Oprah, lost motivation

I watched the wonderful Oprah special last night and noticing Oprah's weight gain made me kind of sad.  In a way it even demotivated me.

I believed her everytime she said she found the reasons for her weight problem.  She made me believe that if you could sort through life's problems and come up for reasons why you overeat you could conquer the demon that caused you to gain. 

Looking at her heavier hips and thighs I realized that she has not won the battle, in fact I felt so sorry for her.  You could tell she was wearing clothes that "covered up" extra pounds.  I could absolutely sympathize with her struggle but more than that it discouraged me.

I didn't get to see the special, but I watch her show from time to time. 

Maybe having random people notice and talk about every possible pound she (might have) gained is the price she pays for being so fabulously wealthy.

She seems to fluctuate up and down in a ten pound range or so and since she's no string bean to begin with, on TV, I imagine any 'extra' really shows.... 

But I sure am not willing to let my health depend on the vagaries of how well some celebrity manages to control his or her weight.

I hope you find a new motivation!  Try looking inside...  (hug)

Really she is no different from any other person though.

How many people on this website have lost weight at one point in their life successfully only to have it creep back up over the years?  it's a hard struggle!

A lot of times we think we've found the answer, and that works --for a certain time.  Then we regress.  It's life.  Don't let life demotivate you.  Look at the success stories on here that are happening daily.  Lead a healthier life.  Be your own motivation :)

copetown-- would you like it if, despite you losing like 70 lbs, people still pointed out how big your thighs were and how you'd gained back a couple pounds? Yeah... didn't think so. I think she honestly has found the reason for her weight... but everyone's weight fluctuates a bit. I just don't understand how you can criticize her when you're on this site for the same reason everyone else is... to lose weight/and/or get healthy...

Personally, I wonder if Oprah wasn't at a weight that was just too low for her body and too difficult to maintain.  I haven't watched in a while, but the last time I did she was pretty thin and I thought her head looked very large in proportion to her body.  Did she talk about gaining back weight?  I am curious as to how much she currently weighs and what she weighed when she was at her thinnest.

I thought she looked great.  She had on cream color pants that I think make everyone's thighs look bigger.  Keep in mind the camera adds pounds to people.  

I think Oprah is one of the most remarkable women alive. I think it is great what she has accomplished. I cried all the way through her special last night along with my 13 year old daughter. I just wish that such influential people such as Oprah would do that type of thing for our young girls here. It seems we hand so much to those in need over seas and we have so many struggling that are right next to us.

Anyway- I also noticed her weight gain. Hopefully, she can get back to re-focusing on this for herself as she has done so much for so many others.

Oprah isn't 20 yrs old either people, shes an older woman. That weight ain't so easy to keep down. I give her alot of credit for all she does. I could imagine she has a stressful life being in the public eye 24/7. That could cause weight gain. And i wish her all the luck

I read that Oprah did want to open up a school here, but when she asked children here what they most wanted, they answered, "an IPOD" whereas the children in Africa answered, "an education".  Many kids (and adults) here don't value education. For example, womewhere on this site is a thread about how spelling is not important.  

Oprah is a human being, and middle aged,  and probably in menopause. Each person is responsible for their own weight. Her fluctuation in weight should have nothing to do with anyone else's weight problem or anyone's motivation or anyone's depression.

She must be tired of being judged for her weight instead of her intellect.

Seeing someone on primetime television gaining and losing weight like a normal human being is great. So many celebrities on television always stay stick thin. This is not true for so many people! Oprah is being real. Plus, if she gains weight back, then loses it again, she could have multiple specials concerning it (higher ratings!).

mlgraves-

Every single American child has access to FREE education. In Africa, they all have to pay tuition and have uniforms in order to attend school. Almost all american kids take their education for granted and don't care... they just don't appreciate it. I think what she's doing is amazing. I want to get into international aid work and work in Eastern Europe and Africa and people don't usually understand why I don't want to work here. I think America is already lightyears ahead of these other countries and it's obvious that the other governments in this world (esp. ours) aren't doing anything to help Africa...

We need to educate African youths and give them the tools they need so when they grow up, they have the education/power to continue to fix the problems in Africa...

honestly however much the weight battle seems phsycial its both phsycial and mental. part of winning is overcoming the constant degradation in ones mind about weight and learning to be happy with where your at and where you are giong! oprahs just like us..always trying and thats still moving somewhere!

alibuch - our education system is FAR from FREE.  Where do you think our taxes go?  I heard that on Oprah too and was floored that she actually said 'our kids have access to free education.'  They don't pay property taxes and income taxes and gas taxes etc, etc in Africa so their tuition and uniforms would have to come right out of their pockets, but its not different than us - except that ours actually costs MORE.

I live in Indiana and have to pay text book rental every year.  For 3 kids that runs about $400.  Doesn't exactly fit into the budget of a single mother.

omgomgomg!! I LOVE OPRAH!!

Okay sorry.

She always says that if there was an easy way to lose weight, she'd have it bc she's so rich.
So I love her attitude.

She always says that you MUST workout 5 days a week.  NO EXCUSES.  And in addition to that, you must eat correctly.

Remarkably, shes still human and has faults.  Her successes and failures should not affect your motivation or any such thing.  You are responsible for your weight and Oprah is responsible for her weight.

I remember my friend gained weight, and I guess I thought it was more acceptible for me to gain weight.
Husbands gain weight when their wives are pregnant.
Why do we do this sympathy weight gain stuff?  (or in your case .. why do we do this "im unmotivated now bc this other person is unmotivated" slacking off?)

amy2005- Our tax money goes to a lot of things... not just the school system. That's money we never see anyway. Our government is set up so that every kid has the opportunity to go to school. If you're unemployed and making no money, your kids can still go to school AND you can get money from the goverment to feed them. That doesn't happen many places, eh?

and lwarrick- Some school districts don't get as much funding as other schools. I'm sorry that you have to pay that on one income. I applaud single parents... it takes a lot of strength.


But regardless... my point was that American kids don't appreciate the access they have to education. In France, students took to the streets last year and protested because they didn't think their teachers were paid enough... that would never happen here.

hi everyone -- as far as Oprahs weight -- I saw her and noticed and thought - What a stuggle for her -- she has a personal trainer and she has openly said she hates exercising -- she has a cook during the week - which would make it easier to prepare healthy meals - and yet she still stuggles --- just like we all do. It makes her human but by all accounts her weight did not overshadow the wonderful program on the school. In fact on many occassions the look on her face was such a peaceful and contented look - she looked so happy - and I loved some of those colourful flowing tops she had on -- probably more to do with the heat then her weight.

Personally -- I'm kind of sad to think that her weight became the issue that it did - when the focus should be the accomplishment of the school and how this will literally change the face of that country. Although I dont agree with everything Oprah says - at least she puts her money where her mouth is - unlike so many people in this day and age -- and other then the school being named after her -- she will gain nothing but the personal satisfaction of knowing she has made a difference. It was a very forward and long term thinking plan.

I empathize with her too. She's obviously dedicated to being healthy on her own terms and has put her enormous wealth to altruistic uses.
What I consider healthy and appropriate to maintain for my height, 5'3" is around 133lbs. Yet, I frequently come across people on this forum who are my height, 103lbs and say they're totally FAT. I rarely use the public forum for this reason anymore. Just post in my and my friends journals.

I didn't see the Oprah special.

I think that she is a woman who has done a lot for different causes that are close to her heart and that these unselfish acts of compassion have changed the lives of so many people around her that I wouldn't even want to try to start counting or to even try to measure up to all her devotion to help others. If only for that, she should deserve our respect.

As for her weight issues, she has never made any secrets about  her weight gains or losses and has gone out of her way to try and educate people on how to help themselves with their own weight issues through her own experiences.

That is the important point in all this I think, weight issues are our own and not other peoples. We can inspire ourselves in reading about the lives of people who have succeeded or failed and learned from their mistakes or say that a celebrity or our child or spouse or a good friend are a good motivation to help us on our journey but how these persons fare in their own struggles should never be a factor in achieving positive results in our own life story because ultimately our success or failures are our own.


When we take the initiative to lose weight, stop a bad habit in general or make a major life change it is for ourselves that we do it. In acknowledging that we are the ones who have to take responsibility for our own issues we become less affected by outer influences that can possibly alter our personal goals. 

I find that society in general still has a very long way to go before finally understanding that we are the ones responsible for our own actions and attitudes in all the aspects of our lives.


We should never lose sight that the first reason for personal change should be to love ourselves for who we are just as we are.

Smiles :)

i believe that watching celebrities so closely puts more pressure on them than needed, and i believe that honestly if Opera want to eat her box of donuts than she can because its HER business and we should not judge her.. weight is complicated and its something she needs to sort out on her own. not with the rest of america and the papparazzi. i feel that when you feel pressured to look a certain way it all becomes more depressing..

Problem is if you have a weight problem,  It will always be a struggle, and most people will have ups and downs. Everytime I lose weight I start thinking oh I'm normal I can do what everyone else does now, this is not true.  It just shows opera is a person and has to fight to stay thin like everyone else in our shoes. There is no fix all or permanent solution except persistence (unfortuatly).