Oprah Winfrey opens up about utilizing weight-loss medication

Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her use of weight-loss medication, viewing it as a vital "maintenance tool" in her journey towards wellness.

While conversing with the PEOPLE for the weekly cover story, the renowned host shared, "It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years," adding, "I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself."

Winfrey remembered the moment when she faced body shaming, she said, “I was on the cover of some magazine and it said, 'Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy,' " adding, "I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault."

Approaching her 70th birthday next month, Oprah Winfrey expresses optimism about her improved understanding of sustaining a healthy weight over the long term and eliminating any lingering sense of shame.

Employing a comprehensive strategy that involves consistent exercise and lifestyle adjustments, Winfrey discloses her incorporation of a weight-loss medication into her routine.

She also reflected on the enduring struggle with weight fluctuations that dominated her thoughts for five decades.

Read also: Oprah Winfrey reveals she changed 'everything' to lose weight

The constant yo-yoing left her questioning why conquering this challenge seemed elusive, attributing it to a perceived lack of willpower.

However, following determined rehabilitation post-knee surgery in 2021, Winfrey initiated a consistent and gradual weight loss journey that has unfolded over the past two years.

Winfrey also said, "I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way."

She verified that she sought advice from her doctor, who subsequently prescribed a medication for weight loss, "I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing," she says, opting not to name the specific drug she takes.

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