If Oprah can do it .. WE can do it .. Orpah's Article - she is 200lbs and "fears exercise" ....

[ChitChatNine]

I read this early this morning and wanted to share.  She has thyroid issues and blames that, in part, for gaining weight along with a "fear of exercise" ...

If she can do it .. we can do it ..

I'm sure Ranae will have lots to share with us on this .. here's the article!!!

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Oprah Winfrey says she weighs 200 pounds
By CARYN ROUSSEAU – 19 hours ago
Associated Press:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTmiWb6RyGjUXVASWXd2p56YPVlwD94VGRH00

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CHICAGO (AP) — An embarrassed Oprah Winfrey says she's "fallen off the wagon" of healthy living and has ballooned to 200 pounds.

In January's "O" magazine, Winfrey, 54, details her recent struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid and how the condition made her develop "a fear of working out." She says she's gained 40 pounds since 2006, when she weighed 160.

"I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?'" the talk-show queen says in the article provided early to The Associated Press by Harpo Productions.

"I'm embarrassed," she says. "I'm mad at myself."

Winfrey's weight and height put her body mass index at 31.8, which is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says people who are obese are at higher risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Winfrey says she's abandoned trying to get thin. She just wants to be strong, healthy and fit. She hopes to get started with her upcoming "Best Life Week," starting Jan. 5 with an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" during which she is expected to talk candidly about her weight.

Winfrey famously wheeled a wagon loaded with fat onto the set of her talk show in 1988 to represent a 67-pound weight loss while wearing a pair of size 10 Calvin Klein jeans. She had lost the weight with a liquid protein diet.

"When it comes to maintaining my health I didn't just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me," the chairwoman of Harpo Inc. writes. "I didn't follow my own fundamental rule of taking care of self first."

In 2005, Winfrey said she starved herself for four months to lose weight. Ever since, her weight has yo-yoed. She weighed as much as 237 pounds and by late 1990 acknowledged she had regained most of the 67 pounds, saying "I'll never diet again."

In 1993, she hired personal trainer Bob Greene and the next year finished the Marine Corps Marathon. By 1996 she said her roller-coaster weight saga was over.

But now, Winfrey finds herself tipping the scales again, telling AP Television last week that she has yet to choose a gown for President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural ball next month.

"I had a dress on the vision board, but I'm not sure that's gonna fit," Winfrey said. "So I have to work on something else."



C~

[StarryNight23]

It makes me so angry to hear about uncompassionate doctors with such poor bedside mannor. Would there be anyway for you to switch to another doctor? There ARE better doctors out there and ones who won't be so quick to brush you off and simply tell you to just eat less. Yes a healthy diet and portion control is necessary as is exercising to lose weight, but eating at little as 1000 calories a day is just an easy way to kill your metabolism and leave you feeling sick and weak, just like you said it did.

Not that visiting your doctor should be something you thoroughly enjoy, but if it's at a point of where you can't even stand to look at him and you know he's not really listening to you, I think the best thing to do at this point is to leave this jerk behind and find someone who will be willing to treat your condition more accurately and compassionately.

[bet643]

yep, I know what your talking about. Maybe it's because she's so busty. But still, I think it's way more than 200. Maybe the camera adds more? I still wish her luck. Maybe there is something we can gain from her challenge, other than gaining a few more pounds. Oh, my daughters friend just told me that she is 248, and she still looks nowheres near Oprah. Maybe she just carries it well???

[ChitChatNine]

I've written to her on behalf of the thyroid community and then wrote again as an individual who is a thyroid cancer survivor and also has hypo symptoms including weight gain.  Hoping that one of her staff will just take the time to read my e-mail.  That's all it will take to heighten awareness about weight, exercise and thyroid .. just a lucky break.

Can you imagine .. millions would be helped.  I sent her our trackers.

The info, etc. where to send if you want to write to her is in this post:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/709028

C

[wonko]

I thought the same thing about the claim she is only 200 lbs.  She's 5 ft 6.5 inches (or so I think from googling her).  I'm a bit taller, 5'9", and 230 lb.  If she is only 200, she must have lost a LOT of muscle mass.  

Perhaps I am just suspicious of her because I feel she's dishonest about her problems with food/thyroid in general.  It doesn't matter to me if she's 180 or 300 lbs, I just wish she'd use her position to address the real issues behind her weight!

  

[bet643]

I agree, she needs to be more honest. I think she's over 200.. I'm not judging, I'm just observing what I see. I'm 182 and if I were to put on another 20. I still would not look like Oprah. I don't blame  her though, I would probably down play it a bit on national t.v.

[bet643]

I think bedside manner is a thing of the past. I have execised myself into a knee injury. I was so determined that I ended up screwing up my knee by over doing it on my stepper..I guess that if we were to all get skinny again, many of us would get well, and not have to be at the doctors all of the time. And that would put them out of business. I feel that they want us fat and unhealthy. But to tell you the truth, my Endo looks like he can lose a few pounds too. My Endo just brings me down to the point that I can't stand to see his face anymore. The last visit, he was running so far behind,that he actually forget to examine me! He asked a few questions, went over my labs so fast, that it was nothing but a blur. I was in his office for 3 1/2 minutes. I know this because I check my watch every time now.  And as far as Oprah goes, I hate to say this, but I think she is more that 200 lbs. She does need to be more honest. I look at myself at 182, and look at O, and I say she most be over 200. Either way, God bless her, she's a better person than I am, to go on T.V. like that. I would rather hide my fatness in our little weight loss community. I feel safe here. I'm not judged and I can get the support I need. Since when does a thyroid cancer patient have to be their endo to run a whole body scan?  Why do I have to call the shots and tell him what he needs to do? Sorry, but I need to vent right now and it makes me feel good to say the he is a waste of space and enough to make anyone want to jump off a bridge.

[wonko]

She's also admitted binge eating in the past.  Obviously she has problems with food that go beyond thyroid.  Too bad she can't talk honestly about BOTH of these real problems.  She could reach millions of people.

[Barb135]

I understand how you feel - I never had a weight problem until about March or April of 2007, when I noticed the scale started going up - my weight had been stable like yours (105-115) for years - then all of a sudden the scale creeped up a bit, then it stopped "creeping" and went gung ho and next thing I knew I had put on 30 lbs, stabilized for a while, then put on another 10.  I've managed to lose a few, but now I'm bouncing back and forth - gaining and losing the same few pounds!!

My doctor, too, makes me feel like cr** - he doesn't think thyroid has anything to do with my weight either - he just told me the other day that it was all JUST stress and that I need to MOVE more - when I walk up to 5 miles/day plus work out most days.  He also indicated that I need to eat less, but if I don't eat enough, my blood sugar falls too low and I get all weak and shaky.  He's also trying to tell me that a lot of it has to do with age and I'd like to know where that stone is that says "The older you get, the fatter, frumpier and more tired you will get"!!  

I think these issues are what makes this whole thyroid thing so hard to take. I mean we have the disease (and some of you have/had the cancer, etc) - isn't that enough, without having our doctors make matters worse by either downplaying the problems or downright accusing us of eating too much/exercising too little.  Whatever happened to showing a little compassion and where's the bedside manner??  

[bet643]

You know, up until about 4 yrs. ago, I had never had a weight problem. I was always around 105 to 115lb. at the most. Never knew my thyroid was destroyed by cancer, and yet my endo thinks the weight is no related. He just said I should stop eating. Like I said before, never had a weight problem until this thyroid problem happened. My doctor makes me feel like cr_p  and that it's all my fault that I'm a fat a_ _! I really hate my Endo. I sure do wish I had the money to have a personal chef and weight trainer like Oprah. It would make life easier for me. I have no support from anyone other than the people from our medhelp community. I have decided to try Ali. But it's not doing anything. I have had no side affects like people claim. Never had to rush to the bathroom because of too much fat in diet. So  now what? I did lose a few pounds in the weight loss challenge, however, I had many days of living on 1000 calories a day. I felt weak and a bit sick. Anything else out there besides starvation and excercise? And something that won't cost me anymore money? I'm not wealthy like Oprah, I am strapped for cash because of medical bills. Most money waisted on my Endo.

[wonko]

"I'm embarrassed," she says. "I'm mad at myself."

I flunk her on attitude!

[ChitChatNine]

Ooops on the typo in the name of the post .. been a long day.

C~