Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her experience after discontinuing weight-loss injections for a year to challenge herself against the medication.
At 71, Oprah first discussed her use of a GLP-1 weight loss medication two years ago, sharing that she had released her own shame about the matter and began utilizing the medication as a tool to prevent her weight from fluctuating.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for,” Oprah expressed in her interview with People back then.
“I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”
Now, two years later, she reflects on her weight loss journey in a new People cover story, revealing that she faced significant pushback after sharing her decision.
What many were unaware of is that six months after starting the GLP-1 injections, Oprah decided to stop using them ‘cold turkey’ on her 70th birthday in January 2024.
“I said, ‘I’m going to see if the science is right. I want to see if I can do without it,” Oprah shared.
Many individuals who stop using weight loss drugs often regain weight due to a lack of changes in their routines, maintaining eating habits similar to those before taking the medication.
Nonetheless, Oprah challenged the skeptics who predicted she would regain weight quickly by maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regimen to prevent weight gain.
Despite her efforts, she experienced a 20-pound weight increase during the year off the medication.
Reflecting on this, Oprah told People what she learned: “It’s going to be a lifetime thing. I’m on high blood pressure medication, and if I go off the high blood pressure medication, my blood pressure is going to go up.”
“The same thing is true now, I realize, with these medications. I’ve proven to myself I need it.”
Initially, when she began using weight-loss injections, Oprah explained that she had been blaming herself for her weight issues, not recognizing her predisposition that no amount of willpower could control.
“Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain,” she stated at the time.
Having now attempted to quit GLP-1s, Oprah has a message for those with a genetic predisposition to obesity.
“I want people to know it’s not your fault,” she said. “And people need to stop blaming other people. Don’t say, ‘Why don’t you just work out more and eat less?’ That is not the answer. I want people to have the information, whatever you choose to do with it, whether you get the medications, or whether you want to keep dieting.”
“That’s the lesson I learned: I stopped blaming myself.”