At the age of 54, Oprah Winfrey is again coming out of the closet about her weight issues. The internet is abuzz with clips from the January issue of "O" magazine. In it she admits to gaining back the weight she lost to give her a grand total of 200 pounds. Headlines are shouting about how Oprah feels like a cow. The going response has pretty much been "how could she". She's a role model, she shouldn't admit such things about herself especially after she keeps losing weight and encouraging everyone else to lose weight too. Now half of America is going to feel like a cow!
In actuality she didn't say she feels like a fat cow every single day and every moment of her life. What she actually said was "I felt like a fat cow". It was in reference to a recent show she did with special guests Cher and Tina Turner, two of the biggest icons in the world. If anything we should commend her on finally being honest. It's true we don't always feel good about ourselves one hundred percent of the time!
I don't know about you but I happen to like cows and the fact that Oprah suddenly feels like one doesn't change my opinion of her or of cows. I've noticed over the last year or so that Oprah's weight has been slowly creeping up. I haven't said anything because that's what Oprah does. She goes up, she goes down, she goes up... so do thousands of other women in the world. Is that all she does? No. She interviews celebrities, health professionals, and families in need. She gives money to the poor, she helps raise money for the poor, she starts schools for the poor. She recommends new products and introduces us to people we otherwise may never have heard of. She's worth millions, not because of her weight but because of her business savvy and worldwide appeal.
Oprah is still not completely owning her weight, blaming the current weight gain on thyroid issues. And it looks like her television show will be highlighting the issue of weigh loss again in January (the most prominent time for weight loss goals). Weight is a money issue. Let's face it when Oprah talks about weight, or her guests talk about weight, viewers tune in. It's hard not to see this whole cow thing as a marketing ploy for the New Year.
Should she be careful what she says to her adoring overweight fans? Because she's a role model? How about because she's a human being. She's human and we all have bad days. I chalk this up to a bad day and hope you will too. She's still a role model. A role model of a successful business woman. This current brouha about the cow business just shows that a woman can be emotional and still be a success but even billionaires aren't perfect. Regardless of her weight, overall, people love her. Women can relate to her. The woman has done a lot for the world and we need to stop cutting her down because of her weight and what she happens to let slip about her insecurities. I wish her a happy healthy life no matter what her weight or shoe size or wallet size.
