Never one to shy away from talking about her 30-year-long weightloss journey, Oprah Winfrey’s recent admission provides insight into how her weight ultimately impacted her mental health.
Candidly speaking to Good Housekeeping, the 63-year-old says that the shame she felt when she was overweight was crippling, with the media personality says that being overweight felt like she was having a disability.
“I never ever felt a lack of confidence – I felt shame about not being able to conquer what I felt was a disability that I should have been able to control,” she says.
And while Oprah lived out an illustrious career in front of the camera for three decades, she explains that the battle she had with her weight is the same as what people across the world experience every day.
“My shame was no different than a mother having to show up at a wedding for her daughter or son and wishing she had lost weight and wasn’t in a size 16 but was in a size 12,” she continues.
“[My weight] has been the go-to comfort for me.”
“You use it as your coat and your shield, and it keeps you from doing things.”
“You don’t have to go to that party because you don’t have a dress to wear and nothing is going to fit you.”
The Weight Watcher’s part-owner-slash-ambassador attributes her recent 20kg weightloss to sticking to the brand’s flexible diet, saying she now feels “liberated”
“It’s the thing I have been looking for my whole life – to feel a sense of freedom. The taste of freedom? There is nothing better than that!”
