I wasn’t planning on commenting on the Oprah issue this month. But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to tell Oprah to stop it.
The latest issue of her O magazine is all about the 40 pound weight gain over the last few years that puts her at a weight over 200 pounds. She blames this gain on an out of control schedule with food as comfort.
First, lets look at what some other bloggers had to say about Oprah’s weight gain and O Magazine articles.
What they had to say at Diet Blog about Oprah:
If Oprah can’t maintain her weight – with personal chefs, trainers and who knows what else at her disposal – then what hope is there for the average Jo
Here’s the reality: we’re all average Jo’s. We may idolize those with wealth, fame, and influence – but they have the same frail bodies and emotional flaws as we do
Set appropriate goals for yourself and stop comparing with others.
What Stephanie from Back in Skinny Jeans had to say to Oprah:
You are the most powerful woman in Hollywood. You have made a difference in people’s lives more than most people on the fricking planet in this entire century. You have this amazing school in Africa. You are a self made BILLIONAIRE. You are a BILLIONAIRE! How many women can say that! And you created this life from a beginning that would have left most people broken and desolate their entire lives.
And no matter how amazing your life is and what you do for the world, you gotta always bring up the weight and point out that “flaw.” Everything else takes backseat because you’ve gained 40lbs. Well, you wanna know the fucking truth, no one cares if you’re 160lb or 300lbs. The only one who is making this an issue is YOU and your pain body. And that’s why I’m fucking pissed. You’re letting your pain be in charge instead of the real you.
Now. What do I think about Oprah?
Oprah needs to stop obsessing over her size. Immediately. I wish she would stop focusing on her weight like it is the secret to life. When I think of Oprah I never think of her weight. I think of the way she helps improve people’s lives, the way she started a great school for girls in South Africa, the way she gives away so much to those who need it, the way she has made herself a billionaire and one of the most powerful women in the world. I never think of her weight… until she mentions it.
It would seem that Oprah’s weight doesn’t matter all that much. No one stops watching her show or thinks she is any less powerful or amazing because of her weight. At whatever weight Oprah is at people still listen to her. They still want to be her. The only person that doesn’t want to be Oprah at her highest weight is Oprah.
The various techniques, diets, books, and programs she has tried and endorsed over the years clearly don’t work in the long term. She has made millions selling these to women just to end up in a body she doesn’t like. I wish Oprah would stop with the quick fixes. I wish she would focus on being healthy instead of being a certain weight or size. And more than anything else I wish Oprah would just stop hating her body and start loving it by treating it right and not making its size the focus of her life.
I’m so with you – I also wish Oprah would just stop hating her body and (apparently) calling herself a fat cow! No, no, no Oprah! But then having had a lifelong stuggle myself with my weight until I gave up dieting – there is also a part of me that so understands. I wrote a bit more about my journey towards self-acceptance at http://www.ditch-diets-live-light.com/size-acceptance.html
Ditto on everything. I’m so over it all and really who the f really cares?