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Oprah Winfrey Says She’s Still Learning To Love Her Body At Age 62

By Sarah Field
Published on: 14:57 PST, Apr 10, 2016

Even casual viewers of the long-running Oprah Winfrey Show know its iconic host has struggled with her weight for many years. Winfrey, the accomplished television personality, astute business person and inspirational figure to many, revealed during an event on Saturday that even in her 60s she still struggles with body image. As People reported, she told an audience at Super Soul Sessions Saturday in Los Angeles that she once looked at herself naked in the mirror and realized that six decades of life hadn’t rid her of those issues.

She revealed that she would binge eat to deal with stress while filming her talk show and would make any excuse not to exercise. Last October, Winfrey, who turned 62 in January, bought a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers and now holds a seat on the company’s board. At the event on Saturday, she said the Weight Watchers opportunity seemed like divine intervention to help her get her health back on track.

“It felt like an intervention from on high. If they are calling, me I must need help!”

In an online chat with fans last month, Oprah revealed she checks her impulses to eat, especially when in response to stress.

“When something shows up that is going to make me uncomfortable and that would normally make me want to reach for a bowl of nuts or a bowl of chips…I literally take a deep breath to remind myself that I am here right now and what’s going on right here with me does not have to overwhelm me.”

According to E! Online, she also shared Weight Watchers-specific tips during that online chat. But even if Winfrey is benefiting from the program from a health perspective, its worth as a business investment remains to be seen. After an initial spike in stock price after Oprah began promoting the service, its value declined.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Weight Watchers stock went up 20 percent in one day after Oprah tweeted a video message on January 26 about her love of bread and the ability to eat her favorite food while still following the diet program. The 20 percent bump amounted to a return of $12.5 million on Winfrey’s original investment, at least on paper.

But the stock dropped again and has lost about 45 percent between the last trading day in December and February 1, when the Times article was published. Nonetheless, Winfrey paid a mere $6.79 per share when she bought the stock on October 16. Even with the rapid fluctuation, Winfrey doubled her money.

The Times reported that Weight Watchers has lost about two-thirds of its value over the past five years as consumers have chosen weight loss apps over subscription services and Weight Watchers-branded food. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Weight Watchers subscriptions dropped in the fourth quarter, but Oprah’s face only became associated with the brand at the end of the December. The company told WSJ that enrollment is increasing.

Whatever the business outcome, Oprah’s personal weight journey has been a rocky one. She told the audience on Saturday that no external successes could make up for her own inability to keep off the excess weight. But she looks back on a lot of those worries as “wasted” time and energy.

“I wanted to be thin. I wasted so much energy, energy and time wanting my thighs to be thin, for my arms not to flap. I had the success and the money but I was still wanting something different than I had.”

She said she is still following the Weight Watchers plan.

Even if her Weight Watchers investment remains unpredictable, Winfrey can bask in the new success of her network, OWN. WSJ reported that the network’s viewership was up 11.6 percent in 2015 over the previous year, increasing its audience size as other cable networks declined.

[Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images]

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