Anyone Watch Oprah today?

[Boingo1]

I was so relieved to hear her finally say she needed to be happy with her body the way it is, and work on getting healthy. Instead of putting herself down constantly.

What she went through seems so typical of "crash diets" that aren't longterm eating plans.

My heart was breaking for the feelings she had about her body and not wanting to have pictures taken from the neck down. AND being so uncomfortable with being in public display (as in Tina Turner and Cher show), I remember those feelings so well.

I lost 95 lbs from 2001 through 2002 and have maintained 90 of those lost pounds since. And it definitely takes lifestyle CHANGES to maintain. AND , a love (addiction?) to exercise!

Anyone else watch?

 

[Elle_p]

I did not see the show as i'm probably the only person who is not a fan of Oprah. I do hope that she learns to deal with the underlying psychological issues that are at the root of her weight problems. Until she does that she will always be yo-yoing on the scale regardless of who her chef or trainer is.

 

[fit44]

I watched today. I thought it was a very heart warming interview.

I don't know what Oprah's diet was like before her recent relapse, but from what she says it had nothing to do with food.
What I took away from the interview is that her life became too hectic. She wasn't sleeping, she was suffering heart palpitations among other health problems that made her feel defeated. She basically didn't have any joy in her life and she mentally gave up. She turned to food to soothe her internal turmoil.
She openly admits to food being her drug of choice. She uses it to cope with life. She said anytime you see her gain weight, it's means her life is completely out of balance. Some people turn to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, sex, and some people turn to food.

 

[Boingo1]

I'm the queen of using food as a drug of choice for coping too. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or finances or motivation even, to seek psychological intervention for it.

I do think I use exercise to deal with those emotions though. it doesn't always work 100%, but it's definitely a good tool that has helped me.

I hope she finds some sort of exercise she LIKES, instead of feeling that she HAS to do it, even though she said she HATED to do it. I don't see that lasting long, do you?

 

[Govtgirl]

I did not see the show as i'm probably the only person who is not a fan of Oprah. I do hope that she learns to deal with the underlying psychological issues that are at the root of her weight problems. Until she does that she will always be yo-yoing on the scale regardless of who her chef or trainer is.

I am also, NOT a fan of Oprah. I used to be, until she started acted (no pun intended) too big for her britches, and like she knew everything better than everyone else. She just became a know-it-all bore (IMO).

I saw a few minutes of her show and went to her website, and this is what I came away with:

- the eating plan that she is supposed to stick to looks like something out of the starvation diets of the 70's. Everything is boring, plain, un-buttered, blecch! And that's supposed to be her eating plan FOR LIFE! Yuck!

- her workout routine is dry as dirt, boring, and no fun at all. No way I'd stick with that, no matter how much money you threw at me. Hours on the treadmill? What about step, kickboxing?? Something fun?

She needs to start enjoying her life, wealth, and FOOD! Wonderful, delicious, smells-good, tastes-good food. She really should read "French Women Don't Get Fat." The message is, eat yummy food, but less of it, don't feel a shred of guilt, and then have a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate to boot! Life is too short for prison diets.

Lastly, I think the one thing she can't tolerate is, although she can snap her fingers and have whatever she wants, money, influence, whatever, and she wields more power than the rest of us poor mortals, the one thing that she still has in common with us is that is all boils down to calories in vs calories out. She is still like the rest of us that way, and she needs to face the fact that she is still a 'common' person in that way, and deal with it the way the rest of us do. Those rules still apply to her, whether she likes it or not.

 

[janiejoey]

I watched her today. I have to take my hat off to her for not giving up and instead look for another way or idea to try to keep her weight under control. Mostly wanting to stay healthy and taking steps in getting there.

I relate to her very much with her yo yo diets. Hopefully we can take whatever information we need that she's handing out, and apply it to our lives.

I respect her bravery in the public eyes.
Bless her heart,

Janie

 

[Dela]

I think she needs to dump Bob Greene and find herself a new trainer and a new nutritionist, I just don't know, that diet looks so boring and bland, Her workout of 30 minutes of boring elliptical/treadmill combined with a 6 day split weight workout, just seems like it will get old fast.

She has so many resources, and people to tap into, to teach her about different styles of cardio, I hate ellipticals and treadmills too, but I LOVE kickboxing! And then there are so many kinds of weight workouts, as we all know . I mean the splits are great, for a while, but then what, you can't just do the same routine day in and day out forever. She could so use a dose of Cathe in her life, don't ya think??

 

[Jaffas]

I did not see the show as i'm probably the only person who is not a fan of Oprah. I do hope that she learns to deal with the underlying psychological issues that are at the root of her weight problems. Until she does that she will always be yo-yoing on the scale regardless of who her chef or trainer is.

You are not alone. While I think Oprah as a person is fine I cannot stand her show. But then again I do not watch any daytime tv.

 

[fargomom]

I never watch TV, but I tuned into today's show because I can relate. I felt like the show could be been written about me. I've struggled with emotional eating, and still am, as I try to shed some weight I have regained recently. I've got 8 pounds to lose, which isn't a lot I admit, but it's a hard thing to do when there are emotions involved. I think it's awesome that Oprah put herself out there (yet again). I took away these things from todays show:

- You need to LOVE YOURSELF. It's hard to do that when you're stuffing your face with cookie after cookie.

- When you eat emotionally, you're not eating because you crave the food. Instead, you're craving love. In my case, my husband and I have been having a tough year marriage-wise, so I've found food to be my comfort. I was lacking in love, so I found that in food. Stupid, but true.

- You need to find balance. As a Mom of two, part-time employee, multitasker, organizational freak, you name it ... I often try to "do it all" and inevitably fail. I think balance is something we all need in our life. I'm still trying to find mine.

It'll be interesting to see if Oprah sticks to her plan in '09. I walked away from watching her show today a little more enlightened. That was my take on it.

 

[cakebaker]

Here we go again, Oprah!

I am also, NOT a fan of Oprah. I used to be, until she started acted (no pun intended) too big for her britches, and like she knew everything better than everyone else. She just became a know-it-all bore (IMO).

I saw a few minutes of her show and went to her website, and this is what I came away with:

- the eating plan that she is supposed to stick to looks like something out of the starvation diets of the 70's. Everything is boring, plain, un-buttered, blecch! And that's supposed to be her eating plan FOR LIFE! Yuck!

- her workout routine is dry as dirt, boring, and no fun at all. No way I'd stick with that, no matter how much money you threw at me. Hours on the treadmill? What about step, kickboxing?? Something fun?

She needs to start enjoying her life, wealth, and FOOD! Wonderful, delicious, smells-good, tastes-good food. She really should read "French Women Don't Get Fat." The message is, eat yummy food, but less of it, don't feel a shred of guilt, and then have a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate to boot! Life is too short for prison diets.

Lastly, I think the one thing she can't tolerate is, although she can snap her fingers and have whatever she wants, money, influence, whatever, and she wields more power than the rest of us poor mortals, the one thing that she still has in common with us is that is all boils down to calories in vs calories out. She is still like the rest of us that way, and she needs to face the fact that she is still a 'common' person in that way, and deal with it the way the rest of us do. Those rules still apply to her, whether she likes it or not.

Govtgirl, you got it right -

Her big problem is sticking with Bob Greene - the guy who had all the wrong advice for her for all these years. She has stated all these many years, that's she hates to exercise, and small wonder! Who would love hours on a boring treadmill????!!!! Bob does not promote fun exercise, so it's off limits for O.

And I hate to disagree with Lady O, but it's ALL about food, 'cause she would rather eat junk than eat sensibly. Let's all face it, junk just tastes better than the good stuff, and I myself would rather eat it, but I can't & still fit into my skinny (size 4 Lucky brand) jeans - I had to make a choice between junk once a week, and a rigorous regimine 6 days a week, or be fatter than I'd like to be.

It's NOT psychological, I just like to eat junk! No excuses! Oprah, babe - ditch Mr. Bob & get thee to a WW meeting! Like that would ever happen - we'll see a show like this in two years, how much do you want to bet?

I hate to be tough, but I know there is very little between me and a scale reading of 200+ lbs. It's all about SMART choices - quit makin' it hard, O!

 

[fit44]

And I hate to disagree with Lady O, but it's ALL about food, 'cause she would rather eat junk than eat sensibly. Let's all face it, junk just tastes better than the good stuff, and I myself would rather eat it, but I can't & still fit into my skinny (size 4 Lucky brand) jeans - I had to make a choice between junk once a week, and a rigorous regimine 6 days a week, or be fatter than I'd like to be.

It's NOT psychological, I just like to eat junk! No excuses! Oprah, babe - ditch Mr. Bob & get thee to a WW meeting! Like that would ever happen - we'll see a show like this in two years, how much do you want to bet?

I think people who can eat junk food and stop are extremely fortunate.
There is a dark side to junk food for some people. I'm one of those people.

Food addictions are real. Food can and does have the same effect as any addictive drug.

That is why free days are not a good idea for everyone. Free days to some mean binge, and those binge days turn into weeks, months.
I never realized I had food addictions until I quit smoking. I always controlled my binge urges with cigarettes. Go figure, I traded one addiction for another. Not uncommon for people with addictions.

Addictions are complicated and most people who do not have any can never truly understand the struggle.

Oprah can hire all the trainers in the world, read every book about food, diet, and exercise, but she has to take control of the addiction.
I'm not a fan of Bob Greene. I read a few pages of his book and put it down. I do agree with him when he says Oprah has to work on this every day of her life.
She can't lose the weight and think she's won the battle.

I have to remind myself everyday that food is not the end all, be all for pleasure. Food is fuel. We can find pleasure in other things and eat healthy foods to fuel our bodies. Fuel a healthy body, a healthy mind.

 

[Jazcam]

I watched Oprah y-day and I feel sorry for her. How can a person be surrounded by 100s of people and no one noticed that she may have a thyroid, insomnia and depression problem? So when her blood pressure is elevated...she is not healthy!!.She said she saw 4 doctors and wasn't diagnosed with a thyroid problems until a viewer wrote her and suggested that she check her thyroid. WTH!! FAME who needs it?

I went on her website and saw her diet. She basically eats the same thing over and over. She plans her meal one month in advance.

For example a days menu looks like:

meal1 oatmeal, egg whites
meal2 grilled chicken, green veggies, sweet potato
meal3 tilapia, green veggies
meal4 turkey meat balls, salad

That's it. No treats, no snacks. All she eats is fish, grilled chicken, turkey meat balls.This will work for about 2 or 3 months and then she will start to crave carbs.

I don't think she follows Bob Green diet because he wants people to eat good carbs.

Every woman is not suppose to be a size2! Maybe instead of dieting to lose weight she needs to eat healthy to stay healthy.

 

[horseshowmom]

A recent study discovered that sugar is as addictive as heroin! It releases those same feel good chemicals in our brain. Smart choices aren't that easy. If they were we wouldn't have a nation of overweight and obese mothers, fathers, children!
I am a definite food addict, but for the grace of God, could easily be 400 pounds rather than 40 overweight.
Oprah can drive me crazy, but she is still just a woman who with all her money struggles just like I do.
I really respected her honesty and admired her public vulnerability.
I hope she (and I) figure it out for life this year!

 

[fit44]

A recent study discovered that sugar is as addictive as heroin! It releases those same feel good chemicals in our brain.

Anything with white sugar or high fructose corn syrup is my trigger food. When I eat it, the receptors in my brain that tell me I'm full shut completely down. One piece of cake for me leads to the eating the entire cake.
It resembles bulimia without the purge.

 

[AEHaight66]

I didn't see Oprah, but can totally relate to her struggles. I think the same meals over & over will be a problem, though. There are so many great, good foods out there to try!

As for the sugar trigger thing...chocolate is my downfall. I can eat almost any sweet & stop except for that. One bite and it's all over (sigh).

 

[AEHaight66]

Oh, and she should try kickboxing or something fun for cardio. I found that picturing whatever (or whoever) was the source of my stress as my punch target was very cathartic

 

[orphylea]

I do sympathize with Oprah- money doesn't buy everything, you know? I can't imagine a life of treadmill boredom, either. For all of her resources, you'd think she would investigate other exercise options. Man, I would have classes coming out of my ears- fun Pilates classes, kickboxing, bootcamp, step, you name it! Oh well.

And Cynthia, I have the exact same problem that you do with food. It isn't fun, but I manage to control it most of the time. My off the wagon eat everything in sight episodes happen very rarely now. I don't keep trigger foods around the house and when I do fall off the wagon, my episodes are much much shorter than they used to be. But it IS an addiction, ITA.