-Steve

Oprah Winfrey is clearly NOT insane. She is one of the most successful women in the history of women; she is as well known (or better!) as Eve, Mary, Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher, Hillary, Madonna and Britney. Like many of them, she needs no last name to identify her and regardless of what she thinks; we don’t define her–or any of these women by the size or shape of their bodies but rather by their legacy of talent, brains and actions.

And as for Oprah, ALL of hers have been top-notch.

So why is she “so embarrassed” to have gained weight?

Britney may have reason to be embarrassed but like all humans, she is proving we can change and put embarrassing moments behind us.

Oprah Winfrey has spent MILLIONS of dollars of her own money to give girls who were total strangers to her a chance at a future with her school for girls in Africa. That is a noble act and one that will leave a lasting legacy of virtue and integrity.

Oprah has opened the pages of books to millions who may not have learned the simple pleasure of reading if not for her sharing her love of it through her book club. (OK, I am a bit frustrated that my book hasn’t been on the show, but that is beside the point!)

Oprah Winfrey is a good woman, a very good woman and I am mad as hell that her, or ANY woman would refer to herself as “A FAT COW” in public much less in her private thoughts. That is mean, negative and a nasty comment to make about anyone, and certainly not words that we should choose to describe ourselves!

What makes me really sad for Oprah, and EVERY woman who defines themself by their body’s appearance is that they don’t realize that action of self-deprecation is exactly what keeps them on the diet yo-yo roller coaster and finds them going up and down in weight year after year.

Allow me to explain.

Oprah has the input of Maya Angelou, Depak Choprah, Bob Greene, Mehmet Oz–a longer list of the gurus at her disposal; simply put the BEST of the BEST at what they do, and she takes their advice and does what they tell her and loses weight but here is where something goes wrong, once she is “done” with their plans or stops taking their advice, or life simply takes over with it’s crazy ups and downs; bills, family issues, school problems, elections, aging parents, worries, stress or physical things like thyroid problems (see, Oprah is just like us, despite having zillions in the bank–life is in many ways the same for all of us)–we slip back to our old habits or as I call them “vices”.

I really wish that Oprah would have read my book and listened to my CDs (NOT because I know she would love them, mention them on air and we would sell gozillions of them and live next door to her and we would be BFFs!) because I sincerely believe she would NOT have to say she is EMBARRASSED for simply being human nor would she beat herself up in such a negative manner as to call herself a cow!

Those are fundemental differences between the Vice Busting way and every other “diet” out there.

Yet on January 5th, Oprah is about to do what she has always done; lock arms with Bob Green and profess that she is going to “Make the Connection” in 2009 and “Live her Best Life” in 2009 and “Lose weight” in 2009 as they have the annual “Best Life Now” week of shows.

Oprah, and every woman reading this, the defintion of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome!

Oprah did not gain weight back because she was deficient of a particular diet. She gained it back because she reverted to old vices:

1. Lack of regular exercise

2. “comfort” foods (mine was ice cream; haven’t had it in 13 years and coincidentally lost and have kept off over 100 pounds in that time–sure, fluctuating some as I am human but keeping 100 of the 130 OFF for all this time should convince people I know what I am talking about!)

3. Thinking that FAT is a personality trait rather than a physical condition.

Oprah, please girlfriend, listen to me this time!

YOU loved Christopher Reeves. I don’t think you ever ridiculed him for his physical condition in the last years of his life, rather you celebrated his great resolve and determination, strength of character and faith–none of which are contingent on the appearance nor functionality of the body!

YOU are NOT a “fat cow”. You are talented, smart, generous, loyal, shrewd, determined, compassionate, …you tell me!

On day one of my program, I ask my readers to choose 10 adjectives that they would use to describe themself. It has saddened me through the years to read the responses. 9-10 women use the word FAT in their list, same as Oprah did when she called herself “a fat cow”; women wanting to lose as little as 10 pounds or women needing to lose 100 or more–they see themselves as FAT and it defines them.

But, I didn’t ask them to describe what they LOOK like, but most defer to their body rather then their SOUL and that is sad.

A woman in NYC once sent me her 10 adjectives; FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT!!!!!

The word FAT 10 times in capital letters w/ exclaimation points. All she saw herself as was FAT. I sent her an email saying that I couldn’t accept those words and she needed to do them over again telling me about WHO she was not WHAT her body looked like. She was furious with me, told me off and I didn’t hear from her again…for a few weeks! When she responded again she apologized for being so harsh with me and explained that she was an actress and in a play off Broadway, and long story short, her butt was the punch line that made the entire audience laugh. Night after night she had to endure people laughing AT her because of her weight. Easy to see why she was stuck on only seeing herself as being FAT. But, she said that each time she tried to redo the list for me she cried and had to stop, but finally, she got a list on paper: Magical, gifted, spiritual, talented, loving, kind, determined, empowered, faithful, thankful.

WOW! She was still overweight but finally she realized that FAT is NOT a personality trait and took a much needed inventory on all that is wonderful and uniquely HER! She went on to lose her weight and based on what I see in the tabloids about her, she is keeping it off just fine!

Oprah, stop doing what you always do and try something different, please! I think it’s time you bust your vices before they bust you! And hey, if you don’t believe me, just ask Dr. Oz and Dr. David Katz; they both endorse my book The Vice Busting Diet!

http://juliahavey.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/note-to-oprah-the-definition-of-insanity-is.html

What I do not like is how some celebrities seem to shrink overnight and then go on the camera claiming that they lost all that weight because they exercise and eat healthy. In situation like this, it makes normal people feel like we do not measure up somehow since we cannot drop 20 pounds in 2 months.

Sorry this is sooo long! I just have very strong opinions about American’s “health psychology,” if you will, and about dieting and what exactly eating “healthy” means.

As always, I really enjoy reading your blog — so nice to have a real, legitimate health blog instead of one chock full of things like “10 ways to lose 10″ pounds and so forth. Keep up the great work!

I get what Oprah is saying – I like her new outlook. Sometimes its just as simple as flicking that switch in your head – turning off the ‘I need to be thin’ and turning on the ‘I need to be healthy’.

I truly hope she figures it out – and if she inspires her millions of viewers in the process, then all the better!