I had to write this letter after I walked by Oprah's magazine yesterday and saw the cover. I read the article last night. Prepared the letter this morning. Here is what I have to say!
Oh, Dear, Oprah,
Let me start with my praise. I grew up in Chicago, and have watched you from the very beginning. Your heart is huge, your spirit is overflowing with light, and your work to help others is courageous, generous, and unprecedented. I do love you Oprah.
Reality is this, I am very sad that you are so mad at yourself and embarrassed about your weight gain. Your quote says, "I'm made at myself. I'm embarrassed. I can't believe after all these years, I'm still talking about my weight." Nor can I Oprah!
This is not "true" Oprah to apologize for a number on a scale. No one that realizes who you are, an angel sent By God, that triumphed over her adversity, sexual abuse, and became the wealthiest African American Woman to ever live, and has helped too many people to count does not need to explain her weight gain. Let alone, declare your disapproval of your inability to control your eating habits at times on the front cover of your magazine.
You had a thyroid problem, ate a bit too much food, and gained some weight. That is ok, and that needed to be said since you felt the need to address it. What your apologizing did was make overweight people think, once again, that they need to apologize for their weight, or explain why they are heavier than a size 0 Paris "who really care about what she's doing, and what has she ever done for the world with all her money" Hilton. It makes overweight people feel once again they need to explain their weight. Guess what? No one has to explain their weight, not even Oprah Winfrey. We love you Oprah at 200 pounds or 160 pounds.
All the people that you give charity to all year round don't care if you show up on their door step with a car, money, food, or a new house at 160 pounds or 200 pounds. When you get to South Africa to visit all those girls whose lives have been changed for the better because of you, might even be happier to see you at 200 pounds, more Oprah to hug!
I understand. You need to be happy with yourself, for yourself to be happy you have to be 160 pounds. Oprah, I am 132 pounds, I cannot say how I would feel at 200 pounds. What I can say is this; the one and only thing you have not conquered is the way you comfort yourself. You comfort yourself with food. That is OK, don't apologize or be embarrassed. This could be a life long battle for you.
As you know, better than anyone Oprah, we all have battles within ourselves for as long as we walk this planet. God, has to keep you on your toes. Life cannot be perfect for anyone. Do you realize Oprah, that your battle with weight might be because all the overweight people in the world, that are discriminated against, ridiculed, and shunned, have you, Oprah Winfrey, on their side. They can relate to you, love you, and listen to Bob Greene to make their life healthier because they look up to you.
The minute you apologized for gaining some weight, all those overweight people out there that listen to you most likely apologized to someone closest to them for their weakness with food. As soon as they saw that cover, they said to themselves, "Oh, I feel terrible, I can't control my eating, I am weak, I fell off the food wagon."
No one should feel terrible about gaining weight, especially YOU! You give more than anyone walking this planet. Do not apologize for eating some cake.
Bring thyroid issues to the forefront. Don't feel bad because your doctor told you "you must learn to embrace hunger." By the way, where the heck did you find that doctor? So you did, you embraced hunger. You embraced your thyroid problem. You got tired and you were afraid to exercise. All of those things are OK. I am sorry to tell you, but you made all those things not ok in your mind.
Karma didn't get you for being cocky at 160. What got you was life. Your battle in life, the one real battle left for you Oprah, is your weight. Embrace it and love it. This battle is not going away! For whatever reason your metabolism is slower than some; could be yo yo dieting, plus your thyroid, coupled with the way God made you. You have so much good in your life, love your food when you want to, exercise when you feel like it, sleep when you can, and strive to just stay healthy.
The worst thing you said was you were too fat to show your whole body on the cover of your magazine for the entire year of 2008. What that screamed was, "if you are over 180 pounds you should not be in any picture, you are too fat and ugly." You didn't mean it that way, but that was the way it came out.
You are a role model. People look up to you. I would never apologize for you weight or losing control with food again. The earth is a better place because of you. The only reason anyone would care what you weigh is if it would affect your health and in turn you would depart the earth before your scheduled departure.
Lastly, the shoes with purple outfit didn't help! Oprah, you are a style icon, who in the heck put you in that outfit and those shoes? You are gorgeous. I think a black Nike outfit, with some kick butt red and black shoes would have been more fitting!
Have a fabulous New Year. Remember, 2009 is about making time for yourself.
Warmest,
Heather
Friday, January 23, 2009
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