Thoughts On Oprah & Any of Us Re-Gaining The Weight

Well, it's all over the internet and it's in the January issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah has gone back up in weight and currently is tipping the scales at 200 lbs.

How can this be? How did this happen? Doesn't Oprah have consultants, trainers, chefs and all manner of people to help her keep the weight off? Sure, she does.

From experience, I can absolutely relate! There is one BIG problem: FOOD TASTES GOOD! That is the problem right there.

When you are down, it feels good to eat. When there is a celebration, it feels right to eat. Food tastes good.

I lost about 65 pounds about seven years ago with the help of Richard Simmons' website. I was very careful and followed the food guidelines and read Richard's motivation.

I slowly regained about 20 pounds back and so I went back to this website. I am down about eight pounds again, so I have about 12 to go. In the middle, I went down about 10 pounds; then prescription drugs helped negate that. Anyway, I am back on track.

Richard Simmons' website has some nifty tools to track your weight and to journal about what causes you to gain weight. On Monday evenings, Richard hosts a meeting where we congregate to get lots of excellent motivation for the week.

Holiday time is the worst time for trying to keep away from foods rich in calories. Richard has suggested eating something "safe" before attending a party. Of course, chatting with people helps also. Taking a low-calorie dish will also help! At a sit-down dinner, sampling helps. (That is, just take a couple of spoonfuls of each item.)

Some days I just am absolutely able to say "no" to pizza, extra helpings and rich foods in general. As I have said before, my scrapbooking helps to keep me calm and keeping calm is part of what keeps me from overeating. Getting proper sleep every night also helps.

Another thing I try to do is to not have calorie-laden foods in the house. My frig is pretty low in fat and carbs, you see!

There is a factor that I have been thinking a lot about since I put together my book, Bumpy Road To Texas. Some of us tend to define ourselves by events or appearances.

All my life, I had defined myself as a fat person. My parents told me I was fat, and so did lots of schoolmates.

After I lost 65 pounds and could go into any store and buy any style or design I wanted, I still felt I was fat. So, I will conclude that Oprah - inside - still has always felt fat.

How can Oprah lose that weight again? She has lots of money, but money is not the tool that helps you lose weight. Feeling good about ourselves is what helps us lose weight. Feeling confident helps us lose weight. Having supportive (not nagging) people around us helps us lose weight. We are not stupid. We do know what foods to avoid and what ones to eat. When we feel good about ourselves, it is so much easier to eat the right foods. Food is not as important to us.

When we focus on other people and causes, we find it easier to lose weight. By the way, keeping super busy is not necessarily the answer to keeping the weight off because sometimes when we eat in a hurry, we eat the wrong things. (I keep a 100-calorie snack bar handy so I do not let myself get really hungry!)

I sure hope that Oprah is able to lose that weight again, because she is a role model for lots of us!