CHICAGO (AP) - Oprah Winfrey says she's embarrassed to say it, but she's packed on the pounds -- again.

She says she has ballooned up to 200 pounds, but is determined to do something about it -- again.

She told viewers today her thyroid problem and other issues caused her to "fall off the wagon" during the past year. She says it got so bad, she didn't want to put full-figure photos of herself on her own magazine, "O."

But Winfrey is determined to make a fresh start in 2009. She says the first step is to direct the same love she shows to others to someone else -- herself. And she's urging her viewers to do the same.


(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)