Oprah Winfrey Discusses Shame Associated with Weight-Loss Medications and Her Experience After Discontinuing Them

Oprah Winfrey Embraces Weight-Loss Medication as Long-Term Health Solution

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has candidly revealed her acceptance of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) medication as a permanent part of her health regimen after initially hesitating to use pharmaceutical assistance for weight management.

In a recent interview with People Magazine, the 71-year-old television icon shared that she began using a GLP-1 medication in 2023 but attempted to discontinue it after six months to see if she could maintain her weight loss through diet and exercise alone. Despite adhering to her wellness routines, Winfrey gained back 20 pounds after stopping the medication.

“It’s going to be a lifetime thing,” Winfrey acknowledged. “I’m on high blood pressure medication, and if I go off the high blood pressure medication, my blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true now, I realize, with these medications. I’ve proven to myself [that] I need it.”

The revelation comes after years of public scrutiny about her weight fluctuations. Winfrey disclosed that her “default weight” of 211 pounds had placed her in a precarious health position, as she was pre-diabetic and had high cholesterol.

In a CBS News interview, she revealed she now maintains a weight of 155 pounds. “The combination of the medication and hiking every day and resistance training has given me the body that I had when I was running a marathon,” she explained. “So, I was 40 and feeling really good, but to be able to be 71 and feel that I am in the best shape of my life feels better than it did when I was 40.”

Winfrey recently discussed her weight-loss journey on “The Oprah Podcast” alongside Dr. Ania Jastreboff, an endocrinologist and associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine. Together, they’ve co-authored a new book titled “Enough,” which explores the topic further.

The conversation tackled the persistent stigma surrounding weight-loss medications. “One of the reasons I was reluctant to use them in the beginning, when I was trying to lose weight after my knee surgery, [is] because I also felt it’s cheating, it’s the easy way out,” Winfrey admitted. “I’ve got to prove this one last time I could do it by myself. And I don’t want people saying I took the easy way out.”

This stigma persists despite growing recognition of obesity as a medical condition rather than a personal failing. Winfrey reflected on how, as one of America’s most recognizable figures, she endured public ridicule about her weight for decades.

“Every time any comedian wanted to make fun or make a joke about it — they could make a joke about it. And I accepted it because I thought I deserved it,” she said. “I accepted it. I was shamed by it and I received it, because I thought, ‘Well, they’re right.’ Now I know they were so wrong.”

Winfrey noted that many people who struggle with weight experience similar feelings of “shame and embarrassment” for being unable to control their weight. “It feels like the punishment you deserve,” she said.

Dr. Jastreboff countered this perspective: “It’s absolutely the opposite. And none of this is in our control. Somehow, in society, we think that how much we weigh is in our control. And it’s not. Our brain is in control.”

The conversation highlighted the medical understanding that obesity works through brain pathways similar to addiction. Winfrey described a profound realization after beginning GLP-1 treatment: “All these years, I thought that thin people… just had more willpower, they ate better foods, they were able to stick to it longer, they never had a potato chip.”

She continued, “And then I realized the very first time I took the GLP-1 that… oh, they’re not even thinking about it. They’re only eating when they’re hungry, and they’re stopping when they’re full.”

The podcast also featured a guest named Amy who lost 160 pounds in one year using GLP-1 medication but still faces public judgment. Dr. Jastreboff observed that those struggling with weight face criticism regardless of their choices: “You’re shamed if you have obesity. You’re shamed if you don’t try to lose weight. You’re shamed if you lose weight. You’re shamed if you use the medicines, if you don’t use the medicines… there’s literally no winning.”

Health experts note that while GLP-1 medications can be effective for weight management, they do carry potential side effects. Common issues include gastrointestinal discomfort such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. Less frequent effects include fatigue, dizziness, and injection site reactions. Medical consultation is recommended before starting any such treatment.

Through her public discussion, Winfrey aims to normalize medical approaches to weight management and shift the narrative away from willpower and toward understanding obesity as a complex health condition requiring comprehensive treatment approaches.