CLEVELAND - Media icon Oprah Winfrey says in the forthcoming January 2009 issue of her magazine that she currently tips the scales at 200 pounds and is embarrassed that she has "allowed this to happen to her again."I love her always brutal honesty.
Winfrey, internationally revered and endlessly wealthy has publicized her constant struggles with her weight for 20 years. During a 1988 episode of her show, she famously rolled a wagon of fat onto her stage to provide a stunning visual of her just lost 67 pounds.
Two years later, she reached an all-time high of 237 pounds.
As recently as 2006, Winfrey weighed a svelte 160 pounds. She intimates on the highly anticipated Jan. 5 episode of her show that she has become paranoid about working out due to a previously disclosed thyroid condition that she has. Her vast weight fluctuation has been the subject of a long list of punchlines against the legendary talk show queen for two decades. Nonetheless, she continues to insist that admitting that she "fell off the wagon" is a necessary step to make when trying to get back on track.
Incredible.
The thing that really amazes me is how, despite her vast fortune and staggering resources, she is still just like so many of us weight-battling Americans. The fact that she has lost so much weight from time to time is remarkable, but I am fascinated that she has proven right before our very eyes that money truly can't buy everything.
She even admits that in spite of all that she knows how to do (in losing weight and dieting), this has happened to her again. She can, and has hired the most world renowned personal trainers and staffed her sprawling estates with the planet's best chefs to prepare super healthy but still delicious meals for her day in and day out. She could build a world class gym with every exercise machine known to man and put Balley's and Fitworks to shame if she wanted to.
But she still has to provide the effort and drive.
The flip side of her immense financial status is that she can also dine at the most exclusive restaurants on Earth and eat like a king and queen from Paris to L.A. Exotic foods and desserts that cost a fortune are easy pickings for Ms. Winfrey. Most of the rest of us can't even dream of that type of global latitude and financial freedom. In that regard, Winfrey is truly in a class all her own.
But in terms of the challenges of losing weight, Oprah is our equal.
Bottom line, this story about the beloved "queen of talk" isn't necessarily a bad one or a sad one. It is quite inspirational and I don't even think that it "tries" to be. The fact that the great Oprah is having problems picking out her dress for the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama due to her weight issues is truly unreal. But the best part of it all is that the billionaire/super inspiring Oprah is very REAL and doesn't try to hide her flaws.
That might be her enduring legacy.
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