Oprah Winfrey Just Set The Record Straight About Her Recent Weight Loss

• Oprah Winfrey just spoke out about her recent weight loss in an interview with ET.
• She said that she’s been working out on the treadmill, but that “it’s not one thing, it’s everything.”
• Oprah has previously said that she’s not into taking weight loss medications because “that’s the easy way out.”

Oprah Winfrey just opened up about her recent weight loss in PEOPLE‘s cover story on December 13. The media mogul is taking a holistic approach to her health, which includes regular exercise, healthy eating, and a weight loss medication.

“I now use it [weight loss medication] as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” Oprah told the publication, without naming the specific drug she takes. “The fact that there’s a medically-approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

But she emphasized that weight loss medication has not been a “magic bullet” in managing her weight. “It’s everything,” she said, referencing her health and fitness routine. “I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I’m not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn’t work for me.”

Oprah also shared that she took the medication before Thanksgiving “because I knew I was going to have two solid weeks of eating.” Instead of gaining eight pounds like she did last year, she gained half a pound, per the publication.

Now, The Color Purple executive producer is seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160 lbs, although she says “it’s not about the number.”

The proof of Oprah’s progress is in the gorgeous purple dress she wore to the film’s Los Angeles premiere on December 6. She looked super fit in the form-fitting gown, and it didn’t go unnoticed. At the event, Entertainment Tonight asked Oprah about the health and wellness routine behind her recently slimmed-down appearance. “It’s not one thing, it’s everything,” she told the outlet. Oprah didn’t give a lot of details about what she does for workouts these days, but she said she’s been staying active. “I was on that treadmill today,” she shared. Oprah also told ET this about her lifestyle changes and recent weight loss: “I intend to keep it that way.”

Oprah’s 2021 knee surgery actually jumpstarted her recent weight loss.

“After [my] knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends,” Oprah told PEOPLE. “I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years.”

Working towards these fitness goals also helped Oprah achieve a personal goal. “In Hawaii, I live on a mountain, and there’s this big hill—I used to look out the window every morning and say, ‘God, one day I want to walk up that mountain,’” she said in her PEOPLE cover story. “Last year over Christmas I did it… It felt like redemption.”

This isn’t the first time Oprah has shared details about her fitness routine. The cardio queen told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 that she hits her home gym soon after waking up. “I have a fantastic Octane elliptical machine that is like a power mover—you can increase the length of your stride and your arm movement,” she said. “I’ll do 20 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill. I start out at the Level 3 incline setting and then every minute I add to the incline until I get to 12 or 15. And then I do sit-ups.”

After getting her heart rate up, Oprah said she’ll often cool down with 10 to 20 minutes of a walking or sitting meditation.

Despite her dedication to fitness, Oprah still doesn’t love to work out.

“Here’s the thing about exercise: I still hate it so much,” she said on Today in 2020, per People. But, she added, “I still do it.”

“I think everyone’s waiting to love it,” she continued. “You’re not going to love it, but you do the thing you need to do to make yourself feel whole and well.”

She was previously against taking weight loss drugs, but changed her mind.

In September 2023, the multihyphenate hosted Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want Class: The State of Weight” panel. At that time, she shared that she wasn’t interested in taking weight loss medication. “Shouldn’t we all just be more accepting of whatever body you choose to be in? That should be your choice,” she said. “Even when I first started hearing about the weight loss drugs, at the same time I was going through knee surgery, and I felt, ‘I’ve got to do this on my own.’ Because if I take the drug, that’s the easy way out.’”

But Oprah also made it clear that everyone’s weight loss journey is different. “Whatever your choice is for your body and your weight health, it should be yours to own and not to be shamed about it,” she said.” “I’m just sick of it, and I hope this conversation begins the un-shaming of it.”

After the Oprah Daily discussion, Oprah “had the biggest aha [moment] along with many people in that audience,” she recalled to PEOPLE.

“I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control,” Oprah said. “…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.”

Once Oprah “released my own shame” about taking weight loss drugs, she consulted her doctor, who prescribed her a medication.

Watch Oprah speak candidly about her relationship with weight and shame below:

Oprah has been a WeightWatchers ambassador since 2015.

Oprah has been affiliated with WW for years and still uses the program to help her maintain a healthy diet. “I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points,” she told PEOPLE.

Oprah even owns 10 percent of shares in the company, and serves as a board member and advisor, the company announced back in 2015. “Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for,” she said at the time. “I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution.”

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.