Oprah Winfrey credits weight loss drugs for shedding pounds and her drinking habit.
Since she began using a GLP-1 weight-loss medication two and a half years ago, the media mogul, who claims she once “could outdrink everyone at the table,” has cut out alcohol entirely.
“I hardly recognize the woman I’ve become. But she’s a happy woman,” Winfrey told People for their Tuesday cover story.
Her indifference to alcohol was an unexpected but positive perk as the former “Oprah Winfrey Show” host recalled she “was a big fan of tequila.”
“I literally had 17 shots one night,” she admitted. “I haven’t had a drink in years. The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing.”
The OWN founder, who turns 72 next month, also explained about how GLP-1 medication has changed her relationship with diet and exercise.
She’s no longer “constantly punishing” herself with strict rules and even finds herself exercising happily with routines that include “side-planking and deadlifting.”
“I thought it was about discipline and willpower. But I stopped blaming myself,” Winfrey explained. “I feel more alive and more vibrant than I’ve ever been.”
The weight loss drugs have also improved her self confidence after decades of being publicly “shamed” for her weight.
“I’ve always been confident in whatever I was doing, but I was at the same time disappointed in my overweight body,” she said. “Was I embarrassed by it? Yes. Was I disappointed in myself for continuing to fail? Yes, every single time. I felt it was my fault.”
The “What I Know For Sure” author revealed that she tried for so long to be “at peace” with her overweight body, but kept on believing she “failed” for not being able to shed the weight and improve her health.
“I was not healthy at 211 lbs,” she said. “A lot of people tell me they can be overweight and healthy. I was not. I was pre-diabetic, and my cholesterol numbers were high.”
Winfrey declined to disclose her current weight to the outlet but has previously shared that she was close to reaching her goal weight of 160 pounds thanks to weight loss medication.
She also has yet to name the specific brand she uses, which could be drugs like Wegovy, Mounjaro or the celeb-loved Ozempic.
Winfrey was hesitant to try GLP-1 medication at first because she thought it was “an easy way out”and felt her weight was was her own “responsibility to fix.”
But once she her perspective changed on obesity and she realized it is a disease, she decided to begin her weight loss journey with the drug.
A few months after Winfrey started the injections, she decided to stop for a time in early 2024. She continued to eat healthy and work out, but immediately put the weight back on. Now she knows the drugs will be “a lifetime thing” and is content with that.
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