Are You Suffering from "Oprah Syndrome?"

by Fitz K. (Subscribe to Fitz K.'s posts)
Dec 29th 2008 4:00PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment

oprah winfrey No ... I'm not asking if you're painfully bright, wealthy and generous. I'm referring to the Oprah Syndrome as: Having lost and regained enormous amounts of weight more times than you can count. If you've lost a bunch of weight through dieting or just plain old great fitness habits, yet at some point just broke down and regained it all back, you're suffering from Oprah Syndrome.

I've been teaching fitness for 20 years now, and I've dealt with many people suffering the same condition. It's extremely painful to watch, and it's really frustrating for both those going through it and those who love them. I call it Oprah Syndrome because Oprah has made this agonizing situation famous. She has all the means, tools and professionals around to help keep her on track but at some point, she mentally just can't take it.

Gaining five pounds back can be accidental. Gaining 60 to 80+ pounds back is oddly deliberate. She could have hit the breaks when she gained 10, 20 or 30, but she didn't. I believe her issue is emotional, and she simply won't allow herself the life and/or perks that go along with being fit and trim. I'm no psychiatrist, but after doing this about a bazillion times, it's hard not to know the trends.

I work with a man who lost about 60 pounds in about six months (down from 300). He easily adopted great eating habits, worked as hard as I asked him to and demonstrated a positive attitude. He was fantastically successful and honestly, nothing should have gotten in his way of reaching his goal weight of 220 pounds. But something did. He got in his way, decided the pressures that went along with being healthy (his words) were too much and now he's back on death's door. I love the man, so I keep trying.

I imagine Oprah's trainer Bob Greene is in agony and I feel for him. I love and adore Oprah and would give my teeth to take a shot at helping her. But no matter how great the trainer, nutritionist or other professionals are ... if someone is suffering from Oprah Syndrome and is unknowingly hell bent on regaining weight, there is not much anyone can do. Begging, pleading, advising -- it all leads to a very stressful situation.

Have any of you found yourself back at a weight you never wanted to see again? What went wrong when you were feeling fit that allowed you do regain your lost weight? Do you identify with Miss O? She's got it all ... except control of her weight.

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Comments (10)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

michelle 12-29-2008 @ 5:07PM

aren't we all -

Laura 12-30-2008 @ 12:20AM

The fact that you consider Oprah's weight gain "oddly deliberate" displays a lack of understanding on your part.

Bethany Sanders 12-31-2008 @ 11:06AM

I've lost a significant amount of weight (10% or more of my body weight) four times. Three of those times, I gained it right back. I can honestly say that when I slid back into my old eating habits, the number one emotion I felt was relief. Change is hard. Giving up can feel easier (but not better).

This time is different, though. Now, when I feel myself slipping into those old, bad habits, I feel awful and immediately get "back on track." I honestly don't know what's different this time, but I think it has to do with the fact that I'm not as hard on myself when I do indulge.

When we go out to eat, I don't order the healthiest thing on the menu, on weekends, I increase my calorie allotment by about 200-300 calories, but I do make up for it during the week by cutting calories and being more active.

I think that the answer, for me, was coming up with a plan I could live with. All of those other times, I restricted things so much that I couldn't wait for the diet to be over. Now it's not really a diet ... I can't imagine now eating the way I used to again.

Just my thoughts!

tj 1-01-2009 @ 8:25PM

After having a gastric bypass in May 2001 and losing 160 pounds in about 11 months, I was thrilled with my new size 4 body. I also got a lot of attention from the opposite sex, which, in turn, led to romantic relationships. Most of them with very emotionally unhealthy people, and resulting in a new feeling of agony that I had never felt before. And over the following 7 years, I regained 70 of the 160 pounds I'd lost. After recent psychological therapy to deal with what was going on, I learned that I took solace in the old, beloved snack foods I used to eat for comfort, and by being chubby again, I didn't have to worry about getting into any more bad relationships - the opposite sex wasn't paying the attention that they did when I was slim. Now, with the help of a behavioral health professional, I am learning how to deal with the emotions in more healthy ways, and learning how to choose better relationship partners and avoid the losers. My goal for 2009 is to get the 70 pounds back off and not emotionally eat and put them back on ever again.

loves2shop2005 1-04-2009 @ 7:52AM

I have always struggled with my weight, being from Texas a lot of our family cooking is fattening.....my husband gets tired of the "diet food", he has no problem with his weight.. so it's hard to stay on track.

I have to disagree with the fact that gaining 60 to 80 pounds is deliberate.. if it was so easy to hit the breaks at 10, 20, or 30 pounds nobody would be overweight.

loves2shop2005 1-03-2009 @ 10:03PM

I have always struggled with my weight, being from Texas a lot of ourfamily cooking is fattening.....my husband gets tired of the "dietfood", he has no problem with his weight.. so it's hard to stay ontrack. I have to disagree with the fact that gaining 60 to 80 pounds isdeliberate.. if it was so easy to hit the breaks at 10, 20, or 30pounds nobody would be overweight.

Lila

tw 1-04-2009 @ 9:07PM

I used to have a lot of respect for this site, posts like this make me debate the value of continuing to be a reader. To me, this post says more about the author's self-absorption and lack of understanding and empathy than it does what really goes on for people like Oprah. People aren't hell bent on gaining lost weight back--if self-discipline and good eating habits don't come naturally to you, sustained effort can be difficult, especially when other things get in the way. I'm surprised 20 years of experience hasn't given you better insight.

tw 1-04-2009 @ 9:10PM

I used to have a lot of respect for this site, posts like this make me debate the value of continuing to be a reader. To me, this post says more about the author's self-absorption and lack of understanding and empathy than it does what really goes on for people like Oprah.
I'm sure that very few people who lose and regain weight are "hell bent" on gaining lost weight back. Rather, if self-discipline and good eating habits don't come naturally to an individual, sustained effort can be difficult, especially when other aspects of their life get stressful.

It makes me sad to read this and realize that for you the training experience is about YOU and how your client's successes or failures reflect on YOU rather than what the experience means for them.

fitzness 1-05-2009 @ 7:45AM

I would be a "selfish trainer" if I believed I was the one and only answer to everyone's weight issue. No one is. Often weight issues are a result of emotional issues that all the diet and exercise programs/trainers/options in the world can and will not effect.

I adore, love and admire Oprah. She's amazing. But she, out of everyone, has the opportunity to scream for help when she needs it. You see two people in this comment section have already confessed to having delibertely regained weight.

Of course it seems odd. I know you're thinking "why would someone do that?" But many people do. I guess you'd have to have done my job for so long to understand this concept. Thanks for the comment though. We always appreciate feedback here at That's Fit.
Fitz

Melissa 1-11-2009 @ 12:33PM

If I have learned anything about my weight loss road to success, it is that stress and emotional problems can keep you from achieving your weight goals. I turned to Deborah King, author of "Truth Heals." The examples in each chapter illustrate the relationship between the suppressed emotions and the physical conditions. She covers everything from cancer and heart disease to diabetes, weight,. . . everything!

http://www.deborahkingcenter.com/