--- title: Oprah Lost 42 lbs on Weight Watchers, But Is Happy at Any Size description: The former talk show host lost 42 lbs on Weight Watchers, but says that her newfound happiness is more due to a change in perspective. canonical: https://time.com/4622293/oprah-weight-watchers-42-pounds/ author: Kastalia Medrano article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-04T19:49:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:17.363Z og:title: Oprah Winfrey Doesn’t Care How Much She Weighs og:description: The Weight Watchers spokeswoman is all about inner peace now og:url: https://time.com/4622293/oprah-weight-watchers-42-pounds/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76d9dfca6a6afd22/69887febe20a8797b2a8fccf/160302_em_oprah.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 160302_EM_Oprah og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oprah Winfrey Doesn’t Care How Much She Weighs twitter:description: The Weight Watchers spokeswoman is all about inner peace now twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76d9dfca6a6afd22/69887febe20a8797b2a8fccf/160302_em_oprah.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Oprah Winfrey Doesn’t Care How Much She Weighs by [Kastalia Medrano](https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/) ## Kastalia Medrano Jan 4, 2017 7:49 PM UTC  Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey makes her final appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Friday May 15, 2015 on the CBS Television Network. Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey makes her final appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Friday May 15, 2015 on the CBS Television Network.Jeffrey R. Staab—CBS/Getty Images by [Kastalia Medrano](https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/) ## Kastalia Medrano Jan 4, 2017 7:49 PM UTC Oprah Winfrey says that after years of allowing her self-image to be influenced by her weight, she’s finally arrived at a place of equilibrium and self-acceptance. The former talk show host recently lost 42 lbs by following the Weight Watchers program, but [says that her newfound happiness](http://www.eonline.com/news/819225/how-oprah-winfrey-lost-42-lbs-and-finally-found-happiness) is less due to a number on a scale and more to a change in perspective. Winfrey, 62, appeared on the cover of _Weight Watchers_ magazine for its January/February issue. She said while she now prioritizes her “well-being and fitness,” she’s no longer preoccupied with numbers the way she was in the past. Instead, she’s focused on living a full life. “When the weight started to come off, I needed to get clear on my intention. I could lose weight to fit a dress size, or attend an event, or to make other people like me. But I couldn’t keep it off for those reasons. I always put the weight back on. This time I changed the intention to, ‘I want to be the healthiest I can be – physically, emotionally, spiritually.’ So the process and purpose of losing shifted for me,” [Winfrey told _Weight Watchers_](https://www.weightwatchers.com/templates/marketing/marketing%5Futool%5F1col.aspx?pageid=1200731). “It was easier, because my intention was clearer.” Winfrey joined Weight Watchers during the summer of 2015 and is [currently a spokeswoman](http://time.com/4163543/oprah-weight-watchers-commercial-making-internet-emotional/) – and [stakeholder](http://time.com/4079102/oprah-weight-watchers-profit/) – for the program. She’s also long been an icon for women frustrated by the fact that plus-size women are rarely seen ascending to the nation’s highest echelons of power and influence. To hear her continue to speak candidly about her weight, and to learn that she’s at peace with her body regardless of pounds gained or lost, should not be underestimated in its impact. Winfrey is so influential that her weight loss has economic implications, too – it’s been [widely reported](http://time.com/4198538/oprah-winfrey-weight-watchers-stock-price/) that whenever Oprah loses weight, [Weight Watchers stock goes up](http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/22/investing/oprah-winfrey-lost-forty-pounds-weight-watchers/index.html). “Before, when I was 150 pounds, I’d imagine getting up to 200 lbs., and think, ‘Oh my God.’ But now I think, ‘I never thought that at 200 lbs. I could look in the mirror and love my body, love myself, not chide and minimize myself for being 200 lbs.’ At 200 lbs., I was OK. I have never, ever, ever been at that point. And then at 190 lbs., I was OK. If I don’t lose another pound right now, I’m still OK,” Winfrey said. “The fullness of life, the fullness of being, the self-acceptance — I’d never done that [before. I’d always beaten myself up because I was tied to a number.”](http://www.eonline.com/news/819225/how-oprah-winfrey-lost-42-lbs-and-finally-found-happiness) [\[H/T E! Online](http://www.eonline.com/news/819225/how-oprah-winfrey-lost-42-lbs-and-finally-found-happiness)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4622293/oprah-weight-watchers-42-pounds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4622293/oprah-weight-watchers-42-pounds/"},"headline":"Oprah Winfrey Doesn’t Care How Much She Weighs","datePublished":"2017-01-04T19:49:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:17.363Z","description":"The Weight Watchers spokeswoman is all about inner peace now","url":"https://time.com/4622293/oprah-weight-watchers-42-pounds/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76d9dfca6a6afd22/69887febe20a8797b2a8fccf/160302_em_oprah.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kastalia Medrano","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kastalia-medrano/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76d9dfca6a6afd22/69887febe20a8797b2a8fccf/160302_em_oprah.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"160302_EM_Oprah","caption":"Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey makes her final appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Friday May 15, 2015 on the CBS Television Network.","creditText":"Jeffrey R. 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