Media titan Oprah Winfrey has disclosed a remarkable and unexpected side effect of the weight loss medication she uses: it has completely erased her longstanding desire for alcohol. In a candid new interview, the 71-year-old shared how the drug has revolutionised her relationship with food, exercise, and drink.
From Tequila Shots to Zero Desire
Speaking to People magazine, the talk show legend confessed she was once capable of outdrinking everyone at the table and was a devoted fan of tequila. "I literally had 17 shots one night," Winfrey revealed. However, since beginning a GLP-1 agonist medication roughly two and a half years ago, in 2023, that craving has vanished. "I haven't had a drink in years. The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing," she stated.
A Lifelong Struggle with Weight and Willpower
Winfrey also opened up about her decades-long public battle with her weight, admitting she once believed her challenges were solely a matter of personal discipline. "I thought it was about discipline and willpower. But I stopped blaming myself," she explained. Her perspective shifted when she confronted serious health markers. At her heaviest weight of 237 pounds, she was pre-diabetic and had high cholesterol. "I was not healthy at 211 lbs," she noted, realising medical intervention was necessary.
The medication, which she publicly acknowledged using in December 2023, has helped her lose approximately 50 pounds. More importantly, it has changed her mindset. She no longer obsesses over food and has embraced a rigorous fitness regime for the first time, working out for two hours a day, six days a week. "I'm not constantly punishing myself," she said. "I hardly recognize the woman I've become. But she's a happy woman."
A Lifetime Tool for Health
Winfrey's journey hasn't been without learning curves. She briefly stopped the weekly injections in early 2024, maintaining her diet and exercise, but found she regained weight. This experience led her to understand the treatment will likely be a lifetime thing. She now uses it as a tool to prevent yo-yoing, typically taking shots weekly but sometimes stretching to 10 or 12 days.
She also addressed her past criticism of such drugs as an "easy way out," expressing a profound change of heart. "The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift," Winfrey told People. "And not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for."
Supported by her long-term partner, Stedman Graham, 74, Winfrey says she feels liberated. "I feel more alive and more vibrant than I've ever been," she reflected. "Whatever was happening needed to happen to get me to this point… And I am healthier now." As she approaches her 72nd birthday, her story highlights a complex shift from shame to medical understanding in the battle against obesity.
