There’s Not Much I Have in Common With Oprah Winfrey by Monica Lewis-Wilborn

I still have thousands of dollars in student loans. I’m a casualty of workplace reorganization, which means I don’t have my dream job, nor the ability to hook my best friend up with a sweet gig on XM Satellite Radio or with my magazine. And, my biggest fan is my five-year-old daughter, and even she doesn’t scream with delight when I walk into a room like the grown women packing Oprah’s studio audience.

But what the Queen of Media and I do share is a decades-old obsession with weight. When I was in elementary school, I’d look forward to getting home not to watch cartoons or play outside, but to catch the Oprah Winfrey Show. She was someone, believe it or not, to whom I could relate. An overweight child, I once tipped the scales at 188 pounds. All of 14-years-old and 5’4”, I weighed just about as much as my 21-year-old, 6’2” brother. The day I saw that large number on the scale, my mother picked me up from school and waiting for me in the passenger seat was a daily favorite – a Snicker’s bar.

I knew I was fat, but it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. Everyday, I saw a woman with skin the color of mine mesmerizing audiences and breaking barriers in a field dominated by white men. She was a smart and business-savvy Southern girl who essentially knocked talk legend Phil Donahue off the scene and, oh by the way, she was a big girl just like me.

But no matter how successful she was, no matter how many avenues were opening up to her in television and film, Oprah felt like losing the weight would lift a burden, allowing her to get over the one hurdle that always seemed to trip her up. We all remember the day in 1988 when she stepped on stage in her skinny jeans, holding a trash bag of fat equivalent to the 67 pounds she shed. And, we all remember seeing the weight pile on time after time. Once weighing as much as 237 pounds, Oprah has admitted that she has gained 40 pounds in just the last two years, taking her up to 200 pounds.

Like an alcoholic whose one innocent drink led to a binge, Oprah says she’s “fallen off the wagon.” Unlike many of us, however, Oprah has to confront this addiction with the whole world watching. I can look in the mirror and see that I might need to start doing some extra crunches each a night. But for Oprah, there’s no amount of money that can do away with the criticism and embarrassment that comes with being overweight. And even if Oprah is the self-assured, confident woman we all see her to be, the extra weight could present a health danger as obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes and a number of other ailments that can prove deadly for Americans, especially African American women.

Before you crack a joke or, worse yet, laugh at one about Oprah, consider this: nearly four out of five African American women are obese or overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And the number of overweight African American children outweighs – literally – children of other races. Being overweight is really no laughing matter. After my own “Ah-Ha moment” of 1988, I grew three inches and lost 40 pounds, but I still struggle with dieting and exercise. I’ve traded trips to my nearby bakery with trips to gym as my weight has fluctuated during my extended vacation from the working world.

There comes a time when we all realize we need to get our house in order. For some, it’s finances. For others, it’s our choice in romantic partners. For Oprah, it’s weight. I applaud her willingness to make herself seem all-too human. Like so many of us who grimace when we can’t fit into a dress for a night out on the town, Oprah is disappointed in herself that she can’t fit into the gown she wanted to wear to Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Oprah checked herself, admitting that she was talking the talk about getting her viewers to lead their best lives ever, while slowly destroying her own. Only time will tell whether Oprah can finally shed the weight for good. But one thing we know; she’s not in it alone as this one-time big girl is proudly cheering her on.

FWO:Forwomenonline.com