Oprah Winfrey said taking weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, helped her realize the truth about “thin people.”
In 2023, the 70-year-old media mogul finally admitted that he used an undisclosed GLP-1 — a type 2 diabetes drug that can also aid weight loss — to lose nearly 50 pounds after decades of yo-yo dieting.
The admission came as a shock to fans, as Oprah had previously denied using medication to lose weight, even going so far as to decry the method as an “easy way out.”
But now that she's nearly reached her goal weight of 160 pounds, Winfrey shares her experience taking a GLP-1 and what it's taught her about “thin people.”
She did this while discussing the function and safety of these types of medications with Dr. Ania Jastreboff in the latest episode of her podcast.
“One of the things I realized when I first took a GLP-1 was that all those years I thought thin people had more willpower,” Winfrey admitted. 'They ate better food. They could hold out longer. They never had any chips.”
Oprah Winfrey said that taking weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, helped her realize the truth about 'thin people'; seen in December 2024
But once she started a GLP-1, Winfrey realized that what she initially thought of as “willpower” was actually an absence of intrusive hunger thoughts — often called 'food noise'.
Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 medications can help eradicate food cravings — which often lead to overeating and weight gain — by reducing cravings and slowing digestion.
“And then I realized, the very first time I took the GLP-1, they don't even think about it,” the billionaire said.
“They eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full.”
Winfrey explained that that way of eating “doesn't work” if you are overweight, which is a disease.
During her conversation with Dr. Jastreboff also spoke to Winfrey about being “publicly humiliated” because of her weight over the course of her decades-long career.
'Every week [I was] exploited by the tabloids, every time a comedian wanted to make fun of it or make a joke about it, they made a joke about it. And I accepted it because I thought I deserved it,” she explained.
But now Winfrey says she realizes her size didn't make her “less than” others and that she didn't deserve that treatment.
She did this while discussing the function and safety of these types of medications with Dr. Ania Jastreboff in the latest episode of her podcast
Once she started a GLP-1, Winfrey realized that what she initially thought of as “willpower” was actually an absence of intrusive hunger thoughts — often called “food noise.”
Despite her initial denial about using weight-loss drugs, Oprah declared in December 2023 that she was “done with the shame” when she revealed she was taking a GLP-1 to lose 40 pounds.
She also took up regular exercise, such as walking, to help her shed unwanted pounds.
Winfrey told PEOPLE, “I'm using it now because I think I need it, as a tool not to yo-yo” — but didn't name the drug she's taking.
“The fact that there is a medically approved prescription to maintain weight and stay healthier in my lifetime feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and be ridiculed for again.
“I am absolutely done with shaming other people and especially myself,” adding that she had actively recommended the weight loss tool to other people before deciding to use it herself.
The star revealed that she took the medication before Thanksgiving because she knew she would have had “a solid two weeks of eating” and credits the drug with helping her gain only half a pound instead of eight pounds, adding adding that it 'calms the food noise'.
At the time, Winfrey said she was seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160, but insisted that “it's not about the number.” Oprah weighed 107.5kg at her heaviest, she previously revealed.
She said undergoing knee surgery in 2021 started a journey for her to improve her health and live a “more vital and vibrant life.”
“And then I realized, the very first time I took the GLP-1, they don't even think about it,” she said. 'They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full'
In 2023, the 70-year-old media mogul (left in 2023 and right in 2019) finally admitted to using an undisclosed GLP-1 — a type 2 diabetes drug that can also aid weight loss — to shed nearly 50 pounds after decades traps. -yo on a diet. The admission came as a shock to fans, as Oprah initially denied that she was using weight-loss drugs to lose weight, even going so far as to decry the method as an “easy way out.”
The broadcast icon said she now eats her last meal at 4pm, drinks a liter of water a day and uses the WeightWatchers principles of counting points, along with regular walks.
She added that her fitness and health routine are integral to maintaining her weight loss, saying, “It's everything. I know everyone thought I was working on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I don't also train and be vigilant about everything else, it won't work for me.”
She said: 'I was aware of it [weight-loss] medication, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I don't have that feeling anymore.'
Winfrey said she was encouraged to use medical weight-loss medications after the July 2023 recorded panel discussion with weight-loss experts and doctors — which led to her “biggest aha moment.”
The conversation was posted online in September, and Winfrey adamantly denied ever taking weight-loss medications.
She said: 'I realized that I had been blaming myself for being overweight all these years, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower can control. Obesity is a disease. It's not about willpower, it's about brains.
During the discussion, the experts emphasized that obesity is a metabolic disease in which some bodies are “more prone to storing more fat” – also called adipose tissue.
Oprah candidly explained, “For those of us who store fat, no matter how much… You've all seen me diet and diet and diet and diet, it's a recurring thing because my body always seems to want to go back. up to a certain weight.'
During her conversation with Dr. Jastreboff also spoke to Winfrey about being “publicly humiliated” for her weight over the course of her decades-long career; seen in 1988
She added: 'If I ate an apple pie at 11pm, I would be two pounds heavier in the morning. I can't eat after a certain time.'
The TV personality, who claimed she had “yo-yoed her whole life”, later said: “This is a world that has forever shamed people for being overweight, and all of us who have lived in it know that people just treat you differently. They just do that.
“And I'm Oprah Winfrey and I know everything that comes with it and I'm treated differently if I'm over 200 pounds versus under 200 pounds…
'There is condescension. There's a stigma.'
Oprah said the key was to have friends and partners around you who offered support and “rejoiced in your victory.”
After a more in-depth discussion about the weight-loss drugs currently available – including Ozempic and Wegovy – the media mogul said: 'Shouldn't we all just be more accepting of whatever body you choose? That should be your choice.
'One of the things I was so ashamed of, and even when I first heard about the weight-loss drugs, I was having knee surgery at the same time and I thought, 'I have to do this on my own.' own, because if I take the medicine, that's the easy way out.'
Despite her initial denial about using weight-loss drugs, Oprah declared in December 2023 that she was “done with the shame” when she revealed that she was taking a GLP-1 to lose 40 pounds; seen in January 2024
'I realized that I had been blaming myself for being overweight all these years, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower can control. Obesity is a disease. It's not about willpower – it's about the brain,” she said; Winfrey seen in September 2024
'There is a part of me that feels – as I think a lot of people feel about bariatric surgery – that I have to do it the hard way, that I have to keep climbing the mountains, that I have to keep suffering and I have to do that, for otherwise I have deceived myself somehow.”
She concluded, “As a person who has been disgraced for so many years [about my weight]I'm just sick of it.'
The star said after this conversation that she let go of her “own shame” and consulted her doctor, who prescribed the weight-loss medication.
Last year she released the TV documentary An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, in which she lashed out at those who shame people who turn to weight loss drugs.
