changes just one person it becomes worth it. So if Oprah helps just one person, she's done her job.

-Aimee

Some of her ideas don't work for me and she stressed that at one point by saying you must find what works for you- a little of this, a little of that. I mean, look at her over the years. She's probably been on every diet known to man and she found something that works for her. I wasn't quite following until she made that point.

And is it me, or was she acting really goofy?

I didn't see the show and haven't watched Oprah for years, but I'm curious about how Linda's been framing this, as if something's missing. It sounds like Oprah gave some really specific tips, but did she address the big picture? The "click"? Issues of motivation and staying with it? Issues of dealing with why we overeat?

As for a personal chef and trainer making it easier, maybe. I know I would like that sometimes. But the chef can't stop you from going after the yoyos, and you still have to make the time yourself for the workout (trainer can't do it for you). She has made a commitment to a healthy lifestyle and the is in the details. She still has to do it everyday, and I think that's the hardest thing of all.

Exactly, lol.

I have an extremely limited knowledge of Oprah - so I'm not taking sides here.

But - I am a CHRONIC late eater. Last night I got home from working out at 11:15pm, and ate the lovely dinner by DF had ready at 11:30pm. Started getting ready for bed around 12:30, hit the sack around 1am.

This is the norm about half the time for us since the move, we're just super busy. I'm trying to switch to an earlier schedule, but either way works for me.

I almost always eat something within the hour before I go to bed, and it hasn't stopped me from losing almost 80 pounds.

I admire Oprah, being that she's built herself to be one of the richest and most powerful women in business today.

However, I think a lot of people misinterprete her and take her word as gospel. She has lost a lot of weight over the years and I can see how she is a role model for many overweight women. Heck, I've looked at some of her slim photos and thought "what a gal". She perpetuates a lot of myths though, the main one being "don't eat after 7.00 p.m.". That might have worked for her but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. I lost most of my weight in the first year of my lifestyle change and during that year I was working out after work, so not eating until sometimes 9.00 pm. I'm like Linda, living proof that you can eat late and lose weight. The problem is, people hear/read her telling us not to eat after 7.00 p.m. and with the media being what it is and the current diet culture being what it is, suddenly that should be taken as gospel and we're hearing it from everyone.

Oprah is great as long as you don't live by her word and do what is right for you. If you are eating dinner at 11.00 p.m. and still losing, there's no reason to change.

Wow! Is this interesting. Just goes to show me that there are dozens of ways to lose. I often go to bed hungry or wake up hungry in the night and can't sleep. Funny how hunger does that.

I think Wynonna (sp?) Judd also has a cook and a personal trainer, and she's still struggling with weight. While having a chef would certainly save time, it wouldn't stop anyone from raiding the fridge, stopping at McDonald's every night, or eating candy from the vending machine at work. Also, it's pretty easy to call up the personal trainer and say, hey, I'm tired and I don't want you to come over today, or just hit the snooze on your alarm and miss the appointment. Oprah certainly has enough money to miss the appointment and still pay the personal trainer.

Now, if you secluded yourself on a private island and had a personal chef who made meals and you had no access to other food, and if you had a trainer who forced you to get up and work out (think Biggest Loser!), then that's a different story.

Ok, so let's just clarify the "Fudgecycle situation" once and for all. She was just talking about the fudgecycles that come in 2-packs. There are 2 fudgecycles in the little plastic wrap, each is 45 calories, making it total of 90 calories per pack. She said that she started getting these crazy chocolate cravings as some sort of a midlife thing and that these fudgecycles get her over the craving without all the fat of sugar of regular chocolate. She used to eat both bars, but now she is able to get through the craving with only one 45 calorie bar.
Ok, hope that clears things up.

Just so you know, I love Oprah too, but that doesn't mean that anybody should listen and do exactly as she says. She found what works for her and I need to find what works for me and so does everyone else.
The main premise of what she was saying was that a person needs to make that emotional step first. Because losing weight is only half the story, it’s realizing that you ARE worth that effort that is the most difficult thing to attain. That part is hard to disagree with, no matter how much you might hate Oprah.

Thanks for including that... I figured she'd say SOMETHING about the motivational/emotional issues!