Television icon Oprah Winfrey has given a remarkably candid account of her ongoing weight battle, revealing she regained a significant amount of weight after taking a planned break from weight-loss injections last year.
The Experiment That Proved a Point
Speaking on The Today Show to promote her new book, the 71-year-old media mogul explained she deliberately stopped her medication regimen in 2025. Her aim was to test the theory that she would regain weight without the weekly jabs. The result was a gain of 20 pounds (approximately one stone and a half), which she said happened gradually as the constant mental chatter about food, known as 'food noise', returned with a vengeance.
"I was off of the medications all last year, and I gained 20 pounds because I wanted to test it," Winfrey stated. "I was taking it, then I got off of it, and then I gained three pounds, and I gained five pounds, and I gained 10 pounds, and before you know it, the noise was back." She described this 'food noise' as intrusive thoughts constantly questioning, "what can I eat?"
A Lifelong Struggle and a Medical Shift
Winfrey, who will turn 72 at the end of January 2026, has been transparent about her weight fluctuations for decades. She began using a GLP-1 agonist medication in 2023 after watching a documentary that framed obesity as a disease rather than a simple lack of willpower. At her heaviest, she weighed nearly 17 stone (around 238lbs), and the medication helped her lose approximately 3.5 stone (around 40lbs).
While she has not named the specific drug, the GLP-1 class includes well-known treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. These injections work by suppressing appetite and calming hunger hormones. For Winfrey, the effect on her 'food noise' was transformative, and the break from the jabs only solidified her view of their importance.
Medication as a Maintenance Tool, Not a Miracle Cure
The star is keen to frame the injections not as a standalone solution, but as a crucial part of a broader health strategy. She now sees them as a "maintenance tool" to be used alongside a consistent exercise routine and healthy eating habits. In fact, she credits the medication with inspiring positive lifestyle changes, including giving up alcohol and committing to near-daily workouts.
Drawing a direct comparison to other chronic conditions, Winfrey argued for the essential nature of the treatment for her. "If you're on blood pressure medication, if you stop your blood pressure medication, your blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true," she said during her interview. Her new book, Enough: Your Health, Your Weight and What It’s Like to Be Free, co-authored with obesity expert Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff, delves deeply into the shame and struggle of her journey.
In it, she writes about the frustration of having every resource available—chefs, trainers, healthy food—yet still battling her weight. She confirms she was not healthy at 211lbs, suffering from pre-diabetes and high cholesterol, challenges that the medication has helped her manage. Her experience off the jabs has convinced her that, for some, they are as vital as any other prescribed medicine for long-term health.
