At this point, Oprah Winfrey reminds me a little of Kirstie Alley in that it seems her entire career she’s been battling weight issues and talking about it. Oprah isn’t as delusional as Kirstie, she’s not involved in a high profile cult and she’s open and honest, so she has that going for her. In a new UK commercial for Weight Watchers, which Oprah bought ten percent of in October, Oprah highlights her very public struggles with weight and asks us to join her in losing our extra pounds. It’s timely in that so many people have New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. Here’s some of what Oprah says, thanks to US Weekly, and you can see the commercial above.
The television legend premiered the UK version of her honest and raw television spot on Christmas Eve. And her frank and emotive admissions have created an online sob-fest.
“Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be,” Winfrey tells her audience in the minute-long TV segment. “Many times you look in the mirror and you don’t even recognize your own self because you got lost, buried in the weight that you carry,” she admits, before gearing up for her motivational moment.
“Nothing you’ve ever been through is wasted,” the television host, who purchased ten percent of Weight Watcher’s shares back in October , proclaims. “So every time I tried and failed, every time I tried again, and every time I tried again, has brought me to this most powerful moment to say, ‘If not now, when?'”
I’ve never thought of my weight like this or like I was trapped or something but I’m kind of a practical person. As I’ve said in just about every Weight Watchers post, it worked for me before they switched to Points Plus. After that I couldn’t shift the weight until I got a food scale and used My Fitness Pal to count calories. Weight Watchers is losing market share to free apps and fitness trackers and once people learn how easy calorie tracking is they’re abandoning it. However Weight Watchers is good for people who like the accountability and the social support of attending weekly meetings. They also teach lifestyle changes and have really worthwhile tips for weight loss. (Which you can also learn online, although there is a ton of b.s. out there.)
In terms of Oprah using her past struggles to highlight how this time will be different, will it really? Weight Watchers has a great reputation and is one of the most effective and least scammy weight loss systems. This video makes it seem like just another trend that Oprah is trying, and we’ve seen how many diets and trends she’s followed over the years. Still, it’s Oprah and she’s relatable. I’d love to see her lose weight and come out with a big old wheelbarrow full of the fat she lost. She needs to pull another stunt like that again. Why didn’t she include that footage in the video?!
photo credit: Getty Images and WENN.com
I listened to the whole commercial 1 time.. then I mute the TV. It just gets too much. But Oprah does this with everything she gets involved with. NOW it is the revelation about her weight.. Which she has had before. But she is like this with Books, Food, Exercise, Movies…everything. The light has come on for her again and she is telling us all about it.
JUST TOO MUCH FOR ME. Too much light that is it blinding
OMG, I so agree with every word you wrote. I watched the commercial once and said out loud, “Oprah, you talk too much.”
The next time it came on, I switched to another channel long enough to avoid having to go through it again…it’s exhausting to listen to her preach to the crowd.
^ Too true. I can only take Oprah in small doses. Couldn’t scramble for the remote fast enough.
Oprah should just enjoy her retirement instead of shilling for WW! She has had work done to smooth out her naturally large figure. How dumb does she think we are. Surgically redistributing your weight and saying its from a plan is bogus. Most people cant afford the skin removal/ Lipo/ laser tightening that creates these makeovers anyway. Love the skin you are in and you will be healthier because of self love. They want us to hate ourselves so we buy all thier crap products!
Retirement? What retirement? The woman started her own network, OWN, and has been running it for four or five years now, which is probably the hardest thing she’s ever done, and has a magazine and I’m sure lots of other things, like her charities, her speeches.
Oh please do you think she works 40+ hours a week? She hires the best to run it and she makes executve decisions. Having a show daily was the work grind so now she works as much or little as she pleases thats all. I respect that she earned her money the hard way!
I hope it works for her, but I’ve done WW several times over the last 30 years and never found it very effective. I agree with CB that it’s the worst it has ever been with the Points Plus. I didn’t lose one pound with that. I know people who love it, and I think it’s healthier than just eliminating a whole food group, like carbs, but I always felt like I obsessed with food more when I was on it than off it. The only thing that works for me is portion control and exercise.
+1 PointsPlus didn’t work for me either. I had been on WW on and off for about 30 years and the best plan was probably in the early 1990’s.
However, I believe that Oprah is too old and rich to still be looking for the holy grail of weight loss. It really is how much you eat vs. how much you burn.
Yeah, I wonder why she’s doing this? She certainly doesn’t need the money.
Do they have Jenny Craig in the States? I think that also peaked in the early 1990s. My mom did that to lose some baby weight–the only time in her life she used a diet program–and, lo, it worked.
Yes, it’s here.
WW changes its game in order to keep you coming back to meetings, buying the items they sell, etc. The WW method is truly the most balanced of all the popular weight loss plans. When I go on the plan religiously, I use the old points system. Kept the materials. Nothing is really new though.
I was up and down with my weight all my life like Oprah.I even did the liquid fast she did and didn’t eat for six months.I gained all that weight back plus some.I got serious six years ago and got Bariatric surgery.It changed my life.It lost 150 pounds and learned how to manage my eating.I had my lap band taken out and still using my skills to not be overweight or unhealthy.I think I read somewhere she looks down on these surgeries.They are not easy by all means or fun or the easy way out.I do not think Weight Watchers will work for her.
Good for you! That took so much hard work! You must be proud.
Thanx GoodNamesAllTaken.I am very proud.I had to go to extreme measures to fix a extreme problem.I wish Oprah would do it too and not promote things that are not long term.Hasn’t she dealt with this long enough?
It is terrible that people look down on bariatric surgery as a way to solve a problem like obesity. I too have had bariatric surgery, and lost over 200 pounds. For me it was a life or death decision–I’d tried and failed at losing weight so many times (including several rounds with WW in all its incarnations), and nothing worked in the long term. Surgery coupled with behavior modification worked. And you are absolutely right Petee, it is not fun or easy, but it WORKS.
I tried using WW points system. It didn’t work as well as counting calories. I also kept track of calories burned when i worked out. To each their own. Weight loss, like other things, is not a one size fits all situation. You have to find what works best for you and feel comfortable doing it. I hope this works for Oprah.
Oprah has achieved so much in her life, and yet I still think she identifies herself by her weight. I wish she could just accept herself.
I KNOWW!! I was thinking the same thing!! Like – lady – I don’t CARE how many pounds you have. No one cares!! Go build another school in Africa or something amazing like that!
+1
Good point.
I always think this! How terrible if, after all she has accomplished, she still feels held back or bad about herself. She is not even that huge. I get wanting to be healthy, but this seems like she is hung up on it!
Was about to say the same thing.
It’s the one thing she can’t conquer: health.
The irony is….it’s the simplest to conquer. It’s HARD to do – very difficult for most people – but it is the simplest. It’s nutrition and moving, that is truly it, nothing else. Don’t eat things that come in packaging or wrappers. Eat whole foods. Eat as many colors as you can get. Your plate: 1/4 protein, 1/4 healthy carbs like whole grains etc and the other 1/2 (yes, other HALF) should be vegetables. Get your heart rate up. All these things are what matters…and WW isn’t necessary for any of it.
You don’t need to pay ANYBODY to know that, or do that. But people want you to think you do (for the $$$$$$) – Oprah wants you to think you do. And that’s why her success in health hasn’t endured (obviously). It hasn’t registered with her yet what it’s all about…her WW endorsement is proof of that.
I totally agree. There’s no money to be made from common sense. Oprah wouldn’t be shilling WW if there wasn’t anything in it for her $. Disingenuous & hypocritical, given her yoyo weight history.
@knower – so true!!! You are 100% right in all aspects especially that it is simply eating right and exercising for most people yet it is the HARDEST thing to do!!!
Oprah is a hippocrite of the highest order for promoting spiritual love acceptance then your too big so buy this stuff/plan! Terrible mixed messages. Stick with charity work as she needs more money like we do lectures from rich people!
Thank-you! So true.
Also bugging me – how she is making this about other women. For sure others feel that way, but they don’t have her resources. I’m tired of hearing her shill this. And it doesn’t feel like health is her priority, it’s looking in the mirror.
Eh. Oprah’s had so many “a-ha moments” over the years, I much spiritual enlightenment, and has linked her weight to so much emotional baggage, and none of the epiphanies have kept the weight off. Maybe she just undereats when dieting and rebounds back out of hunger. I don’t know if this latest diet will be any more effective than the umpteen previous ones. Good luck to her. *shrug*
She really has made a lot of revelations and declared epiphanies. Yes, weight can be a struggle. Buying part of the company maybe gives her extra incentive this time — who knows.
I thought of the wheelbarrow footage as well. Did not realize she’d bought 10 percent of WW.
My employer has allowed staff to attend WW lunchtime meetings. Seemed to be a lot of effort to me, when what works overall is to eat better/less and move more. No fee, weighing food or counting points required.
Some people have a hard time motivating themselves to weigh food and still don’t understand portion control, so this works for them.
Yes, whatever works for the individual.
Oh are you serious? She’s part owner now?
That explains it. Like commenter GoodNamesAllTaken I had been wondering why she would need to do any kind of product endorsement at this point. Now it all makes sense. With the Oprah stamp of approval, the company will reach another level of credibility basically and I’m sure they need a profits surge.
Oooohhhhhh. I didn’t know that. Now I get it!
Oprah is SO serious and her arrogance shines through. SHE know the secret and SHE has the information.
As for her being so emotional, well..she has an ED. I have an ED so I’m not shaming her. But when you have addiction/attachment issues with food, you can’t help but get emotional. The only way for me to lose weight and keep my sanity has been to minimize the role of food in my life. I try not to give it any power. I eat small amounts, and exercise at least 90 minutes a day. Still obsessive, but at least I’m not spending time over a toilet with my hand down my throat anymore. If WW works for you, good on you. If not, keep trying. Above all else, keep exercising.
Very well said!
Kudos do you on making those changes. Wow, 90 minutes?? Mind telling us what your routine is? I’ve gotten myself up to about 40 mins a day, five times a week. Have seen really great results. You must be looking and feeling outstanding!
WW never worked for me. I lost 40 pounds when I stopped eating sugar and white flour. It took a little while for my cravings to go away but when they did, it was easy. I never went hungry. WW allows for too much sugar and processed foods for me to lose weight. It took a long time for me to figure that out. I tuned out Oprah a long time ago. I agree with those who say that she is an “epiphany-junkie.”
Yep.Too many carbs.Not good for weight loss or your sugar.Good for you.
Weight Watchers has fixed this now….the new SmartPoints system has incentives for eliminating sugar and processed foods. It is working for me…. 27 pounds lost so far!
points plus sucks! it worked better the old way. i lost 20 lbs in 10 weeks the original way. i tried again with points plus and it took me nearly 15 weeks to lose 10 lbs so I gave up. I recently rejoined b/c this Oprah thing reminded me and i can get reimbursed through my work if you attend 10 out of 12 weeks of meetings…but points plus is wonky for sure.
Points Plus worked for me. I did lose just a little under a pound every week, but that was what was sustainable for me. I’ve done the quick fix and I gain it all back. Took almost a year to lose the weight but here I am. WW also helps you maintain, my biggest problem. I know, you think I work for WW, but I just wanted to give another perspective.
Yeah – I think the points seem complicated. It’s much easier to scan a barcode into a Fitbit or Loseit app & track calories – it’s the only thing that works for me.
And, I don’t really feel like Oprah is a great rep for a weight loss company. She’s “finally gotten it right” about 75 times over the last 20 years.
Although she is sometimes over the top, ok many times, her voice is so soothing. I wish she was my mommy!
i guess she misses the attention
She is running from herself.
She will lose and then gain it back. She isn’t going to count points for her whole life. WW made a mistake asking a person who has failed several times to lose and maintain and who jumps on every quick fix bandwagon to be their spokesperson…they are now tethered to her and it is not going to be good when she gains the weight back…she won’t just fade away like all the others either…people will now identify WW with her
It’s a real shame that she does not advocate for self esteem and self acceptance…she could make a difference..her psychological issues impact millions of women because she has such star power. What a waste of opportunity to help women become free from self loathing…if that were dealt with, we would not be so far out of balance…in our lives and with our bodies.
When she said counting points is like a game it made me sick…it was so juvenile and manipulative that I lost all the little bit of respect i had for her.
I am repulsed by WW now that Oprah is the main spokesperson and part owner.
There is clearly no one-size-fits-all weight loss solution.
She’s struggled with her weight since ever. If Weight Watchers was indeed the end-all, be-all of weight loss, she’d be thin. Long before now.
She bought a giant stake. And then directly uses her influence to market it. Yeah, ok.
Way to make some money, Oprah.
That wheelbarrow moment is probably the most embarrassing time in her up and down yo yo weight battle. I have one of those too…mine is immortalized as the time I was in Health magazine for weight loss and by the time the print issue came out I had gained 10 lbs.
Weight loss is difficult to maintain. I’m down to my lowest adult weight now and have been maintaining it this year but I’m really hesitant to say I totally have things figured out since I’ve been here before :-/ I find Oprah pretty relatable and I’m 30 so not exactly her usual demographic.
Someone could teach a class on the persuasive techniques employed here.
This women has so much money why is she even bothering? I mean live your life and be happy with your body and yourself … No weight loss required. Oh I guess she won’t earn money with that messages.
Oprah has 10 % stake in WW. she then decided to try it and now is pushing it.
smaltzy and phoney.
I know people who’ve joined weight watchers but it didn’t work for them. If Oprah Winfrey finally found something that works that’s great.
If you can’t address the “why” you have the ED, it doesn’t matter what the diet/exercise program is-you might lose weight but you won’t be able to keep it off. And by this point, Oprah with all of her spiritual wisdom and past experience of losing/gaining, is well aware of this. So I find it odd that she’s schilling WW. She certainly doesn’t need the money.
I was just thinking this after reading something Marianne Williamson wrote today (and Oprah is certainly aware of her thinking, and others like her) about how no diet or doctor will work if you have a prevailing underlying belief that is unaddressed. … As for why she is schilling, maybe it sounded fun? I always thought the commercialism of her show sort of undercut its ultimate value.
They actually changed the program again to smart points – it’s now a pretty high-protein, low-sugar and fat diet. Pretty similar to south beach, actually.
i cant see how weight watchers would be more effective than having a chef prepare all your food
As someone who has lost 80+ lbs and kept it off for years and years, I’m going to say one thing and it will hurt Oprah’s feelings…
If Oprah really knew how to be healthy, and had learned it, she wouldn’t participate in ANYTHING revolving around Weight Watchers. Those companies profit off you have amazing short term changes, enjoying them, allowing you to get complacent, fall back into old habits, and then the finale: coming back.
Oprah has proven over the years that she’s supported these weight loss companies and STILL can’t stay healthy. That says it all.
When I think of people I know who participated in the workplace program, my guess is that two (of dozens) seemed to have long-term results. Several ended up repeating the program, or gaining more weight within a couple of years.
There is a reason weight loss ads often have a ‘results shown not typical’ disclaimer.
Agreed, knower. For all her enlightenment, this issue makes me side-eye everything she espouses. I dislike her capitalizing on her overweight fan base. Based on what we all know about Oprah, her weight issues are most likely emotional. I’d like to see her address people getting real professional help if they want lifelong change. But that’s just me.
and on top of that, Oprah is going to PROFIT from the losing/regaining cycle of 90% of us…we are paying for the program…she isn’t being charged anything but making profits…how can she be trusted given her history and her making a profit from others’ struggles and frustrations (and I know she struggles too…) what a great gig if you can get it.
I think WW made a big mistake…I really do. It will be interesting to see this play out
First, they need to completely overhaul their online sites and their apps…very clunky, not intuitive, print is TINY…it’s just really bad in every way. i don’t understand their problem in this area..they charge a lot for that service…it’s 2016!! get with it!
I lost about 11 LBS on WW in one year…i got so tired of counting everything. The Points Plus program was very discouraging.
I joined My Fitness Pal and it is much more comfortable. It’s free and I am losing at a healthy pace…not fast at all but more than with ww. I lose a few and then maintain to reset my weight “memory”. Now I go Day by Day…every morning is a new day…I am not measuring by a week…
I found that with WW if I went over points I tried to cut points the next day (never worked)…i panicked as that 49 flexible points dwindled, by the end of the week, if i didn’t stay on track, i hated myself. i got so that I wished my life away because I was constantly wanting to get to the start again to start over…I played a lot of games with myself..I would eat late at night and put the points on the next day thinking I would cut the points the next day.
Also it was hard to really know the caloric values etc. because everything was done for us rather than us being challenged to understand food groups etc. it is ww’s secret formulation.
On My Fitness Pal you record your food and it calculates calories, fat, protein, carbs, sodium, sugar and fiber. i know if i get too little or too much of all these pieces. at the end of the day it calculates how much you will weigh if you continue eating/exercising the way you did that day…it’s great
ww has great recipes..fitness pal does too…if you need support from others you can talk in the group..i don’t need that part
There is SO MUCH support online for free…no one needs WW unless they need to go to meetings…I think older people like the meetings but younger people are too busy and are very comfortable with using smartphones and are tech savvy….WW is becoming useless.
Oprah should be quiet about it until she and Gayle make some major strides with it – THEN come out with how they did it – they are putting too much pressure on themselves before they know how their bodies will respond to WW, whether or not they like the diet, and how far they can go with it. Too much build up too early on.
LOL. All I can think of are all those photoshopped pics gracing every cover of ‘O’ magazine. I have to say that I think Oprah would be the LAST person I’d consult on advice for weight loss. Photoshoptician, heal thyself.
I was dumbfounded when I first saw this commercial. Among many things, why would I or anyone else want to participate in a weight loss program endorsed by a woman who has NEVER been able to stick to a diet and keep the weight off??? I mean seriously, with all her money you’d think she’d have all the resources to take weight off and keep it off but has never been able to.
Personally, I think it’s more of a mental/emotional issue with her…which I get, it is with many people. I think Weight Watchers can be a great program but why they chose her I do not understand anymore than I would understand a rehab center having their spoke person be someone who REPEATEDLY fails sobriety while in the in the public eye. Makes no sense to me at all.
Eat less exercise more – that is it. There is no secret. Millions of people out of desperation spending millions of dollars. Again
Eat less excersize more. Having a good support group like over eaters anonymous is helpful and free. I have great empathy for those who struggle with weight. I was a fat kid, teased relentlessly I am in good shape and have been so as an adult but I definitely have body issues. Good luck and be kind to yourselves.
The rollout of the new program isn’t going well. Many members are quitting. The new program is quite a bit more restrictive and the supporting technology is bug-ridden. They are also not happy with Oprah as the spokeswoman. Take a look at the Weight Watcher Facebook page. The battle is raging. It’ll be interesting to see what’s left when the dust settles.
I hate that f-ing commercial. I was angry thinking that they were going to pay her millions of dollars to lose weight, like they did with Jessica Simpson, but now I see that she owns part of the company. I hate how she uses the morons who idolize her. I make a point to avoid everything she endorses!
Doesn’t she have her own chef? Why is she still overweight?
You would think with the connections she has that a nutritionist would tell her “Oprah, you lose weight if you burn more than you take in”
All these celebs promoting these awful weight loss programs (for money) can’t be taken seriously because they’re getting it all for free, plus a weight room and doesn’t have to pay a dime!
Try to be a “regular” person having to pay for all the packaged foods, meetings, monthly payments etc.
Oprah is part owner of Weight Watchers and I sincerely hope her Weight Watchers program works for her, it doesn’t come across as sincere, when many of us know this is her investment, and marketing strategy selling people a program that doesn’t work for everyone.
Signed,
Former Weight Watchers member.
oh pls.
She has her own chef, trainers and staff, she has her own vegetable garden which is basically a ‘farm-for-one’, she has billions of dollars to spend on herself and her health, and she is treating weight loss as if it is surviving cancer…
How delusional and out-of-touch someone like her can be… astonishing. Does she have no sense of reality or shame?
We all know she will be putting the weight back on in a matter of months. She has dragged all of us through this many many times before. THE OPRAH REALIZATION!!!
“I LOOOOOSTTTT THE WEEEEEEEIGGHHHTTT! If I did it, so can youuuuu!!! You lose the weight, you lose the weight, you lose the weight…. YOU WILL ALL LOOOOOOOSE THE WEEEEIGHHHHTTT!!!”
Please. She is a mess.
AWESOME! you said it for me and much better than i could have! my jaw dropped when i saw that first commercial…i thought “what are they thinking?” she is the most well known diet failure who falls for every gimmick of any kind almost constantly… I hope women will grow up and take charge of their own lives and their own self esteem rather than hoping Oprah or WW or Pema Chodron or etc. will do it for us…I love the cancer remark…why so serious Oprah? That’s your problem! Lighten up! Live your life. do what you love…you have the resources to create your own life without needing us anymore!
Oprah’s decision making skills and savvy when it comes to people are poor for a good journalist. Remember, she’s the one that unleashed the horrible Dr. Phil upon us 🙁 She finds something that resonates with her for the moment and she puts all her time and “Oprahness” into it. However, rarely do I see her take the time to test the waters and allow herself to learn and to make mistakes without going public first. With as much money and resources as she has, she still struggles like the rest of us. Alas, she is human, and having lots of money doesn’t change that. Lots of people think fame and money somehow translates into a person holding secrets and keys to life they don’t have. And I don’t think that’s all the time true.
I do not see Oprah as having any more secrets to great things in life with weight loss or anything else. She’s successful. She’s blessed, but a guru she is not. What she is is a shrewd business woman/hustler who sees that there is money in her brand, and she’s going to make all she can.
I have always been heavier than I’d like, but what worked best for me keeping off 100+ pounds for 6 years now is simply allowing myself to be human: to forgive myself for not being a tiny size zero and to love myself at every size. That’s the real challenge. My weight fluctuates between 5 and 8 pounds at times, and I am ok with that. Before I was binging, starving myself and fighting control and depression issues. Now I eat moderately while watching sugar and refined foods and strength train. It’s working, and I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. One moment at a time….
AWESOME! you’ve got it! I hope everyone reads and takes your words to heart..what you say is the absolute truth! Thank you!!!!!!! I am so glad to see the wonderful and meaningful conversation that is happening here. For the most part I have not felt people are being mean but are voicing how they feel.
This woman gets on my last nerve. She’s a friggin BILLIONAIRE and STILL cannot get past her weight, for god sake. Get over it, you’re not the only woman with a fat ass.
You are so right. Oprah is just annoying. Can’t stand to listen to her. Take her off these commercials. I turn the channel when she comes on. She gets on my LAST NERVE! She has to go!!! People treat her like she is GOD. Not even close.
Her voice , her whole pompous, above the little people demeanor, on these commercials, and in general, have driven me crazy for years!!! Honey chile???!? What are we, in 1940s Alabama?? Grow up Oprah. Also, once you stop chastising and destroying the lives of those you deem to be “phonies” and OWN up to all the shadows/ghosts in your OWN closet to those of the world who hang on your every false word, perhaps i would take seriously anything you tout as truth. For right now, I lunge for that remote. You are NOT all knowing, you are just full of yourself, your money, and those who use YOU as their cash cow. Poor poor thing. Keep your money, Opie, I’ll keep my self respect and comfort in being the real ME. Ha!
Oprah is the epitome of what is so sick and wrong with self help programs and all that quick fix hype.
She exhausts me. I have no respect for her.