Oprah Reveals the 1 Thing She Gave Up to Lose 42 Pounds on Weight Watchers

For years Oprah Winfrey struggled with her weight and yo-yo dieting, but she recently flaunted her 42-pound weight loss and and now, we're finding out exactly how she did it. In the January/February issue of Weight Watchers Magazine, Oprah talks about how positive thinking and balance helped her find pure happiness, and how giving up numerical goals ironically helped her lose weight.

"At 200 lbs., I was OK. I have never, ever, ever been at that point. And then at 190 lbs., I was OK. If I don't lose another pound right now, I'm still OK," she said. "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."

Since teaming up with Weight Watchers and buying 10 percent of the company during the Summer of 2015, Oprah has never been shy about her goals and the determination it was going to take to get there. She explains that her perspective on living a healthy life mentally and physically had a major part in shedding those pounds.

"It was frustrating to promise myself 'I'm going to do it today, I'm going to do it today,' and then not stick to my plan," Oprah said. "So I shifted. Now, I don't have a goal in mind. I get to a certain weight and I'm OK, and say, 'This is where I want to be. Hang in there. I'll get there when I get there.' And my body will tell me when I am exactly where I need to be."

As a firm believer in the program, Oprah said that the first thing she had to do was find the "intention" of her weight loss. "Intention is the most powerful principle that rules my world. It's the principle by which I rule my company and every action in my life. I do nothing without first thinking about why I'm doing it.

"When the weight started to come off, I needed to get clear on my intention. I could lose weight to fit a dress size, or attend an event, or to make other people like me. But I couldn't keep it off for those reasons. I always put the weight back on," she said. "This time I changed the intention to, 'I want to be the healthiest I can be — physically, emotionally, spiritually.' So the process and purpose of losing shifted for me. It was easier, because my intention was clearer."

For Oprah, it's not about the number on the scale, "It's in the way you see yourself fitting into your life. Embracing your life. Honoring your life. Having reverence and appreciation for your life."

That mindset is exactly what we need to tackle our New Year's Resolutions.