Oprah Winfrey at 212 Lbs Was Crying & Praying at a 'Fat Farm' When One Call ‘Changed’ Her Life Forever

• Iconic media personality Oprah Winfrey has been known to struggle with her weight during the course of her career.
• At one point in her life, she weighed 212 lbs and found herself crying and praying at a "fat farm" until she received a call that she admitted, "changed [her] life forever."

Legendary media personality and one of America's most beloved TV hosts, Oprah Winfrey has been candid about her decades-long weight loss journey. Winfrey has long been open about how food addiction has impacted her body.

She was 22 years old when she first started experiencing weight issues in 1976, just after she scored her first big-time gig. At the time, Winfrey weighed 148 lbs and said she had been struggling to grapple with the incredible amount of pressure on her.

In dealing with stress and anxiety, she began to eat junk food like corn dogs and chocolate chip cookies excessively. Winfrey also ate a lot of fast food, hoping it would help suppress her emotional turmoil and suppress her negative feelings.

When she reached 200 lbs, Winfrey, realizing she needed to make a change, started trying out every diet program she could find suited for women. Two years into "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the TV host announced that she had lost 67 lbs in four months, crediting it to an all-liquid diet.

However, after some time had passed following the announcement, she disclosed that she had actually starved herself. This also caused problems with her metabolism, and as a result, she gained even more weight than she initially started with.

When the early 90s rolled around, Winfrey had been the heaviest she had ever been, weighing a total of 237 lbs. The media personality confessed to being so embarrassed that she could barely even look people in the eye and said that she had "joined the ranks of the perpetually obese."

The "What I Know For Sure" author divulged how she felt like a heavy-set failure. However, after meeting a personal trainer while attending a spa in Colorado, Winfrey was inspired to turn her life around.

On Crying and Praying at a Fat Farm and the Call That Changed Her Life

Winfrey's inspiration to turn things around with her weight allowed her to change her perspective on life and how the actual process of transformation happens. In an interview with Larry King, Winfrey spoke about how one revelation she learned through the message of the book "The Secret," catapulted the shift in her life:

"...the message is that you're really responsible for your life. You are responsible for your life. I've known this..."

The celebrated TV host went on to say that this message rooted itself in her mind ever since she read the book "The Color Purple," before she went on to star in the novel's movie adaptation. Winfrey said she became obsessed with the story to the point where she thought about it constantly, whether she was eating or sleeping.

Though she has made leaps and bounds from where she started, the journey took work.

Winfrey's enthrallment with the gripping novel followed her when she moved to Chicago, even when she received a call from a casting agent asking her if she was interested in auditioning for a movie. Winfrey, who said she had never gotten a call about doing a movie before, asked if the movie the casting agent was talking about was "The Color Purple."

The agent answered no and told her it was for a different movie called "Moonsong." An adamant Winfrey responded by saying she had been praying to audition for "The Color Purple."

Nonetheless, she went to the audition, only to discover that the movie she was auditioning for was, in fact, her dream one: "The Color Purple." After she auditioned, Winfrey said she did not hear back from the agent for months. She recalled:

"...and I go to this fat farm, and I think it's because I'm fat 'cause I was about 212 pounds at the time, and I think, 'I didn't get the call back because I'm so fat.' And I'm at this fat farm, and I'm praying and crying, saying to God, 'Help me let this go.' "

Winfrey said she wanted to be in the movie so much and thought she would be a part of it because there were numerous signs of it coming to fruition. While running on the track at the fat farm, Winfrey had been singing a praise and worship song, praying and crying, when a woman approached her.

The woman said Winfrey had a call waiting for her, and upon answering the call, she found iconic director Steven Spielberg on the other end of the line. Spielberg said he wanted to see Winfrey in his office the next day. According to Winfrey:

"...that moment absolutely changed my life forever because I had drawn 'The Color Purple' into my life. I didn't know Steven Spielberg..."

Oprah Winfrey Lost Weight and Is Now in the Best Shape She's Ever Been

Decades after "The Color Purple" debuted in theaters, with Winfrey even earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, she sought the help of Weight Watchers in 2015. As a result of the program, she managed to lose 40 lbs within a year.

Unfortunately, the "What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing" author endured a weight setback in late 2021. She admitted that the setback had a lot to do with overindulging during the festive season.

However, now, Winfrey is in the best shape she's ever been and maintains a healthy lifestyle. Health is something vital to the mogul, who previously said:

"I just know that movement and flexibility, particularly the older you get, is what makes you feel alive. So I don't want to just be alive, I want to feel it."

Previously, Winfrey confirmed that she no longer struggles with food and still eats what she enjoys without depriving herself. Though she has made leaps and bounds from where she started, the journey took work. While discussing her weight journey during an interview, where she weighed 200 lbs at the time, Winfrey expressed:

"The fullness of life, the fullness of being, the self-acceptance — I'd never done that before. I'd always beaten myself up because I was tied to a number."

Although Winfrey has faced many struggles with her weight, the star is now in her best shape and has learned valuable life lessons about self-acceptance along her journey.