Oprah Winfrey Says She Had to Let Go of Shame Over GLP-1 Use

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Longtime talk show host Oprah Winfrey is opening up about her weight loss and her GLP-1 journey through her book titled Enough and several interviews.

She talks about side effects, trying to get off the medication, and the stigma and shame that can be associated with weight-loss drugs. Keep reading to learn more.

Using GLP-1 & Constipation

Oprah Winfrey has been using Mounjaro (a GLP-1 drug) since 2023.

When she first started the injectable, Winfrey was excited about a tool that could stop the back-and-forth pattern she’d been on for decades. After discovering the science behind GLP-1’s and how they affect your body, she was “absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself” concerning public criticism about her weight.

Instead of shaming herself, Winfrey has understood “that overeating doesn’t cause obesity. Obesity causes overeating. And that’s the most mind-blowing, freeing thing I’ve experienced as an adult.”

However, there is one thing Oprah Winfrey needs to be aware of when taking her GLP-1 weight-loss drug. Many patients taking the drug may deal with nausea, diarrhea, and constipation.

For Winfrey, it’s constipation. “I never had nausea or diarrhea, but I did have the third one,” she told TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones. Her solution?

“I finally figured out, for me, what the right combination of magnesium and water is. I have to drink a lot of water… I have to have a gallon of water a day.”

Winfrey makes sure to drink a gallon of water before 4 pm and take a managed magnesium supplement to stave off the constipation symptoms caused by the drug.

The water and magnesium help soften stool and move food through the intestines, increasing the frequency of bowel movements.

Trying to Quit the Medication

Winfrey did take a break from the medication in early 2024. She wanted to see if she could lose weight without it.

However, even as she stuck to her diet and exercise routines, Oprah Winfrey gained back 20 pounds. This was not healthy for her, especially when her “default weight” is around 211 pounds, which led to her being pre-diabetic and with high cholesterol.

Instead, she recognizes that the drug may be with her longer than she originally planned.

“It’s going to be a lifetime thing,” she explained. “I’m on high blood pressure medication, and if I go off the high blood pressure medication, my blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true now, I realize, with these medications. I’ve proven to myself [that] I need it.”

She has since revealed to some news outlets her current weight, hovering around 155 pounds. She aims to maintain her weight through a variety of tactics.

“The combination of the medication and hiking every day and resistance training has given me the body that I had when I was running a marathon,” she commented. “So, I was 40 and feeling really good, but to be able to be 71 and feel that I am in the best shape of my life feels better than it did when I was 40.”

Overcoming the Shame

As mentioned above, Oprah Winfrey had to overcome some stigma surrounding weight-loss drugs before trying them.

“One of the reasons I was reluctant to use them in the beginning, when I was trying to lose weight after my knee surgery, [is] because I also felt it’s cheating, it’s the easy way out,” she said. “I’ve got to prove this one last time I could do it by myself. And I don’t want people saying I took the easy way out.”

By overcoming her shame, Winfrey was able to take back her health, lose weight, and find happiness in her stronger body.

Others also experience this shame or pressure from outside factors like family members or friends, and Winfrey encourages them to push through that stigma and focus on their weight goals.