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We Share Oprah's Losses And Gains

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Published: December 27, 2008

In January's O, the Oprah Magazine, media mogul Oprah Winfrey writes about coming to terms with a 40-pound weight gain that has pushed her up to 200 pounds.

She has spent a lifetime on television getting personal with her audience and revealing intimate information in an age before talk show confessionals. We lived through Winfrey's weight-loss struggles. Her marathon was our marathon. We were her million-plus support system of chronic snackers who empathized as she wrestled her mashed-potato demons.

When she not only lost the weight but also seemed to gain the upper hand in her relationship with food, we applauded. With the help of fitness guru Bob Greene, she seemed happy and healthy and a long way from that weight loss stunt in the '80s that had her pulling a wagon of fat behind her as she unveiled a flaccid liquid-diet body that had been poured into a pair of Calvin Klein jeans. This last time, Winfrey had lost weight the honest way: with exercise, a nutritious diet, a personal trainer, a chef and an enormous fan base cheering her on.

But a couple of years ago, everyone knew something was up. The weight was creeping back, and the gossips were whispering. She told her audience all she wanted was to feel good about her body and look good in a pair of designer jeans. Not size 0, necessarily, but an 8 would be nice. She was simply aiming for a body that was normal, medium, unremarkable.

How can ordinary be so hard to achieve?

In an essay, Winfrey admits to letting her schedule spiral out of control and turning to food for comfort. She said she was embarrassed by her weight gain and having to face millions of viewers - and readers - in a body that she did not like. She was frustrated and exasperated and felt she had failed.

Winfrey wasn't telling us anything that we hadn't already observed, and her experience was far from unique.

Weight gain is common when celebrities aren't working on a big project. There's an unhealthy amount of schadenfreude when it comes to celebrity weight gains. Popular culture paints their lives as charmed: millions for movies, free clothes, borrowed jewelry and a community of trainers, personal chefs and nutritionists bearing secret potions to transform them into gods and goddesses.

But Winfrey is different. She was not dieting to prepare for a big nude scene in a film. She was neither Janet Jackson nor Demi Moore out to wow people with the Olympian abs and thighs that make women weep with envy. Winfrey wanted ease and satisfaction in the fitting room.

Still, during the heady, Greene days of her thinner self, it was easy to get annoyed with Winfrey. She exuded confidence that she had practically solved the obesity conundrum. Like a lot of recent converts, she was at times overbearing. Some of her Dr. Oz shows - steeped in graphic displays of hardened arteries and protruding omentums - have been enough to make one want to graze through a package of Oreos just out of rebellion.

But ultimately what makes Winfrey's tale of weight loss and gain so compelling is that it's so common.

She may sell a million books with a nod of her head, hand out scholarships and cars, build schools and houses, but she hasn't been able to maintain a healthy weight. Winfrey inspires her fans in part because she makes extraordinary accomplishments look possible. But as her weight continues to yo-yo, she confirms what folks have always suspected: Just being average can be quite a challenge, too.

The Washington Post

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