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Leave Oprah alone.<\/p>\n
Yes, Oprah Winfrey is in the news again \u2014 in this case, for her decision to sell her stake in WW International<\/a> The company\u2019s stock fell<\/a> in the aftermath of the news. <\/p>\n At issue was largely the fact that Winfrey had previously said using such a drug was \u201cthe easy way out.\u201d<\/a> And indeed, as the public face of a company that touted a more traditional diet-based approach to battling obesity, one could see why Winfrey might have made such a remark.<\/p>\n But now, she was being labeled a hypocrite<\/a> on social media for saying otherwise. And surely some saw Winfrey\u2019s announcement as opportunistic and self-serving given that it followed WW\u2019s acquisition of Sequence<\/a>, a company that provides access to such popular fat-fighting medications as Ozempic and Wegovy Either way, Winfrey was bound to face some criticism if for no other reason than the fact many view the new wave of drugs as the lazy person\u2019s solution to shedding pounds. It\u2019s the whole why-don\u2019t-you-just-have-more-willpower?<\/a> stigma that has always been part of the weight-loss discussion.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if and how any of this may have played a part in Winfrey\u2019s decision to leave WW. Winfrey issued a statement, saying, \u201cI look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity.\u201d<\/p>\n But as someone who has spent all their adult life dealing with a weight problem, I go back to what I said up top: Leave Oprah alone.<\/p>\n It\u2019s never fun being fat. It drains you physically. It subjects you to all sorts of verbal and emotional abuse \u2014 crass remarks from strangers at a bar, sneering looks from airplane passengers when you try to squeeze into your assigned seat.<\/p>\n And perhaps worst of all, it forever leaves you thinking it\u2019s all your own fault and forever has you searching for a solution in turn. More often than not, you don\u2019t want to do things the \u201ceasy\u201d way because you want to show the world you can beat this thing.<\/p>\n Until you finally realize it\u2019s not, well, so easy.<\/p>\n At my heaviest about 15 years ago, I weighed nearly 300 lbs. and had roughly crossed the line into the \u201cmorbidly obese\u201d category. Now, at age 60, I\u2019m down around 90 pounds. I\u2019m happier and healthier, even if I recognize my journey is far from over. Obesity is very much a chronic disease<\/a> and it must be treated as such, medical experts increasingly note.<\/p>\n But to get to where I am, I also had to stop thinking that relying on my own sheer will, as in sticking to any of the gazillion diets I\u2019ve tried, could be the solution. In my case, that involved making two key decisions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>To be fat is to live with a constant mirror, real or imagined, in front of you, asking yourself, \u201cWhy am I this way?\u201d\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n First, I had weight-loss surgery \u2014 specifically, the gastric-band (or LAP-Band) procedure that restricts the amount of food you can easily consume. That got me about halfway there. And when the new weight-loss drugs came on the market, I followed a doctor\u2019s advice and went on one of them \u2014 namely, Mounjaro \u2014 and dropped the rest.<\/p>\n How do I relate my story to Winfrey\u2019s? Like I said, I was long skeptical of solutions that didn\u2019t align with some preconceived notion about the right way to lose weight. But it\u2019s also because I know how confusing it all is: To be fat is to live with a constant mirror, real or imagined, in front of you, asking yourself, \u201cWhy am I this way?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n WW,
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\n (otherwise known as WeightWatchers) and exit the company\u2019s board. The decision came after Winfrey announced, to considerable backlash, that she was taking a weight-loss drug<\/a> to help her in her longtime battle to lose some pounds and keep them off, in addition to hiking, drinking plenty of water and other methods.<\/p>\n\n
\n NVO,
\n \u2018It\u2019s never fun being fat\u2019<\/h2>\n
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